Enhancement of algal growth by Mg2+ released from anaerobic digestion effluent of aquatic macrophytes through photolysis

Abstract Anaerobic digestion effluent (ADE) from aquatic macrophytes (Egeria densa, Elodea nuttallii, Ceratophyllum demersum and Potamogeton maackianus) contains insufficient available magnesium ions (Mg2+) to achieve maximum algal yield and nutrient removal, although Mg concentrations are not scarce at 6–10 mg L−1. Unavailable Mg2+ may be bound into complexes with dissolved organic matter (DOM). We determined the effects of ADE exposure to ultraviolet C (UVC), and degradation of DOM, on Mg availability for growth of Chlorella sorokiniana. Molecular sizes of DOM binding Mg2+ were identified with high-performance size-exclusion chromatography. The results demonstrated that 3 h exposure to UVC can decompose DOM, and release sufficient amounts of available Mg2+, i.e. 0.09 mg from 1 mg of dissolved organic carbon, thus enhancing algal yield and nutrient removal. Almost 50 % of Mg in the ADE was bound by DOM with a molecular size of 400–1170 Da as organic complexes, and the remaining Mg was bound by DOM of