HaFF – Halophytes and other macrophytes for filtration of nutrient-loaded wastewater and surface water in outdoor culture
Land-based aquaculture systems with marine species have so far been complex and cost-intensive due to the high technical effort required for wastewater treatment. The use of flow-through systems with seawater or saline groundwater requires the efficient treatment of the resulting wastewater, for which no conclusive concepts exist yet.
For the development of a wastewater treatment plant for saline wastewater, halophytes (salt plants) are used because they can contribute to nutrient reduction and contain promising ingredients for human nutrition.
Different halophytes are used at two sites, the Kiel aquaculture farm “Förde-Garnelen” and Kieler Meeresfarm, which are being developed into stationary or transportable biofilter systems. The third project site is located in the highly eutrophic and less saline waters of the inner coastal waters of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Here, floating islands made of completely biodegradable and regionally produced plant materials are to form the habitat for various marsh and medicinal plants that absorb dissolved nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus compounds and contribute to improving water quality in a variety of ways