Potential Use of Water Hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes Mart' Solms' for Wastewater Treatment in Serbia

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Potential Use of Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia
crassipes (Mart.) Solms.) for Wastewater
Treatment in Serbia
BALWOIS 2006

• Nevena Nesic1, Ljubinko Jovanovic2

1Institute of Forestry, Belgrade 2Centre for
Multidisciplinary Studies University of
Belgrade Serbia Montenegro
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• Serbia is facing the same problems in planning,
  management and conservation of waters as most
  countries of the World.
• For relatively small country like Serbia dispose
  of water resources have a special significance.
• A great deal of interest has been shown in Serbia
  for introduction of water hyacinth and
  construction of aquatic systems for wastewater
  treatment in last year.

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Goal and Objective

• To offer answers on some of the key questions
• Can this tropical plant grow in Serbia?
• Will it impose a threat to existing wetlands?
• Is it efficient enough in removing different
  pollutants?
• and many other.

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Plant origin and Geographical distribution

• South American aquatic macrophyte

40o
40o
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Plant origin and Geographical distribution

• First appearance outside of its home range was in
  North America at the end of 19th century (1884)
• Today its widely distributed in south states of
  USA
• Alabama
• California
• Florida
• Louisiana
• Texas
• and others

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Plant origin and Geographical distribution

• About the same time it was spotted in Egypt where
  it invaded many African rivers and lakes such as
  Lake Victoria

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Plant origin and Geographical distribution

• Till then water hyacinth spread to countless
  tropical and subtropical countries usually with
  catastrophic socioeconomic and ecological
  consequences

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Morphology of Water Hyacinth
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Growth and Reproduction

• Generative reproduction
• Vegetative reproduction
• Only 10 plants in just 8 months can produce
  population of 655,330 individuals.
• Theoretically, by vegetative reproduction 1 plant
  can colonise water surface during 1 month by
  creating 8,191 new individuals.

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Ecological factors

• Heliophyte plant growing best in warm waters rich
  in macronutrients.
• Optimal water temperature for growth is 28 -30 oC
• Optimal air temperature is 21-30 oC
• It can not be grown in open where average winter
  temperature drops under 1 oC.

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Hornsby Bend water hyacinth facility basin
configuration, Austin,Texas
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Efficiency of pollutant removal

• Water hyacinth systems represent the majority of
  aquatic plant systems that have been constructed.
  
• They can remove organic matter, suspended
  materials, nutrients and heavy metals from
  wastewater with great efficiency.
• Nitrogen 10 - 90
• Phosphorus 35 - 80
• BOD5 52 - 60
• Suspended materials 43 - 96
• Cd and other heavy metals 72-90

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Costs of aquatic systems

• Construction, operation, maintenance and
  monitoring costs of aquatic systems are quite
  high but in comparison to same costs of
  conventional treatment facilities they are still
  acceptable.
• Total construction costs of water hyacinth
  systems range from 2,000,000 to 2,800,000 .
• Maintenance costs are about 550,000 per year.

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?
Golden plant or The most notorious aquatic weed
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Potentials in using water hyacinth

• In regions where it can be found in abundance
  water hyacinth can be used
• As food for people because its leaves are rich in
  proteins and vitamin A
• As fodder
• As green fertilizer or as mulch, compost and ash
  in regenerating degraded soils
• For removal of different pollutants from water

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Potentials in using water hyacinth

• Positive influence on fish populations in natural
  waters or on fish growing in artificial
  accumulations
• As substitute of straw in substrate for mushroom
  growing
• For energy production (briquettes or biogas)
  thereby combating tropical deforestation

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Potentials in using water hyacinth

• In settlements where water hyacinth has destroyed
  economy (fishing, river transport) people can
  reorient to manufacturing
• art paper,
• crafts,
• ropes,
• furniture
• and other things from water hyacinth
• which will positively influence to reduction of
  unemployment and increase of income.

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Constrains in using water hyacinth

• Water hyacinth is sensitive to low temperatures
• If aquatic systems with water hyacinth are built
  in colder climates it would be necessary to place
  them in the greenhouses.
• Construction of greenhouses can have significant
  impact on the extent of construction costs.
• Because of that it is presumed that it would be
  economically unjustified to build these
  alternative systems in regions where they can not
  operate in open the whole year.

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Constrains in using water hyacinth

• Exceptionally serious ecological problems

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Constrains in using water hyacinth

• Considerable economic damages in regions where it
  spreads uncontrolled, especially in communities
  whose main earnings come from fishing and tourism
• It creates impenetrable barriers and prevent
  navigation.
• It blocks drainage systems causing flooding or
  preventing withdrawal of floodwaters.
• It blocks access to recreational areas and
  reduces values of waterfront properties.
• It creates suitable environment for mosquitoes
  because it disrupts application of insecticides,
  drainage and water circulation.

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Using water hyacinth in Serbia?

• First constrain incapability of adjusting to
  climatic conditions in Serbia
• Plantation growing not very appealing and not
  economically justified
• Aquatic systems greenhouse, low winter
  temperature, high construction costs, not very
  profitable

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Using water hyacinth in Serbia?

• Are described advantages of water hyacinth in
  tropics also its advantages in regions where it
  could not be found in abundance which will
  certainly be the case in Serbia?
• Food and fodder heavy metals
• Fertilizer, mulch, compost and ashes heavy
  metals
• Substrate for mushroom growing plenty of straw

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Conclusion

• In essence the biggest NO for introduction of
  Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms. in Serbia is
  the fact that this is one of the most invasive
  weeds in the world which have caused a lots of
  damages in areas where it was introduced.

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Conclusion

• It is necessary to be very careful with
  introduction of Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.)
  Solms. and construction of aquatic systems with
  water hyacinth in Serbia.
• It would be best to carry out detailed studies
  about plant behaviour in our climate and real
  dangers that it can impose.

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• It is very important to point that there are over
  45 aquatic plant species that can be successfully
  used for wastewater purification in Serbia. Most
  of these plants are autochthonous, fully
  acclimatised and which is more important they are
  not aquatic weeds.

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