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depleting
resources.
Scientists
are
continuously
looking
to
find
ecosystems
and
agro ecosystems
which
(10%)
and
contains
high
amounts
of
cellulose
(20%)
and
Due to its ferocious biomass growth rate (up to 17 tons per hectare per day,
doubling its biomass each week!), it colonizes water bodies in a matter of
days, laying immense and dense carpets of flowers over the water. One
flower produces up to 1000 new plants in under 50 days...
Originating from South America, the water hyacinth is now found in all major
tropical rivers and lakes of the world. There's a long history of attempts to
control the species, from mechanical destruction over manual harvesting, to,
more recently, biological control through a species of beetle which lays its
eggs in the plant on which those eggs feed. One colonial administrator
working in the Belgian Congo, tasked with coordinating a grand campaign to
destroy the hyacinth, even wrote a bizarre autobiographical novel about it
(Congo Ya Sika), narrating his encounters with crocodiles, cannibals and
Congolese curses while trying to battle the flower (a battle he lost, by the
way.)
In short: water hyacinth is a major problem in the tropics, and it produces a
lot of nasty biomass. Could it be used as a bioenergy and biofuels feedstock
perhaps?
Indeed,
it
could.
First of all, let's see how creative people are and how they are making the
best of the pest that seems to be indestructible.
People have experimented with using the water hyacinth as a substrate for
mushroom production. This seems to work for a wide variety of mushrooms
(e.g., oyster mushrooms), and the plant offers a high biological conversion
efficiency.
Others claim it makes for an excellent bio-fertilizer: water hyacinth biomass
accumulates a great amount of inorganic mineral nutrients necessary for
other plants. When its biomass is pelleted together with local rock
phosphates, it seems like it makes a good fertilizer. Some say its use will
reduce over-dependence on imported fertilizers, promote agricultural
productivity and profitability, and enhance food security for several regions
that
suffer
under
water
hyacinth
invasion.
More recently, smart small African entrepreneurs have started making
beautiful pieces of furniture from it. When compressed and dried, the
hyacinth's fibrous stalks generate soft but strong fibres, which can be used
for manufacturing paper, mats, and various categories of domestic furniture.
Check out these nice examples.