Evaluation of the production, composition and aluminum and iron complexation of algogenic organic matter

Abstract

This paper aims at the characterization of algogenic organic matter (AOM) produced by the cyanobacteria Anabaena flos-aqua and Microcystis aeruginosa and the green algae Scenedesmus quadricauda. Further, it is focused on the description of differences in the composition of extracellular organic matter (EOM) and intracellular organic matter (IOM), and on the demonstration of AOM affinity to aluminum and iron coagulants. The results from the conducted analyses imply a significant difference in the amount and properties of the proteins contained in EOM in comparison to IOM. The differences in the production of proteins also depend on the species of microorganism observed and its growth phase; ageing of the culture is accompanied by a gradual increase of the portion of proteins forming AOM. Using affinity chromatography (AC), the proteins with relative molecular weight around 60kDa were isolated as a component of AOM of cyanobacteria A. flos-aqua and M. aeruginosa. These proteins are able to form complex compounds with iron and aluminum.