During the 2022 ecological disaster on the Oder River, approximately 250 tons of dead fish were collected. One of the causes was the bloom of golden algae, which this year “attacked” the Gliwice Canal and Lake Dzierżno Duże. The risk of further ecological disasters may be reduced by the discovery of Polish scientists working under the auspices of the Ministry of Infrastructure. The technology they developed, SinStop, eliminates golden algae cells by almost 100%. A scientific experiment conducted on a section of the Gliwice Canal showed that the preparation protects fish populations and other aquatic animals while initiating natural water self-purification processes. The research also proved that it is effective in combating cyanobacteria.
“The preparation is a natural agent, composed of entirely natural ingredients. The technological process makes it suitable for coagulating various biogenic compounds present in the water, as well as eliminating algae, not just the golden algae that we are currently dealing with,” says Prof. Dr. Eng. Robert Czerniawski, Director of the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management – National Research Institute, Director of the Institute of Biology at the University of Szczecin, and one of the project leaders, in an interview with Newseria Biznes.
The experiment was conducted in two stages within the Sławęcice and Rudziniec locks on the Gliwice Canal. In the first stage, analyses were carried out on 22 research tanks. In the second stage, the effectiveness of the selected variants was determined under operational conditions. For this purpose, two locks of the Gliwice Canal were flooded—SinStop technology was applied in one, while the other served as a control sample.
The preparation used for coagulation, the process of combining smaller particles into larger groups that are easier to remove from the water, fulfilled its role and inhibited the water bloom.
“The agent simply eliminates, kills the cells of the golden algae. It must be applied at least twice to properly eliminate this bloom by over 90%. Additionally, the agent binds phosphorus and nitrogen compounds, inactivating them in sediments so that they are not available in the water as food for subsequent generations of golden algae or other algae groups. Since it limits the growth and number of algae without causing the release of prymnesin, we eliminate the toxin that kills fish. An additional effect is the elimination of the bloom, which leads to oxygenation or deoxygenation due to the photosynthesis process. In many cases, this has a much greater impact on fish functioning and their population than the direct action of prymnesin,” explains the director of IMGW-PIB.
The results published by IMGW-PIB indicate that the conducted research provided unequivocally positive effects of the SinStop method. The average number of dead fish in the control chamber during the experiment reached 68.8 per day. In the trials where the preparation was used, this number was reduced by 93%. Moreover, among the fish placed in traps within the tested area, no mortality was observed. Live fish specimens were also caught from the tank, showing no negative symptoms. The scientists did not observe any negative effects of the preparation on animal organisms.
“We tested the effect of this agent on three groups of animals. Besides fish, the second group was zooplankton, which literally ‘exploded’ after the first day of application, increasing its population by several hundred percent by the fourth day. The third group was mollusks. On the fourth day of the experiment, we observed the hatching of mollusk larvae, also in very large quantities,” notes Prof. Robert Czerniawski. “We accidentally checked the effect on crayfish, which accidentally ended up in the test area and survived, so we have a fourth group—higher crustaceans.”
These organisms serve as indicators of water well-being, which in practice means that the developed method not only directly reduces the risk of algae blooms and growth but also leads to the initiation of self-repair processes, i.e., natural water environment self-purification phenomena.
“The SinStop technology handles all single-celled algae. This is an agent that we have already used and tested on cyanobacteria. I believe that cyanobacteria are generally a bigger problem because these toxins are also harmful to humans, cattle, and other animals, as they contain hepatotoxins harmful to internal organs. We also dealt with this and demonstrated positive effects. The durability of this agent on cyanobacteria is at least two years because we are still seeing a positive effect two years after its first application,” explains the director of IMGW-PIB.
The experiment confirmed that the tested method is a safe and effective way to combat fish mortality and generally the phenomena referred to as water eutrophication.
“The agent is essentially ready for implementation, though maybe not today, as there is still a need to technologically prepare for the production process. As for large reservoirs, I think that will be in the spring of next year,” announces Prof. Robert Czerniawski.
Fifteen specialists from eight scientific units worked on SinStop, including the University of Gdańsk, the University of Szczecin, the University of Warmia and Mazury, the Warsaw University of Technology, and the Częstochowa University of Technology. The project leaders were Prof. Robert Czerniawski and Krzysztof Gliński, CEO of Ecco Logic, the company that owns the technology and know-how.
