Abstract
The removal efficiency of nutrient salts from a reservoir by water hyacinth cultivation was studied based on kinetic models of growth and phosphate uptake. Specific uptake rate of phosphate as a function of the phosphorus content in water hyacinth could be expressed by kinetic model originated from Michaelis-Menten equation.
Simulation results from the proposed kinetic model agreed approximately with the experimental data of growth and phosphate concentration in the effluent from a test culture.
Computer simulation study based on the models suggested that an evident decrease of phosphorus concentration in the reservoir might be possible under a natural environment and that almost all the area of the reservoir would be covered with water hyacinth. The removal efficiency of phosphorus and nitrogen in the case of periodical harvest of water hyacinth was less compared with that of without harvesting the crop. However, since the phosphorus concentration in the reservoir could decrease up to 80-90% of the initial value, it was concluded that a high efficiency of phosphorus removal might be achieved by means of periodical harvest of the water hyacinth biomass.
