This might be an interesting update on what to do with the water hyacinth and a good way of turning a problem into a solution - a startup called HiGi Energy is making clean energy out of the water hyacinth.
"HiGi’s solution is to convert water hyacinth into solid biofuel briquettes that can be used for household and commercial cooking, industrial heating, and potentially power generation. The production of briquettes is sustainable and easy to make, as there is abundant supply of the fast-growing plant"
The problem of getting rid off and treating water hyacinth can be carried out in a systematic manner as below:
Stop the sewage flowing into the river. In the portion upstream of the water hyacinth.
Introduce Chinese or any other carp fish into affected portion, after consulting the fisheries department. This fish likes to eat the water hyacinth and can also purify the water to some extent. This can be also sold in the market after getting it tested for any damaging effect.
Some of the water hyacinth can be taken out and treated for producing bio-gas and manure. Other green garbage and cow dung could also be mixed with it. Even sewage could be treated along with it.
This would have to be carried out over a long period to make it economical.
This method was tried in Kota in the Chambal River and has also been tried by the Chinese many years back.
i have already discussed the micro cost solution to the removal of water hyacinth in the tapi river[in india] with the authorities & am sending them the details
We suggest the solution used in parts of Lake Victoria. Mechanical harvesting using floating reapers. The weeds collected this way are taken to the shore to be use in anaerobic digestion systems which yield electricity and fertilizer. In Lake Victoria the weeds include Nile Lettuce which prevented us from using them as livestock feed. Neal@newrangepower.com
Dose this water freeze over at all during the winter. I was part of a solution in the past where they put a 6 mill plastic film on the frozen ice with and put Copper Sulfate on the film and when the ice melted the plastic film settled to the bottom and the problem was solved in that section of the lake. This can be done in sections if it is a large lake.
hi- i have already earlier that i can solve the problem of water hycinth any where in india by paying my fee of RS 5,000/- plus expenses-call me on 09766594544
Water hyacinth and other water pests ara a reality. They also offer opportunities like biorefinery and production of animalfeed. In Holland we experiment with it see www.grassa.nl also testing in Ghana with hyacinth. See this video with english subtitles https://youtu.be/7s6AZ26kPRE
There are lots of factors for the extensive growth of water hyacinth. Improving the water flow or discharge by introducing geomorphology techniques would help to increase the flow and ideal temperature. Depending on the river morphology maybe introduce boulders , logs and other methods to increase the discharge. I will look into the satellite image of the river and will be able to give some concrete suggestion
If you seek a permanent solution for eradicating water hyacinth and ready to invest 6 months... then here's a herbal solution. Its ancient Indian science.
Eradication Of EICHORNIA (Water Hyacinth)
Most water bodies in India have been taken over by a plant species popularly called Water Hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes). When not controlled, water hyacinth covers lakes and ponds entirely, with its environmental invasiveness. This chokes waterways, dramatically impacts water flow, blocks sunlight from reaching other aquatic plants, and starves the water of oxygen, often killing the fish, frogs, turtles and other aquatic animals. The plants also create a prime habitat for mosquitoes. This species has rapidly spread throughout inland and coastal freshwater bays, lakes, and marshes and are a major hindrance to navigation as well..
PHYTOCIDE-90 is a neem oil-based organic formulation that acts as a weedicide and herbicide. The active ingredient is Azadirachtin. It is food grade, non-toxic and safe for humans, animals and regular plants while being tough on weeds and harmful herbs. It kills the plants not through toxicity but by absorbing chlorophyll in the leaves and stems. Without chlorophyll, the plants cannot manufacture their own food and as a result, the tend to wither and die. This makes PHYTOCIDE extremely safe for human beings and aquatic creatures like fishes, frogs, tadpoles, etc. The safety of this reagent places it in a class above conventional inorganic weedicides, which are normally corrosive and extremely harmful to humans and animal life.
The nutrients in sewage are responsible for Water Hyacinth growth. Water Hyacinth is a problem since it has no or low economic value. If you can grow some other biomass that does not cover / choke the river and has more economic value, your problem is solved.
The nutrients in the river can be used to grow Diatoms and fish would feed on the diatoms and the fish can be sold in the traditional manner.
We have a solution to grow Diatoms in large rivers and large lakes. Our product Nualgi is invented specifically to grow Diatom Algae in large waterways.
Diatoms consume the nutrients and thus starve out the water hyacinth.
"just because you can remove it, doesn't mean you have to"
The cause of Water Hyacinth itself is the Solution of the Problem.
If you can't intercept the untreated Sewage inlets lines, then let "Nature" do the required work.
Studies already show about 75% and 85% of COD & BOD Reduction, respectively, in the shallow Water Hyacinth Ponds. Considering the flow and depth of the Tapi river, the same results shall be observed in upstream and downstream of the Area containing Water Hyacinth.
The presence of Water Hyacinth has negligible effect comparative to the disposal of untreated sewage, especially in the city like Surat, near to the coastal region.
What a great list of options for removal of the hyacinths from the group, but another issue is to prevent future blooms once the problem had been addressed (which ever method is chosen), then the issue is future prevention. Recently, a lot of Green Infrastructure/Low Impact Design (GI/LID) papers have been published for developing countries that focus on nutrient removal associated with use of Bioswales along rivers to prevent infiltration of nutrients and in these bioswales plants are selected that have high nutrient uptake. Here in the US some States are requiring agriculture land use abutters to streams and rivers to start using setbacks that have bioswales to capture stormwater runoffs inhibiting nutrient flow into the receiving body of water. This is especially true along those rivers that are using river water by downstream communities for drinking water.
I guess a mechanical harvester could ply up and down the river and remove tons of hyacinth. Hey, I bet you have very high water quality with this much plant cover. Yes? Essentially, they are like floating islands, and the root zone is just great at clean up properties.
Hello Mehulbhai, is it possible to share the stretch of Tapi having this problem? The period you had mentioned is the low flow zone and seems the river is receiving lot of nutrients and I am sure the nutrients are coming from the point sources and if desired it would not be difficult to get rid of the same. You can reach out to me on rsingh.nih@gmail.com
In the USA, NASA ran a program which used water hyacinth for conversion to biofuel. The resultant byproduct is methane which can be used to subsidize natural gas supplies; or; processed and manufactured as a primary energy source. The methodology was simple manual harvesting; shredding; then biological digestion; from which collection and filtering of the raw gas yielded pure methane (natural gas). The only downside in the NASA project was insufficient supply of water hyacinth. It would seem that you have an abundant raw alternative energy source at hand which could provide a twofold benefit . I concur with our other professionals that nutrient prevention and removal and non-chemical eradication are sound advisement. Also, this could provide another job market for your country.
There may be a simple solution. We are exploring two mechanisms that may be useful. Both involve elimination of the symbiotic bacteria layers on the plant roots that convert nitrate to nitrite to ammonium that feed the plant its nitrogen source. One uses ultrasound to produce a false sensation of water turbulence that causes the bacteria to avoid colonization on the root. Another technique is to use a bacillus bacteria strain that eats the polysaccharide that holds the root colony together. For more information, contact george@algaecontrol.us