Living Brown Algae Filter for Nitrate Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies struggle to effectively remove nutrients, particularly nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N), from water sources like fish farms and marine aquariums, leading to ecosystem instability and environmental harm.
Innovation Solution
A filter system utilizing living brown algae individuals from the genus Fucus, housed within a filter casing, which allows water to flow through and absorb nutrients, particularly nitrate, via photosynthesis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If mechanical filters and nitrification methods are used to remove nitrate, then nitrate removal capability is improved, but complete nitrate removal is not achieved and unwanted nitrogen remains in water column
Solution Approach 1:
Living brown algae (Fucus species) are introduced as a biological intermediary between the water containing nitrate and the environment. The algae absorb nitrate through their tissues, converting it into biomass, thereby completely removing unwanted nitrogen from the water column that mechanical filters and nitrification methods cannot eliminate.
2Quantity of substance
If brown algae are used in filter, then nitrate removal efficiency is improved, but filter design complexity increases due to need to keep algae contained while allowing water flow
Solution Approach 1:
The filter utilizes a mesh structure with appropriate pore sizes that allows water to flow through freely while physically containing the brown algae individuals. This porous mesh design resolves the contradiction by enabling simultaneous water permeability and algae retention without complex mechanical components.
Solution Approach 2:
The brown algae are living organisms that actively pump nutrients from the water through their metabolic processes. They self-organize and attach to the mesh structure, creating their own containment system without requiring complex external mechanical retention mechanisms.
3Productivity
If mechanical filters are used for nutrient removal, then filtration capacity is improved, but ability to remove nutrients below certain levels deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from mechanical physical filtration to biological chemical absorption. The brown algae change the chemical parameters of the water by absorbing nitrate through their tissues and converting it to biomass, enabling nutrient removal below the detection thresholds of mechanical filtration systems.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system significantly reduces nutrient levels, including NO3-N, enhancing ecosystem stability and allowing for increased fish stock without environmental harm, while producing oxygen and potentially serving as a biomass source.
Implementation Method 1
A filter system utilizing living brown algae individuals from the genus Fucus, housed within a filter casing, which allows water to flow through and absorb nutrients, particularly nitrate, via photosynthesis.
Data Source
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AI summary
The disclosure relates to a filter for filtering water, which contains nutrients, such as nitrate. The filter comprises a filter casing, and biomass comprising living brown algae individual(s) connected to said filter casing or closed inside said filter casing, wherein the filter casing allows water to flow through the filter while keeping the living brown algae individual(s) in the filter casing, or the filter casing acts as a substrate on which the brown algae individual(s) is/are growing and the water flow allows the water to be filtrated to be contacted with the living brown algae individual(s) growing on the filter casing. The disclosure also relates to a process for filtering water and to the use of the filter.