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Ecological Management of Thermal Discharges¹

ABSTRACT

Heat from thermal discharges may improve sewage, animal and vegetable waste treatment processes. With sufficient heat, human, animal, and vegetable wastes may be subject to methane fermentation and algal growth the year around. Algae produced on human and animal waste may be used for livestock feed. The algae produced on vegetable wastes may be processed for human food. Following algae production, the waste water is hygienic and suitable for parks. The rate of anaerobic fermentation in ponds increases 30-fold between 15C and 35C. The most promising algae, Scenedesmus quadricauda, grows best at 20C. Waste decomposition and protein production rates exceed 100 times those normally found in nature. Algae ponds gain and lose heat at rates exceeding those found in ponds free of algae. Calcium and magnesium removal in algal ponds reaches 50% of influent. Intensive research on such integrated systems is recommended.

Key Words: waste heat utilization • waste treatment • ponding systems

¹ Paper presented August 19, 1971 in New York City at the symposium on "Beneficial Uses for Thermal Discharges" held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the American Society of Agronomy.

² Professor, Department of Sanitary Engineering & Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Calif. 94720.

Received for publication February 14, 1972.