Understanding a Duckweed System in a Temperate Climate from Harvest to Disposal

Jon Farrell (presenter) Maureen Kesaano and Dr. R. Ryan Dupont

1st International Conference of Duckweed Research and Applications (ICDRA-2011)

Acknowledgements
Dr. R. Ryan Dupont Maureen Kesaano Brett Housley Naho Orita Brittany Wilkes Louis Landesman

START
Remove Contaminant by Harvesting Duckweed

Fuel

Crop/Feed Production

Compost

Digestion or Fermentation

Location

Wellsville, Utah

photo Wesley Davis accessed http://www.city-data.com/city/Wellsville-Utah.html

Phosphorus Cycle

Cache Valley Utah

Wellsville Municipal Sewage Lagoons 23 ha (56 acres)

Logan City Wastewater Lagoons 186 ha (460 acres)

Wellsville Municipal Sewage Lagoons

Qin 2070 m3/day (0.547 MGD) Qout 973 m3/day (0.252 MGD)
Water loss: 54% (evaporation/seepage)

Pin=3-5 mg/L Pout=0.95 mg/L BODin=142mg/L BODout=16mg/L TSSin=153mg/L TSSout=13mg/L

Duckweed Cover

5-6 months (May to mid-November)

Harvesting

Laboratory Experiments

Phosphorus Removal

Field Experiments

Field Experiments

Duckweed Growth: Production

Duckweed Growth: Production

Duckweed Growth: Production

BIOMASS YIELD: 74-308 t (82-340 dry tons)/yr (Annual 14 day Harvests)

1% P

Solids Handling: Methane production

105 L-CH4/kg(dry duckweed) Gas Composition = 65% methane

Solids Handling: Ethanol production

50 g-Ethanol(63mL)/kg(dry wt.) with <10% starch (as is) 100 g-Ethanol(127mL)/kg(dry wt.) with 19% starch (nutrient starvation)

photo courtesy Dr. Jong-Su Eun

Solids Handling: Animal Feed

Solids Handling: Compost to Crop

photos Mike McFarland

photos Mike McFarland

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SiphonTubes.JPG

Irrigate: 20-60 ha (50-150 ac) Land apply 3084 kg-P & 15,422 kg-N *** Crop Production: 30,000 bushels corn 390 t (430 tons) alfalfa 10,000 bushels wheat

Summary: Harvest to Disposal

Growth

Disposal 166,000 km/yr

Nutrient Uptake

Harvest 2.7x106 km/yr.

Thank you!