The impact of pre-oxidation with potassium permanganate on cyanobacterial organic matter removal by coagulation

The study investigates the effect of permanganate pre-oxidation on the coagulation of peptides/proteins of Microcystis aeruginosa which comprise a major proportion of the organic matter during cyanobacterial bloom decay. Four different permanganate dosages (0.1, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6 mg KMnO₄ mg^-1 DOC) were applied prior to coagulation by ferric sulphate. Moreover, changes in sample characteristics, such as UV₂₅₄, DOC content and molecular weight distribution, after pre-oxidation were monitored. The results showed that permanganate pre-oxidation led to a reduction in coagulant dose, increased organic matter removals by coagulation (by 5-12% depending on permanganate dose), microcystin removal (with reductions of 91-96%) and a shift of the optimum pH range from 4.3 to 6 without to 5.5-7.3 with pre-oxidation. Degradation of organic matter into inorganic carbon and adsorption of organic matter onto hydrous MnO₂ are suggested as the main processes responsible for coagulation improvement. Moreover, permanganate prevented the formation of Fe-peptide/protein complexes that inhibit coagulation at pH about 6.2 without pre-oxidation. The study showed that carefully optimized dosing of permanganate improves cyanobacterial peptide/protein removal, with the benefit of microcystin elimination.