Measuring the effectiveness of a pilot scale bioreactor for removing Microcystis in an outdoor pond system.

A pilot scale fluidized bed bioreactor to control the cyanobacterium, Microcystis, was tested in an outdoor experimental pond system (28 m3) over a 57 day period. The pond system was inoculated with a wild bloom of Microcystis, and the bioreactor was preinoculated with an oligochaete, Aeolosoma hemprichi, which is known to prey on colonial Microcystis. This and other Microcystis predators such as the rotifer, Philodina erythrophthalma were observed to colonize the bioreactor during the experiment.