Damage mechanism of calcium peroxide on Microcystis aeruginosa PCC7806 and its potential application

Calcium peroxide (CP) is an oxidizing agent that can gradually release hydrogen peroxide (HP) to achieve selective killing of cyanobacteria in water blooms, and reduce the phosphorus content in the water column. Despite the potential of CP for use in cyanobacterial water bloom disposal, there is a lack of research on the mechanism of oxidative damage on cyanobacterial cells by calcium peroxide. Further studies are required to comprehend the underlying scientific principles and potential risks and benefits of applying this approach to cyanobacteria disposal. In this investigation, we employed varying doses of CP for the treatment of Microcystis aeruginosa (M. aeruginosa), which resulted in the following findings: (1) the HP released from CP can damage the photosystem II of M. aeruginosa, reduce cell photosynthetic pigment content, intensify the degree of membrane lipid peroxidation, and increase the extracellular protein content; (2) CP significantly increased the soluble extracellular polysaccharide (sEPS) and bound extracellular polysaccharide (bEPS) content of cells (p < 0.05), causing the cells to exist as agglomerates and effectively allowing them to flocculate and precipitate, reducing the turbidity of the water body; (3) The increased dose elevated the pH and calcium ions significantly decreased the orthophosphate content, resulting in an increase in extracellular alkaline phosphatase activity, but possibly increasing the total extracellular nitrogen content. These results suggested that CP is an effective chemical algaecide for cyanobacteria, and has the potential to be applied to dispose of cyanobacterial blooms while reducing the phosphorus content of the water column and further inhibiting the growth and proliferation of cells.