Integrated Solution for

Water Hyacinth in Water Bodies

Dr. Akepati S. Reddy

Dept. Biotechnology and Environmental Sciences
Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology
Patiala (PUNJAB) – 147 004
 Water hyacinth – a very dangerous
floating aquatic weed of water bodies
• Shows very high productivity
– under favourable conditions biomass doubles within 7 to 15 days
• Grows and spreads very rapidly in water bodies
• Being exploitative, affects aquatic ecosystems health and
biodiversity of the water bodies
• Water quality is deteriorated by addition of dead weed
biomass
– Dissolved oxygen depletion
– Aging or shallowing of water bodies
• Human efforts to control or manage the weed in water
bodies have been mostly failures
• Can be used for the following if the water hyacinth in
water bodies can be managed
– to control eutrophication problems
– to remove pollutants (heavy metals and pesticides)
 Water hyacinth – can be used in the
wastewater treatment processes
• Brings about wastewater treatment through
– Creating quiescent conditions in the water body
– Providing very large root surface area for microbial films to develop
– Efficiently transferring oxygen into water specially during day time
– Uptake and use of nutrients in the biomass synthesis
– Uptake and bioaccumulation of pollutants
• Pollutants that can be removed include
– Suspended solids
– Biodegradable organic matter (BOD)
– Nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus
– Heavy metals, pesticides, etc.
• Water hyacinth ponds can prove the best, specially for
rural India, for wastewater/sewage treatment provided the
weed biomass in the ponds can be managed
 Problems associated with management
of water hyacinth in water bodies
Management of the weed through harvesting removal of
biomass is not favoured because
• Utility value of the harvested biomass is very low
– over 95% of the biomass is actually water
• No feasible and environmentally sound technique is
available for disposing the harvested biomass
– Composting and vermin-composting of the harvested biomass
are not proving viable
• Irritants, accumulated pollutants and low resource value
are not allowing beneficial use of the harvested biomass
Biological weed control through using Australian beetle etc.
have not been very successful, and may not be desirable
Finding beneficial use to the harvested weed biomass
holds the key for
– Successful management of the weed in water bodies
– Effective and efficient use in the wastewater treatment process
 Thapar Institute proposes the following
for tackling the water hyacinth problem
• Harvest the weed biomass and dewater it to the 60-65%
moisture level on-site
• Use the dewatered biomass in the preparation of
substrate for mushroom culturing through adding
requisite supplements, fermenting and pasteurizing
• Use the prepared substrate in mushroom culturing
• Use the spent substrate of mushroom culturing as
substrate for vermin-composting
• In the process transform the harvested weed biomass
into economically valuable products
– mushrooms
– vermin-compost
– worms
 What is needed to be known for
implementing the proposed solution
• Development of machinery and equipment for harvesting
of the water hyacinth weed and for on-site dewatering of
the weed biomass
• Understanding the environmental and ecological
consequences of harvesting and on-site dewatering of the
weed
• Identifying the supplements to be added to the dewatered
weed biomass in the preparation of substrate for
mushroom culturing
• Working out protocols for
– Substrate preparation for mushroom culturing
– Mushroom culturing on the prepared substrate
– Vermin-composting of the spent substrate of mushroom culturing
 Water hyacinth fed by the rivers

Water for irrigation

Water from the The water body/
Satluj & Beas rivers wetland system Water to down stream
of the river
Harvested & dewatered
weed biomass

Substrate Substrate
Energy for pasteurization
supplements preparation

Mushroom Harvested mushroom

culturing

Spent substrate

Vermin-
Screened out worms
composting

Compost from vermin-composting

Integration of the solution into the water
body/wetland system management
• Fishermen will be using their fishing boats for the
harvesting, dewatering and supplying of the water
hyacinth biomass to the mushroom culturing and vermin-
composting units on payment basis
• Fishing boats will have enough space for storing the
dewatered weed biomass, and will be fitted with
manually operated biomass dewatering machine
• Sufficient number of small scale and cottage level
mushroom culturing and vermin-composting units will be
in operation within the premises of the wetland system/
water body
– Purchase weed biomass from the fishermen
– Sell the harvested mushroom, the worms and the vermin-
compost
 Integration of the solution with the
wetland system/water body management
• Local farmers will be using the compost on their
farmlands
• Harvested worms will be used in game fishing in the
wetland system/ water body
For ensuring implementation and integration of the solution
the following may be needed
– Creation and operation of one or more demonstration/
experimental boats for harvesting, dewatering and transportation
of the water hyacinth weed biomass
– Creation and operation of a demonstration/experimental unit for
mushroom culturing and vermin-composting within the premises
of the wetland system/water body
– Making the weed biomass harvesting, dewatering and sale a
profitable proposition for the fisherman
– Discouraging fishing by fishermen and encouraging gaming
fishing
Raw sewage Primary clarified Water hyacinth
sewage Treated effluent
or wastewater Clarifier pond

Harvested & dewatered

Settled sludge weed biomass

Sludge Biogas for Substrate Substrate

stabilizer pasteurization preparation supplements

Mushroom Harvested mushroom

culturing

Spent substrate

Vermin-
Screened out worms
composting
Stabilized sludge

Compost from vermin-composting

Primary clarifier and sludge stabilizer can be replaced by

an anaerobic pond or by a Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor (UASB)
Integration of the solution for weeds into
the sewage treatment plants
• Creating experimental/demonstration water hyacinth
ponds for sewage treatment
• Operate and show the potential of water hyacinth pond in
the treatment of sewage (suspended solids,
biodegradable organic matter, nutrients and pathogens)
• Demonstrate harvesting and dewatering of the water
hyacinth biomass
• Have an electrically driven mechanical dewatering
machine
• Creating an experimental/demonstration mushroom
culturing and vermin-composting unit
• Assessment of the harvested mushroom quality from the
following angles
– accumulation of heavy metals and pesticides
– pathogen persistence in the harvested product