US research shows duckweed can be used to clean hog farms

Researchers at North Carolina State University, US, have found that duckweed can be used to clean up animal waste at industrial hog farms and potentially be part of the answer for the global energy crisis.

The duckweed system consists of shallow ponds that can be built on land unsuitable for conventional crops, and generates water clean enough for re-use. The technology can use any nutrient-rich wastewater, from livestock production to municipal wastewater.

Large-scale hog farms manage their animal waste by storing it in large lagoons for biological treatment.

According to the researchers duckweed uses the nutrients in the wastewater for growth, thus capturing these nutrients and preventing their release into the environment.

The researchers are currently establishing a project to further investigate the best way to establish a large-scale system for growing duckweed on animal wastewater, and then harvesting and drying the duckweed.