Enzymatic recovery of water from water hyacinth

Abstract

This study sought to assess the viability of utilizing water recovered from a declared aquatic weed, Eichhornia crassipes, commonly known as the water hyacinth, for domestic, industrial and agricultural purposes. Celluclast, Pectinex Ultra SP-L and Tween 80 were utilized to chemically extract water from pulp retrieved from water hyacinth. The largest yield (88±3 wt%) was obtained in combining a mixture of the two enzymes (Celluclast and Pectinex Ultra SP-L) with an additional 140 ml of water at a pH of 4 and temperature of 37.5ºC. The extracted water was found to be suitable for agricultural and industrial purposes. Activated carbon and sediment filters had a reducing effect on most of the elements analysed, but not on the levels of the total dissolved solids (TDS) present in the water. It is recommended that further water purification processes will have to be implemented before such water is feasible for domestic purposes