Nag River, Nagpur, India

Nag River, Nagpur, India

There are numerous examples of the Govt and Private entities trying to remediate polluted rivers. The notable examples in India are that of Ganga and Yamuna rivers. Despite numerous STPs installed at a huge expense, there is little to show as improvement in Water Quality. The common refrain is that the STPs were able to arrest the decline in Water Quality. The key reason for these failures have been the inability of STPs to enhance Dissolved Oxygen sufficiently, particularly at the benthic level (bottom of the river).

The situation is not very different in conventional Bio Remediation. Despite the claims of the success of the unique consortia of bacteria by various manufacturers, it is quite evident that in oxygen deficit waters, the results are marginal at best.

Against this backdrop, we undertook development of a product that could enhance Dissolved Oxygen in large water bodies like rivers, at the surface as well as in the water column and benthic levels. Moreover, the process should yield molecular oxygen, that has a very high Surface Area/Volume ratio and a high persistence time of oxygen bubbles. One of the key target attribute was that the nutrients contained in the product should not be carried away with the flow of the river.

After several years of R&D and numerous trials, the product named Aquaritin TM was developed successfully using nano scale nutrients through a very complex manufacturing but simple to use process. It comes as a liquid formulation containing nutrients for Diatom Algae and Inhibitors for Green and Blue Green algae. The liquid formulation is dosed in the target river under pressure from pumps ashore. The polarity is so arranged that the nutrients disseminate the nutrients into the entire river/lake without the need to cover the entire water surface.

These nutrients are targeted for growth of Diatom algae. Diatoms are made of silica frustules such that it can synthesize even in low light conditions or even in presence on artificial light during the dark hours. With photosynthesis, they release pure oxygen into the river, while consuming nutrients from the water andAquaritin. Diatoms are net oxygenators, meaning they release much more oxygen than they consume during respiration. Thus, the nutrients from untreated wastewater, N &P, are used up by Diatoms in their metabolism, thereby reducing contamination levels caused by sewage or fertilizers.

Diatoms are largely benthic being large and heavier than water. The benthic diatoms continue to divide and grow at the bottom of the river while the water flows above. Theyare also supported by the “Boundary Effect” whereby the velocity at the bottom of a river isnear Zero due to friction.

Diatoms are also preferred food for zooplankton, and the latter for fish. Thus fish and aquatic life prospers, and that forms much of the biological filtration that is carried out in rivers. In other words, it can be said that Aquaritin converts untreated nutrients (sewage) to fish biomass. In that, we boost the natural filtration processes in a river significantly.