Hyacinth Cleans Waste Water

1. Today one can hardly name any production process, be it industrial or agricultural, that does not contribute to the contamination of the environment (окружающая среда). Say, one can find almost a half of Mendeleyev’s Periodic Table in the wastes of oil processing, chemical and metallurgical enterprises. As a result of scientific research the Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Siberian Branch of RAS (Novosibirsk) has pioneered a biological method of waste water cleaning of various origin with the help of a plant-water hyacinth.

2. Back in 1884 it was planted for this purpose in Florida (USA). Later it spread to South and North America, Asia and Africa. But it was not clear how that tropical plant would behave in such cold climatic zone. The problem of adaptation of this plant was in the focus of attention of the above-mentioned institute.

3. As a result there appeared a project based on the natural ability of the water hyacinth in the process of growth to extract various biogenic elements from the environment allowing to create low-cost, energy-saving water-purifying systems as this plant is developing at the expense (за счет) of any decaying organic substance, at the same time eliminating (устранять) unpleasant smells.

4. After transplanting seedlings (семена) of hyacinth into bioponds, contaminated reservoirs, water tanks, etc. the smell completely disappears and by the end of summer the water becomes absolutely transparent (прозрачный), without any unpleasant taste. It can be discharged without fear (страх) into rivers, used in everyday life and for industrial purposes. The hyacinth absorbs heavy metals, phenols, pesticides, oil products and even reduces the bacterial contamination of water. Besides, this plant grows unusually fast – its quantity increases 100 times for 3 – 4 summer months. The above said has been confirmed by two experiments, one of them carried out at the Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the SB RAS, and the other on the wastes of Tolmachevo airport.

5. In the first case, waste waters of the oil-processing plant were poured into vegetation containers and then plants were put there. The efficiency of purification was rather high: in relation to oil products – 97.9 %, to ammonium – 75.5 % and phenol – 98.3 %. In the course of the second experiment the hyacinth was planted into the sewer of the airport and by September it covered an area 50 m long and 3 m wide. And even such a short period of time was enough to reduce the content of nitrates, chlorides, ammonium, iron and other harmful products. Thus, Siberian scientists have managed not only to spread the hyacinth to the north but also prove the efficiency of its use in future as a multifunctional biological purifier.

From “Science in Siberia” by A. Maltsev

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