For the last two decades, the zebra mussel, (Dreissena polymorpha), an invasive mollusk, has infested raw water cooling systems of power stations and water treatment works in the US, causing damages of approximately $1-5 billion per year. While chlorination can control the mollusk population, zebra mollusks are able to circumvent simple chlorination methods by closing their valves, and thereby avoid exposure for up to three weeks.

Researchers from the University of Cambridge, devised a novel method of control, called BioBullets: Potassium chloride (KCl) microencapsulated in microscopic edible particles that allow slow release of the toxic compound.

According to the authors of the article published in Environmental Science & Technology, aside from being more effective, BioBullets do not pose threat to other marine animals, nor do they pose a risk of polluting the wider ecosystem since the particles were designed to rapidly degrade and disperse in water.

Sources: ACS, EurekAlertPhoto: From the Environ. Sci. Technol. article, SEM of a freeze-fractured BioBullet to reveal a cubic KCl crystal within the vegetable oil matrix. Scale bar is 20 m.