18. WATER SUPPLY EMERGENCY FOR LAKE SEVAN

摘要

This paper presents results of research in the field of use of natural materials such as zeolites (mordenite, clinoptilolite, or zeolite containing tufas) as sorbents~2 and as promising materials for raising the water quality at Lake Sevan in Armenia. The Lake Sevan ecosystem is increasingly in a nonequilt-brium state, and the water level of the lake dropped by approximately 19 m. At the eutrophic biolevel, equilibrium was lost and organic matter began to accumulate, entailing a positive balance of biogeochemical circulation. All this brought enhanced autotrophic subsystem activity and a subsequent sharp decline of water quality. The advantages of natural zeolites in comparison with other sorbents, such as technological stability, low cost, availability, and filtering properties are determined first for use in the Sevan region.