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Duckweed goes further

Duckweed, a tiny aquatic plant grown in hog wastewater, has been found by North Carolina State University researchers to not only clean animal waste but also make for a more effective biofuel.

Professor of biological and agricultural engineering and study author, Dr. Jay Cheng, said:  "We can kill two birds – biofuel production and wastewater treatment – with one stone – duckweed."

According to the research, growing duckweed on hog wastewater can produce five to six times more starch per acre than corn. Furthermore, starch from duckweed can be readily converted into ethanol using the same facilities currently used for corn, Cheng added.

This means that growing duckweed for ethanol production could be faster and cheaper than using corn. Corn has received some criticism in the United States due to the amount of energy required for it to produce ethanol.

The proposed duckweed system will consist of shallow ponds on land unsuitable for crops. The system will derive nutrients from wastewater, which it cleans readying the water for reuse.

The research was presented at the annual conference of the Institute of Biological Engineering in Santa Carla, California.

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