Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Removal Of Phosphorus From Static Sewage Effluent By Waterhyacinth, W Harold Ornes

W. Harold Ornes

Waterhyacinth [Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms] was grown in static sewage effluent during May to July 1974 in outdoor concrete containers with a capacity of 760 liters and a surface area of 1.66 m². The plants were removed weekly from one-half of the surface area of the containers during 5-wk growth periods. Tissue phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N), plant productivity, and some parameters of water quality were measured. A maximum uptake of 5,500 µg of P/g dry weight of plant material occurred when the level of orthophosphate phosphorus (available P) in the effluent was 1.1 µg/ml. Phosphorus in the effluent was …