REHABILITATION OF LAKES AND PONDS
CONTEXT
Around the world, lakes, ponds, estuaries, streams and rivers are experiencing problems. Excessive algae, anoxic water, and fish and wildlife kills are becoming more prevalent. These complications affect the ecosystem and cause unpleasant odors that reduce the quality of life of the residents.
These problems are caused by decreased dissolved oxygen (DO) levels throughout the water column. In general, the DO decreases due to the increase in biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), an element necessary to break down dead algae and remedy the impact of fertilizers and industrial and human waste runoff.
CURRENTLY USED TECHNOLOGIES
Chemical solutions to stop algae blooms work quickly, but have negative effects on the ecosystem of the water body and the surrounding landscape when the water is used for irrigation.
The chemicals kill algae and aquatic plants effectively, but cause other problems in the natural biome of the water body. Dead algae and plants sink to the bottom where they decompose, absorbing oxygen from the water and creating unpleasant odors.
Problems triggered by chemical algae solutions are currently being remedied with bio-augmentation and laminar flow diffusers. These systems supply oxygen at 21 percent atmospheric concentrations to the water and help stabilize DO throughout the water column as air bubbles move to the surface. Laminar flow aeration circulates water to accelerate decomposition and removal of organic material. With an increase in DO, aerobic bacteria can populate the soft bottom and increase mud processing.
In a eutrophic lake, there is no oxygen at the bottom. The mud does not decompose but the opposite happens. It accumulates and goes deeper. With aeration systems, oxygen is sent to the bottom for aerobic bacteria to thrive. They break down already decaying material fifty times faster than anaerobic bacteria, which do not depend on oxygen. So the thickness of the sludge decreases rapidly.
Expanding the use of spray heads and adding paddlewheels and fountains to increase water circulation are seen as definitive solutions to completely solving problems in lakes and ponds. However, diffusers are usually made of a microporous crystalline material with a pore size between one and ten microns. The bubbles created by this equipment rise to the surface and gasify in the atmosphere. Instead, the nanobubbles do not rise and remain in solution to maintain optimal DO levels.
NAECOER offers a superior, more cost-effective alternative that can return these important resources to your biomes naturally.
OXYGENATION TECHNOLOGY NAECOER
NAECOER has developed a technology that can increase DO levels faster and to higher concentrations than microbubble aeration from diffusers. Unlike the other possible alternatives, NAECOER injects 95 percent pure oxygen. Oxygen is passively dispersed through the water column in the form of microbubbles that quickly rise to the surface and gasify. It also mixes with the water stream, returning as nanobubbles. Independent laboratory tests have shown that the technology of NAECOER It has a gas transfer efficiency of more than 90 percent. The flow of water coming out of the mixing valve NAECOER it has an oxygen content of ~27 ppm. This can raise the DO level of large areas to 8 ppm or more, depending on the volume of water to be treated, for several days.
Nanobubbles possess amazing properties. Thanks to Brownian motions, these bubbles rise very slowly through the water column. Thus, the opportunities for oxygen to positively impact the DO level are increased. Due to their prolonged suspension in water, the nanobubbles migrate away from the site of introduction. Consequently, the DO in the water body is increased to significant distances from where the hydrogen peroxide originally dispersed.
While the diffusers supply enough oxygen to consume the decaying matter at the bottom of the reflecting pools, the technology NAECOER it introduces much higher levels of oxygen that accelerate the multiplication of bacteria, remedying the problem in less time.
Before
After
Thanks to the technology of NAECOER, the DO may increase enough to force the algae to die. Since oxygen becomes toxic in high concentrations and thus displaces nitrogen and carbon dioxide that algae need for photosynthesis. Then chemical remediation will be unnecessary.
If the lake is used for irrigation of the surrounding landscape, plant life will also benefit. Removing harmful chemicals will reduce plant stress, while irrigation with water that has high DO content will improve the growth and health of the species.
