Premium
Phosphorus Removal from Static Sewage Effluent Using Duckweed
Author(s) -
Sutton David L.,
Ornes W. Harold
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq1975.00472425000400030018x
Subject(s) - effluent , sewage , lemna minor , phosphorus , dry weight , lemna , chemistry , sewage treatment , population , zoology , wastewater , agronomy , environmental science , aquatic plant , botany , environmental engineering , biology , ecology , macrophyte , organic chemistry , demography , sociology
Dry weights of a mixed population of duckweed ( Lemna gibba L. and Lemna minor L.) grown for 2 weeks in 12 liters of 6, 12, and 25% concentrations of secondary treated sewage effluent were 16, 23, and 31% higher, respectively, than plants grown in pond water. Concentrations of sewage effluent > 25% did not increase dry weight production. A maximum yield of 28 g dry weight/m 2 was estimated for 7 days beginning with the second week of an 8‐week period by removing weekly one‐half of the duckweed from containers filled with 760 liters of 100% sewage effluent held under static conditions. Yield dropped to 4.6 g/m 2 during the last 7 days of the 8‐week growing period. A 97% decrease in orthophosphate phosphorus (P) in the sewage effluent occurred during this time. Phosphorus content of duckweed was directly related to the P content in the sewage effluent up to a concentration of 2.1 µ g/ml. Crude protein content of duckweed tissue removed from solutions containing 50 and 100% sewage effluent was almost three times that of plants grown in the pond water. Duckweed harvested 1 week after being planted in the containers filled with 100% sewage effluent under static conditions contained almost four times the crude protein as compared to plants harvested at the end of the 8‐week growing period.