Algae and organic matter research showcased in Tokyo

Sina Moradi, Anthony Agostino and Naras Rao from the Algae and Organic Matter (AOM) Lab within the UNSW School of Chemical Engineering presented their research at the recent IWA Specialist Conference on Natural Organic Matter (NOM) in Water.

The conference took place on 7-9 October in Tokyo, Japan, providing a platform to share the latest scientific and practical knowledge on NOM in diverse water environments, drinking water, wastewater, and recycled water.

Sina presented on a machine learning application for estimation of NOM in water using climatological parameters. Sina’s presentation evaluated the applicability of different machine learning algorithms for the estimation of DOC concentration in water from simple measurable water quality and climatological variables using datasets from an Australian catchment.

Anthony’s presentation investigated the interaction of NOM polarity and fluorescence excitation emission matrices, a critical stepping stone in the ability to understand the chemical meaning behind the unique signature of NOM fluorescence.

Naras shared recent findings on identifying compositional changes in NOM caused by sample storage protocols. Specifically, his work analysed the impacts of storage container leaching and organic matter degradation during long-term analysis of water by testing glass and plastic bottles under different storage conditions.

The 7th Specialist Conference on Natural Organic Matter in Water was organised by the IWA Japan National Committee, the Japan Society on Water Environment and the Japan Water Research Centre.