AguaCulture would turn invasive plants into soil amendment

Posted 10/20/20

A presentation on a process to efficiently harvest invasive aquatic plants, sludge and algae is on the agenda for the Oct. 22 meeting.

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AguaCulture would turn invasive plants into soil amendment

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OKEECHOBEE — A presentation on a process to efficiently harvest invasive aquatic plants, sludge and algae into a liquid product that can add nutrients back into the soil is on the agenda for the Oct. 22 meeting of the Okeechobee County commissioners.

Mikhael Elfenbein and Nick Szabo, of AguaCulture Technology Solutions, will provide an overview about the process that will be used on Lake Okeechobee to remove invasive plants and unconsolidated sludge, reducing the excess nutrient load that contributes to harmful algal blooms.

According to the materials provided by AguaCulture, in the late 1970s, NASA discovered water hyacinths’ natural ability to clean water. But mechanical harvesting of water hyacinths was cumbersome and inefficient, and no one at the time had a solution for handling and disposing of the plant material. Often, the plants were stacked up on the bank, resulting in point source pollution as the vegetation decayed.

Current aquatic plant management in Florida relies heavily on chemical herbicides, which cause plants to die and fall to the bottom of the lake.

The AguaCulture process harvests unconsolidated sludge/muck, algae and aquatic plants, then immediately processes the material into liquid form, which can be pumped to shore via the company’s patented hose. The harvested, liquefied product is then applied as a soil amendment for nutrient uptake via growing native grass. The grass can be eventually be harvested as hay, removing the nutrient load from the area.

The applicator will apply the product to the land after the grass has been harvested, and the process starts again.

Conventional mechanical harvesters harvest the plant material and then haul them to shore or place them on a barge, sometimes spending more time hauling material to shore than harvesting. The AguaCulture harvesting system will be mounted to an airboat, resulting in a versatile harvester that can go in areas traditional harvesters cannot go. The liquefied plant material is pumped through a hose to a tank on shore. The hose design eliminates the need for the harvester to travel back and forth to shore.

The Thursday, Oct. 22, Okeechobee County Commission meeting will be in the Historic Okeechobee County Courthouse, 304 N,W. Second Street in Okeechobee. The meeting can also be viewed online at www.co.okeechobee.fl.us/.

algae, bocc, okeechobee, commission

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