Resumen
[0001] The present invention relates to a system for the purification of residual waters and contaminants effluents based on the use of aquatic plants of the type of emergent macrophytes which have been conditioned in order to keep floating at the surface of channels, ducts, lagoons or ponds where contaminated water flows. The plants form a mantle floating on the water surface, while keeping immersed the root system, and the rhizones and the basis of the stems. The immersed portion has a large specific surface to which an abondant microbial flora is fixed and of which the growth is enhanced by the oxygen pumped towards that area by the leaves. The assembly formed by the roots and the micro-organisms acts as a filter which eliminates the organic dissolved material in addition to mineral compounds (phosphor and nitrogen, amongst others) which are absorbed mainly by the plants. Periodically, the floating biomass can be easily removed and used for energetic or industrial purposes.
Reivindicaciones
1. Process for the treatment of wastewater and polluting effluents characterized by the use of emergent macrophyte aquatic plants forming a floating bed or cover on the surface of a channel, pond or lagoon. 2. Treatment process as per Claim 1, characterized as a result of employing emergent macrophyte species such as: rushes (Juncus subulatus Forskal, Juncus maritimus Lam., Juncus acutus L., Juncus litoralis C.A. Meyer, Juncus effusus L., Juncus conglomeratus L., Scirpus holoschoenus L., Scirpus maritimus L., Scirpus litoralis Schrader, Scirpus triqueter L., Cyperus serotinus Rotth., Cyperus longus L., Schoenus nigricans L.), bulrushes or reed maces (Typha angustifolia L., Typha latifolia L., Typha domingensis (Pers) Steudel, Typha minima Funck in Hoppe), reeds (Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steudel) and Sparganiaceae (Sparganium erectum L., Sparganium emersum Rehmann, Sparganium angustifolium Michx and Sparganium minimum Wallr). 3. Treatment process as per Claims 1 and 2, characterized because the floating cover is formed from young plants in the growth stage or from rhizomes which are initially spaced so as to allow for the intertwining of the root systems of the adjacent plants as the plants grow. 4. Treatment process as per Claims 1 - 3, characterized because the initial spacing of the young plants or of the rhizomes which are going to form the cover is achieved by securing the plants to floating bed structures comprised of low-density material. 5. Treatment process as per Claims 1-4, characterized because the plants are secured to the floating bed structures by means of a wire which has its lower end wound around the root-ball of the plant and its upper end free to be secured directly to the bed structure or with a clip or similar device for ready attachment. 6. Treatment process as per Claims 1, characterized because the sides and bottom of the channel or pond are covered with a waterproof material.
