Estimation of the Chlorophyll-A Concentration of Algae Species Using Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy

Algae are a significant component of a biological monitoring program in an aquatic ecosystem. They are ideally suited for water quality assessments because of their nutrient requirements, rapid reproduction rate, and very short life cycle. Algae composition and temporal variation in abundances are important in determining the trophic level of lakes, and those can be estimated by the Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentration of the species. In this work, a non-destructive method was employed to estimate the Chlorophyll-a concentration of multiple algae species using electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The proposed EIS method is rapid, cheaper, and suitable for in situ measurements compared with the other available non-destructive methods, such as spectrophotometry and hyperspectral or multispectral imaging. The electrical impedances in different frequencies ranging from 1 to 100 kHz were observed using an impedance converter system. Significant observations were identified within 3.5 kHz for multiple algae species and therefore reported in the results. A positive correlation was found between the Chlorophyll-a and the measured impedance of algae species at different frequencies. Later, EIS models were developed for the species in 1–3.5 kHz. A correlation of 90% was found by employing a least squares method and multiple linear regression. The corresponding coefficients of determination were obtained as 0.9, 0.885, and 0.915, respectively for 49 samples of Spirulina, 41 samples of Chlorella, and 26 samples of mixed algae species. The models were later validated using a new and separate set of samples of algae species.