Our team proposed three initial ideas before settling on our current design plan.  

 

Design Plan #1

Our first original plan was to create gold nanoparticles that would deliver algaecides which are chemicals that used to kill algae. Algaecides include copper-based chemicals,  potassium permanganate, chlorine, and lime (EPA, 2021). While algaecides are effective in getting rid of BGA, they have major limitations. Using algaecides can cause more toxins to be released into the environment. This is why they are more effective when used during the early stages of the bloom. Some algaecides are also harmful to other organisms such as fish, zooplankton, and other invertebrates. According to an article titled Bioaccumulation of Copper Algaecides in the Environment, “The application rates of copper algaecides, despite being formulated to avoid fish kills and harm, are not safe for all species of fish and can underestimate the amount of copper entering a fish’s body” (naturalake.com). We decided that using gold nanoparticles to administer algaecides that kill BGA was not the best design solution to the current problem. 

 

Design Plan #2

Our second design was a rover designed to collect all the BGA found at the surface of the water. The rover would include an ultrasonic sensor to detect the presence of cyanobacteria or BGA which will then be collected and transmitted into a software program that will automatically guide the rover to the location of the bloom. However, we decided that this design would be inefficient, costly, and impractical. Considering that algae blooms spread very rapidly, our rover design would be ineffective at tackling the problem both swiftly and efficiently. We will need a large number of rovers to do the job which will be expensive. Furthermore, with the rising global temperatures, we expect that there will be more algal blooms and this solution will not be desirable. 

 

Design Plan #3

Finally, we came across the LG Sonic MPC-Buoy, an ultrasonic device that is currently used to eliminate BGA. This device is eco-friendly and does not require the use of chemicals to control the algae blooms. Using the framework of this present invention, we decided to add iron oxide nanoparticles instead of the ultrasound technology because we believe that nanotechnology is very effective and cheaper. The NanoVader is 100% energy efficient because it uses solar panels and self-powered batteries, is eco-friendly, chemical-free, and relatively inexpensive. However, we were initially concerned that iron oxide nanoparticles may not be beneficial because of iron’s tendency to oxide in water. After conducting more research, we learned that “The product of oxidation can bind impurities via complex formation, ion exchange, and physical/electrostatic interactions besides the redox potential energies. Further, the oxides of iron serve as a flocculent for removing organic colloidal suspensions and also traps the adsorbable metal ions and thereby scavenge the pollutants present in the contaminated water” (Aragaw, 2021).