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Liu X, Pollner B, Paulitsch-Fuchs AH, Fuchs EC, Dyer NP, Loiskandl W, Lass-Flörl C. Investigation of the effect of sustainable magnetic treatment on the microbiological communities in drinking water. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2022; 213:113638. [PMID: 35705130 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.113638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2022] [Accepted: 06/05/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The drinking water scarcity is posing a threat to mankind, hence better water quality management methods are required. Magnetic water treatment, which has been reported to improve aesthetic water quality and reduce scaling problems, can be an important addition to the traditional disinfectant dependent treatment. Despite the extensive market application opportunities, the effect of magnetic fields on (microbial) drinking water communities and subsequently the biostability is still largely unexplored, although the first patent was registered already 1945. Here flow cytometry was applied to assess the effect of weak magnetic fields (≤10 G) with strong gradients (≈800 G/m) on drinking water microbial communities. Drinking water was collected from the tap and placed inside the magnetic field (treated) and 5 m away from the magnet to avoid any background interferences (control) using both a static set-up and a shaking set-up. Samples were collected during a seven-day period for flow cytometry examination. Additionally, the effects of magnetic fields on the growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in autoclaved tap water were examined. Based on the fluorescent intensity of the stained nucleic acid content, the microbial cells were grouped into low nucleic acid content (LNA) and high nucleic acid content (HNA). Our results show that the LNA was dominant under nutrient limited condition while the HNA dominates when nutrient is more available. Such behavior of LNA and HNA matches well with the long discussed r/K selection model where r-strategists adapted to eutrophic conditions and K-strategists adapted to oligotrophic conditions. The applied magnetic fields selectively promote the growth of LNA under nutrient rich environment, which indicates a beneficial effect on biostability enhancement. Inhibition on an HNA representative Pseudomonas aeruginosa has also been observed. Based on our laboratory observations, we conclude that magnetic field treatment can be a sustainable method for microbial community management with great potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoxia Liu
- Wetsus, European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology, Oostergoweg 9, 8911 MA Leeuwarden, the Netherlands; Institute of Soil Physics and Rural Water Management, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Bernhard Pollner
- Division of Hygiene and Medical Microbiology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Astrid H Paulitsch-Fuchs
- Diagnostic and Research Institute of Hygiene, Microbiology and Environmental Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Neue Stiftingtalstraße 2, 8010, Graz, Austria; Carinthia University of Applied Sciences, Biomedical Science, St. Veiterstraße 47, 9020 Klagenfurt, Austria
| | - Elmar C Fuchs
- Wetsus, European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology, Oostergoweg 9, 8911 MA Leeuwarden, the Netherlands; Optical Sciences Group, Faculty of Science and Technology (TNW), University of Twente, Drienerlolaan 5, 7522NB Enschede, the Netherlands.
| | - Nigel P Dyer
- Wetsus, European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology, Oostergoweg 9, 8911 MA Leeuwarden, the Netherlands; Coherent Water Systems, 2 Crich Avenue, DE23 6ES Derby, United Kingdom
| | - Willibald Loiskandl
- Institute of Soil Physics and Rural Water Management, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Cornelia Lass-Flörl
- Division of Hygiene and Medical Microbiology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
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Lombard J, van Zijl LD, Bertossi L, Smith S, Barnard E, O’Kennedy SJ, Turton A. Rare Earth Magnets and Limescale: Analysis of Magnetic Water Treatment Using a Dynamic Scale Rig. Ind Eng Chem Res 2022. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.2c01383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jean Lombard
- Nanodyn Systems (Pty) Ltd., De Wagenweg Office Park, Stellentia Road, Stellenbosch 7600, Western Cape, South Africa
| | - Leané D. van Zijl
- Nanodyn Systems (Pty) Ltd., De Wagenweg Office Park, Stellentia Road, Stellenbosch 7600, Western Cape, South Africa
| | - Luca Bertossi
- Nanodyn Systems (Pty) Ltd., De Wagenweg Office Park, Stellentia Road, Stellenbosch 7600, Western Cape, South Africa
| | - Shane Smith
- Nanodyn Systems (Pty) Ltd., De Wagenweg Office Park, Stellentia Road, Stellenbosch 7600, Western Cape, South Africa
| | - Elaine Barnard
- Nanodyn Systems (Pty) Ltd., De Wagenweg Office Park, Stellentia Road, Stellenbosch 7600, Western Cape, South Africa
| | - Sean J. O’Kennedy
- Nanodyn Systems (Pty) Ltd., De Wagenweg Office Park, Stellentia Road, Stellenbosch 7600, Western Cape, South Africa
| | - Anthony Turton
- Nanodyn Systems (Pty) Ltd., De Wagenweg Office Park, Stellentia Road, Stellenbosch 7600, Western Cape, South Africa
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Jiang W, Xu X, Johnson D, Lin L, Wang H, Xu P. Effectiveness and mechanisms of electromagnetic field on reverse osmosis membrane scaling control during brackish groundwater desalination. Sep Purif Technol 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.seppur.2021.119823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Enhancing Fe-C micro-electrolysis by coupling MF with electrolyte solution: Mechanism and application. Sep Purif Technol 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.seppur.2020.117887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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