Chen, Hong2020-08-252020-08-252020-05https://hdl.handle.net/11299/214983University of Minnesota M.S.Ch.E. thesis. 2019. Major: Chemical Engineering. Advisor: Steven Sternberg. 1 computer file (PDF); 75 pages.The purpose of this research is to characterize the sustainability of Selenastrum capricornutum (S.Cap.) under the stress of the Cd2+ -Cu2+ system and analyze its effectivity of removing both metal ions. The microalgae are representative algae whose resistance to and uptake of metals can be extensible to other algae. The goal of this research is to use experimental and statistical method to analyze whether the algae is benefited from the antagonistic effect of Cd2+ -Cu2+ joint toxicity and increase the removal-ability under different pH, hardness and containment concentration. The results of this work show that the adsorption rate of Cd2+ and Cu2+ is deceased in a binary-stress system comparing to single Cd2+ stress and single Cu stress. The highest metal removal percentage decreases from 61.78% to 44.41% for Cd2+ and from 98.66% to 68.00% for Cu ions. The algae show the potential of removal during the 96 hr experiment period. The algae are acidic domesticated prior, but the removal rates are comparably lower in a more acidic solution(pH3.5) than a more neural solution (pH 6.5). The hardness of water seems to have a minor influence on the metal removal process.enThesis or Dissertation