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Effectiveness of Mechanical Aeration in Floating Aquatic Macrophyte-Based Wastewater Treatment Systems

Reedy Creek Energy Services, Inc., P.O. Box 10 000, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830;
Univ. of Florida, Inst. of Food and Agric. Sci., Soil Science Dep., Gainesville, FL 32611.

^* Corresponding author.

ABSTRACT

Outdoor tanks containing the floating aquatic macrophyte water hyacinth [Eichhornia crassipes (Mart) Solms] were provided with diffuse aeration to evaluate its effect on wastewater treatment efficiency and plant growth. Light aeration (0.003 and 0.021 L m^–2 min^–1) had no effect on the treatment of primary domestic effluent in the batch-fed water hyacinth tanks. Heavy aeration (1.03 and 3.53 L m^–2 min^–1) raised wastewater dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations, but did not improve biochemical oxygen demand (BOD₅) removal efficiency or increase plant growth rates during 21-d experiments. Heavy aeration slightly increased wastewater N removal, but the effectiveness of aeration for nutrient removal was not consistent among experiments. In continuous-flow raceways fed primary domestic effluent, vigorous aeration (6.1 L m^–2 min^–1) improved effluent quality, with contaminant removal rates averaging 77% (BOD₅) and 76% (suspended solids [SS]) in nonaerated raceways, and 94% (BOD₅) and 89% (SS) in aerated raceways. Results of this study suggest that the high aeration requirement for enhanced contaminant removal in floating aquatic macrophyte systems (FAMS) is due not only to poor O₂ transfer efficiencies (1.6–4.0%), but also to the inefficient utilization of O₂ for BOD₅ removal. The primary benefit of moderate aeration (0.1–1.0 L m^–2 min^–1) in FAMS appears to be the elevation of wastewater DO concentrations (from 0.5 to 2.5 mg L^–1), which may be useful for controlling odors and mosquito proliferation.

Florida Agric. Exp. Stn. Journal Series no. 9666.

Received for publication August 31, 1988.