| The treatment of wastewater represents one of the most important world wide environmental problems of our generation. Traditional technologies of wastewater treatment, based on biological or physicochemical processes, provide satisfactory results, but producing large quantities of non or slightly treatable sludge. Treatments using aquatic plants such as duckweeds, allows the removal of phosphorus and nitrogen nutrients from wastewater while producing biomass, which could be potentially used as a supplementary food source in fish culture or animal breeding. Presently, the design and management of wastewater treatment systems using duckweeds was developed using empiric considerations.; The aim of this research is to develop a mathematical model representing the growth of Lemna minor, the most abundant specie of duckweed. This model considers specific parameters adapted to duckweeds such as the surface density, the intrinsic growth rate, the density growth limit of duckweed and the combined effects of temperature, photoperiod and the concentrations of phosphorus and nitrogen in wastewater. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
