Water hyacinth: a potential fuel source
Posted by: Caitlin Finn in SW11, tags: Lake Victoria, Water hyacinthDespite their damage to the environment, invasive species often grow unchecked, smothering the natural community with unbridled proliferation. Such is the case for the water hyacinth (Eichhorinia crassipes), an aquatic plant that has taken over waterways in North America, Asia, and Africa. The plant has plagued Lake Victoria, one of the hardest hit water bodies, since its introduction in the 1980s. Water hyacinth is a particularly successful invader because it can withstand great variations in salinity and temperature, allowing it to inhabit a variety of locations. Furthermore, it can reproduce asexually at an astounding rate. Though it quickly becomes invasive, the negative effects of the water hyacinth can be long lasting and irreparable.
Water hyacinth spreads across the surface of a water body, blocking light to species below. This creates a cascade of effects because decreased photosynthesis causes dissolved oxygen levels to decrease, harming other members of the ecosystem. Furthermore, the plant’s large biomass hinders boating, a problem that has been particularly devastating to the community of fishermen surrounding Lake Victoria. Indeed, their catch was reduced by as much as 45% at the peak of the invasion.
Past methods to control the spread of the water hyacinth have yielded only temporary reductions in the plant population. Both biocontrol and herbicides have provided temporary relief from the water hyacinth, but these control methods are expensive, and they come with other environmental effects. As a result, they do not always garner support in the community, which makes their implementation less effective. Given the water hyacinth’s damage to both the environment and the surrounding community, how can we incentivize companies to implement water hyacinth control methods?
Sammy Brunell has been researching the most effective methods to eradicate the water hyacinth while appealing to the greater financial interests of the regions surrounding Lake Victoria. A control method that contains the water hyacinth with an additional financial incentive for the community could create lasting environmental and financial benefits for the region. Brunell proposes a containment method that entails harvesting the plant then using its biomass to produce ethanol, which can then be burned for energy.
The process requires the plant to be fermented using various yeasts. Brunell’s experiment will test the effectiveness of several strains of genetically modified yeasts and enzymes in efficiently fermenting water hyacinth. He sees this genetic modification to be the key to making the process a viable solution. Though past experiments have only used naturally occurring yeasts and enzymes, genetically modified designs could improve the process substantially. Brunell also plans to test the application of warm and cold temperatures to examine their effects on the project’s efficiency. He believes his control method will “make [the] public aware that hyacinth can serve a good purpose if utilized the right way.”
Brunell expects this technology to have wide-reaching effects throughout the community surrounding Lake Victoria. Not only will fishermen be able to use the lake, but the surrounding community will have an additional source of income. Brunell says, “My results will hopefully revamp the infrastructure of African nations around Lake Victoria; they can use hyacinth to produce ethanol and fuels to power houses, cities, cars, etc., while also hopefully controlling the advancement of water hyacinth through human consumption.” In the future, he foresees on-shore generators to easily turn the water hyacinth into a necessary fuel source. Brunell’s control methods could be a permanent and self-sustaining solution for the water hyacinth problem on Lake Victoria.
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April 10th, 2011 at 9:18 am
Water hyacinth can be compressed into biomass briquettes, burned in the new low-pollution stoves that produce charcoal as a byproduct, and the charcoal can be used as biochar or more fuel. It can be digested into methane fuel gas. It can be composted and used as soil conditioner. New uses for its fiber are announced frequently on the internet. It is good feed for some kinds of livestock. We must exploit it or it will conquer us.
April 11th, 2011 at 2:42 pm
If this is the case (Brunell’s experiment and Mr. Klaber’s comments), I am very interested to why we haven’t begun using water hyacinth for good yet? Is it because the finances to begin the process of ethanol, or soil conditioner, or feed, is very expensive? I understand that we need more research in the field of ethanol, however if we start using hyacinth for soil conditioner and feed now, by the time the ethanol experiments are perfected, we could have already set ethanol up for greater success, giving it a head start. Plus, retrieving the hyacinth and making the conditioner or feed would provide jobs for the African community and in return, hopefully, it would begin to stimulate the economy. The expenses or the effort in the beginning of the project is usually well worth the outcome in the end (especially if it is putting a stop to a threatening aquatic invasive species)!
April 11th, 2011 at 4:43 pm
Implementing these ways to take advantage of water hyacinth control methods as soon as possible does seem like logical thing to do. However, I would imagine facilities that convert large amounts of hyacinth to ethanol are expensive. If experimentation shows these methods are less efficient than they should be, the money spent to get the project going would be wasted. It is also difficult to secure funds for a procedure whose effectiveness is not yet proven. While ideally they would start implementing the technology as soon as possible, there is often a necessary lag between conception and implementation. People can, however, take advantage of this lag and take the time to garner public support for the technology (with publications like this press release!).
April 12th, 2011 at 10:35 pm
Caitlin did a great job at summarizing the goals and objectives of my forthcoming research project. The main constraints thus far, in regards to developing an effective bio-fuel system, have been the rising costs of fuel generators, the transportation costs of getting hyacinth out of the lake and to the generator plant, as well as the weak infrastructure of the African people to implement such a widespread effort. My Klaber brings up some good points that i addressed in my research experiments. The hyacinth has many other potential uses, including charcoal, weaved basket products (from high fiber), as well as a fertilizer for soil nearby. The one problem with these approaches is that the hyacinth must be dried out to utilize the plant, which is difficult to do in addition to removing them from Lake Victoria. The biofuel method allows the hyacinth to remain in its wet environment, thus lending to an easier task.
April 21st, 2011 at 12:18 pm
It does not seem that there are good harvesting methods for the plant. Developing a good machine for harvesting would be costly. Couldn’t figuring out a way to harvest and convert the plant into ethanol and building factories to do so be more costly than regulating the waste water from factories around the lake? It seems the main problem in the first place is the large amount of eutrophication in the lake. Controlling the eutrophication of the lake would produce healthier fish and better fishing for the local fisherman and a better ecosystem overall. I believe treating the initial problem will be the best control for this plant, rather than trying to harvest the results. It is possible that harvesting the plant could rid it from the lake and then there would be no more material to continue producing ethanol. Then the business that has been created would be obsolete. Harvesting the plant would not likely help clean the eutrophication from the lake and prevent the death of many fish.
April 22nd, 2011 at 3:05 pm
Tricia, there is a maternity facility in Niamey,Niger that successfully harvests the plant to meet its fuel demands. The facility, which is sponsored by Unicef, was estimated to cost around 11 million euros. so yes, i agree it is a costly venture. However, with advancements in the availability of substrates and genetically modified yeasts, the hyacinth would be able to produce higher levels biogas per unit. In regards to the eutrophication, our studies seem to show that the hyacinth does reduce eutrophication in lakes, especially if their numbers can be limited and thus allow room for fish to inhabit there. In regards to ridding it from the lake, i dont think our efforts could completely rid the hyacinth, because it grows so quickly, i would hope that the amount of hyacinth could be limited to a smaller number while continuously making profit on its biogas output.