The removal of nitrogen and phosphorus from sewage effluents through the use of algal culture Presented before the 136th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Atlantic City, N.J., September 1959. This research has been supported by a National Institute of Health Research Grant.

This study is designed to establish fundamental data which will permit the eventual application of algal culture to the removal of nutrients from sewage plant effluents. A test cell is described which gives reproducible data when environmental parameters are varied. The effect of changes in temperature, light intensity and culture density as reflected in the growth rate, are shown, and the influence of these parameters on the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus under the test conditions indicated. The importance of an adequate carbon source and proper pH control is demonstrated. The organisms used were Scenedesmus and Chlorella in mixed or unialgal cultures.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/38439/1/390020208_ftp.pd