Elsevier

Bioresource Technology

Volume 223, January 2017, Pages 287-295
Bioresource Technology

Review
Analysis of utilization technologies for Eichhornia crassipes biomass harvested after restoration of wastewater

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2016.10.047Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Various utilization technologies of Eichhornia crassipes (EC) biomass are analyzed.

  • Comprehensive utilization of EC biomass is proposed based on composition properties.

  • High K content in shoots of EC indicates the potential of production of K products.

  • Low biomass crystallinity leads to EC’ advantages in material and energy utilization.

Abstract

Eichhornia crassipes (EC, water hyacinth) has gained attention due to its alarming reproductive capacity, which subsequently leads to serious ecological damage of water in many eutrophic lakes in the world. The traditional mechanical removal methods have disadvantages. They squander this valuable lignocellulosic resource. Meanwhile, there is a bottleneck for the subsequently reasonable and efficient utilization of EC biomass on a large scale after phytoremediation of polluted water using EC. As a result, the exploration of effective EC utilization technologies has become a popular research field. After years of exploration and amelioration, there have been significant breakthroughs in this research area, including the synthesis of excellent EC cellulose-derived materials, innovative bioenergy production, etc. This review organizes the research of the utilization of the EC biomass among several important fields and then analyses the advantages and disadvantages for each pathway. Finally, comprehensive EC utilization technologies are proposed as a reference.

Introduction

EC, which is a free-floating perennial herb with a shoot that is partially filled with air, lives in fresh water ecosystems. It is widely thought that EC is native to the Amazonas Basin (Barrett, 1980). EC produces beautiful blooms and foliage, so it has been spread by tourists, and plant collectors alike in more than 80 countries in the world over the last 100 years (Jafari, 2010). Its reproduction capacity is particularly strong, and it uses both asexual reproduction via stolons and sexual reproduction via seed. EC grows well upon exposure to a wide range of temperatures and nutrients. Under optimal conditions, the biomass yield can double in six days (Dhir, 2013). EC has the highest impact index of 4 and a spread index of 3, which represent its enormous environmental impact and strong spreading capacity, respectively (Bai et al., 2013). Thus, EC is undoubtedly in the list of one of the world’s top ten malignant weeds. EC is a well-known plant species in the world that is relevant to many scientific and environmental engineering disciplines because of its strong tolerance to, and efficient absorption of, heavy metals and nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

As an alien species without natural enemies in most of EC invading countries, it multiplied quickly via asexual reproduction and has spread widely. It has caused serious hazards to the local aquatic ecosystems, including channel blocking, water quality deterioration, the extinction of aquatic organisms, biodiversity reduction, and other issues. Many efforts have been made to address these challenges, but such efforts have had little effect (Gunnarsson and Petersen, 2007). To make full use of EC’s superior decontamination ability while reducing its hazards to aquatic ecosystems, it is urgent that researchers find efficient, sustainable, and feasible ways to remove the bottlenecks in the utilization of EC biomass.

The purpose of this paper is to review the application of EC in the restoration of wastewater and to offer an in-depth analysis and discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of different utilization technologies (e.g., nutrient supplier for plant and animal, material utilization, energy utilization, etc.) of EC biomass. Moreover, a strategy for the comprehensive utilization of EC biomass is also proposed.

Section snippets

Application of EC in the restoration of polluted water

Currently, the resilience of both human society and the natural environment are being tested on a global level by population and economic growth pressures, which have in turn led to increasing greenhouse gas emissions, declining biodiversity, and other threats to vital natural resources, such as fresh water, soil, forests, and wetlands (Fiksel et al., 2009). Meanwhile, as people have paid much more attention to the protection of the environment, the bioremediation of polluted water has become a

EC utilization technologies

The utilization of EC biomass can avoid the generation of secondary pollution that is caused by biomass decay after ecological restoration. Further, this utilization can generate certain economic benefits. EC biomass utilization methods include use as a substrate for plant growth or as animal feed, recovery of useful elements, such as potassium, and use as a biomass feedstock for the production of bioenergy. The features of each utilization technology are detailed below.

Conclusion

EC is effective for nutritious element removal due to its fulminant breeding. Its high potassium content in the shoot portion of the plant can be used for potassium extraction, and its naturally low crystalline cellulose content makes it an excellent feedstock for derived material and relatively highly efficient for bioenergy transformation. These characteristics are advantages of EC. Nevertheless, its high water content leads to low energy density in bioenergy products or a high cost for

Acknowledgements

Funding: This work was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities [grant numbers 2014PY061, 2015BQ013, 2016PY049]; the Major Science and Technology Program for Water Pollution Control and Treatment [grant number 2012ZX07104-001]; the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 20806032]; the Scientific Research Foundation for Returned Overseas Chinese Scholars, the State Education Ministry; the Wuhan Youth Science and Technology Chenguang Program

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