Restorative Approaches for Eutrophic City Lakes with Emphasis on Nutrient Reduction Techniques
(2026) In TVVR 5000 VVRM01 20252Division of Water Resources Engineering
- Abstract
- Eutrophication, caused by excessive accumulation of key nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus in water, is a major environmental problem that significantly affects water quality and aquatic ecosystems. This thesis project aims to evaluate different adsorption-based treatment methods that can effectively reduce the nutrient content of water.
Water samples were collected from various water sources such as wastewater streams and heavily polluted ponds/lakes in Skåne County for experimental tests. Although lake water was the target water, additional tests were conducted to evaluate the extent of phosphorus removal under various nutrient concentrations, including food waste residues, greywater, and blackwater. These water samples required... (More) - Eutrophication, caused by excessive accumulation of key nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus in water, is a major environmental problem that significantly affects water quality and aquatic ecosystems. This thesis project aims to evaluate different adsorption-based treatment methods that can effectively reduce the nutrient content of water.
Water samples were collected from various water sources such as wastewater streams and heavily polluted ponds/lakes in Skåne County for experimental tests. Although lake water was the target water, additional tests were conducted to evaluate the extent of phosphorus removal under various nutrient concentrations, including food waste residues, greywater, and blackwater. These water samples required for this were collected from the Recolab wastewater treatment plant in Helsingborg, Sweden. Two different materials were used as adsorbents in this study to identify the most effective one for nutrient removal.
Water Samples were tested before the addition of adsorbents to find out the initial nutrients concentration in each case, and at certain time intervals after addition to determine the optimum nutrient removal time. Each test was performed in duplicate to reduce experimental error. However, since the initially used adsorbent A did not show sufficient efficiency for nutrient removal, treated residuals such as waste from softening process and waste stream from quick sand filtration at drinking water treatment plant (calcinated calcite pellets and mixture of calcium and iron-coated sand) were subsequently tested as alternative materials. These materials achieved nutrient removal efficiencies of up to 90% during the studies. The results indicate that residuals from drinking water treatment plants after certain treatment can be reused and offered as an effective and cost-effective solution for controlling nutrient levels in both natural and wastewater systems. (Less) - Popular Abstract
- Eutrophication refers to the excessive accumulation of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus in water bodies like lakes and ponds. While nutrients are essential for life, too much of them can be harmful to aquatic ecosystems. When nutrient levels are high, algal blooms grow rapidly and may cover large parts of the water surface. This blocks sunlight from reaching underwater plants and increases oxygen consumption when the algae decompose. As a result, the oxygen available for organisms living near the bottom of the lake decreases, which can lead to fish deaths and a loss of biodiversity.
Most of the excess nutrients come from human activities. Fertilizers used in agriculture can run off into lakes and streams during rainfall.... (More) - Eutrophication refers to the excessive accumulation of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus in water bodies like lakes and ponds. While nutrients are essential for life, too much of them can be harmful to aquatic ecosystems. When nutrient levels are high, algal blooms grow rapidly and may cover large parts of the water surface. This blocks sunlight from reaching underwater plants and increases oxygen consumption when the algae decompose. As a result, the oxygen available for organisms living near the bottom of the lake decreases, which can lead to fish deaths and a loss of biodiversity.
Most of the excess nutrients come from human activities. Fertilizers used in agriculture can run off into lakes and streams during rainfall. Wastewater from industries and households is another major source of pollution. To protect lakes and ponds, effective purification methods are needed to remove nutrients before they cause environmental damage.
This study aims to identify a solution that is cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and based on reusable materials. Water samples were collected from eutrophic lakes in Skåne. In addition, wastewater with high nutrient concentrations was tested to evaluate and compare the maximum removal efficiency. This included food-related wastewater as well as water from sinks, laundry, showers, toilets, and bathrooms from Recolab, the wastewater treatment plant in Helsingborg.
Residual materials from drinking water treatment plants, such as calcite pellets and iron-coated sand, were used in the experiments. Although these materials are normally discarded as waste, they were repurposed in this study. When added to the water samples and tested over several days, they were able to remove up to 90% of harmful nutrients. The iron-coated sand acts like a magnet, binding nutrients to its surface, while the calcite pellets cause dissolved nutrients to form solid particles through chemical reactions.
This research demonstrates that the idea of “cleaning waste with waste” is both feasible and promising. By reusing residual materials from drinking water treatment plants, it is possible to develop a low-cost and sustainable method to reduce nutrient pollution in lakes and ponds. In the long term, this approach can help keep urban water bodies cleaner and support healthier aquatic ecosystems. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9223164
- author
- Prabhakaran Ranjini, Sisira LU
- supervisor
-
- Jing Li LU
- organization
- course
- VVRM01 20252
- year
- 2026
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Eutrophication, Nutrient removal, Drinking water treatment residuals, Circular economy, Adsorption
- publication/series
- TVVR 5000
- report number
- TVVR26/5020
- ISSN
- 1101-9824
- language
- English
- additional info
- Examiner: Linus Zhang
- id
- 9223164
- date added to LUP
- 2026-03-03 13:00:13
- date last changed
- 2026-03-03 13:00:13
@misc{9223164,
abstract = {{Eutrophication, caused by excessive accumulation of key nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus in water, is a major environmental problem that significantly affects water quality and aquatic ecosystems. This thesis project aims to evaluate different adsorption-based treatment methods that can effectively reduce the nutrient content of water.
Water samples were collected from various water sources such as wastewater streams and heavily polluted ponds/lakes in Skåne County for experimental tests. Although lake water was the target water, additional tests were conducted to evaluate the extent of phosphorus removal under various nutrient concentrations, including food waste residues, greywater, and blackwater. These water samples required for this were collected from the Recolab wastewater treatment plant in Helsingborg, Sweden. Two different materials were used as adsorbents in this study to identify the most effective one for nutrient removal.
Water Samples were tested before the addition of adsorbents to find out the initial nutrients concentration in each case, and at certain time intervals after addition to determine the optimum nutrient removal time. Each test was performed in duplicate to reduce experimental error. However, since the initially used adsorbent A did not show sufficient efficiency for nutrient removal, treated residuals such as waste from softening process and waste stream from quick sand filtration at drinking water treatment plant (calcinated calcite pellets and mixture of calcium and iron-coated sand) were subsequently tested as alternative materials. These materials achieved nutrient removal efficiencies of up to 90% during the studies. The results indicate that residuals from drinking water treatment plants after certain treatment can be reused and offered as an effective and cost-effective solution for controlling nutrient levels in both natural and wastewater systems.}},
author = {{Prabhakaran Ranjini, Sisira}},
issn = {{1101-9824}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
series = {{TVVR 5000}},
title = {{Restorative Approaches for Eutrophic City Lakes with Emphasis on Nutrient Reduction Techniques}},
year = {{2026}},
}