Nicodemus Wilderness Project -- Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists

Sapropel - natural filter
One of the environmentally contaminated sites is lake Kopa which is located in the city of Kokshetau , Kazakhstan. This is the only place in our city and the inhabitants of our city began to worry about the future of this place. Work on the cleaning of the lake began 1974, but every year the state of the lake was getting worse and worse, because of the work carried out on pollution which appeared after using this area people. At the present time, the vast majority of freshwater Kazakhstan - small stagnant lake, where accumulate organo-mineral deposits, as a result of the lake become shallow, overgrown, turn to the end in the swamp. Especially intensively this process is after the development of the virgin and fallow lands, as it contributes to the so-called anthropogenic factor, i.e. human activities. The age of the lake 12-8 thousands of years. Water surface of the lake in the open, only along the western and northern coast of stretch thickets cane, reeds and ragoza average width of 300 m. The bottom of the lake viscous, smooth, covered with a layer of sludge, clay, loamy deposits and sands with sludge, power from 0.5 to 2.8 m, sometimes reaching 6 m (northern part), the average same - 2 m. In flood period and at the time of water discharge of Chaglinca reservoir annually in lake washed about 20 thousand m3 sludge and soil.

The purpose of my project is to find the way clear that not only clear lake, also will be able to compensate for all spent money in this project in the future. As this lake is very dear to me and all the people we together with a group of students of our school engaged in the study of the ecological state of Cops and Authenticator in the fact that there be sapropel. To this end, we own hands got it from the bottom of the lake and spent several experiments on its properties, as a result of which found that the sapropel there properties of water purification.

Sapropel is centuries-bottom sediments of freshwater bodies, which formed from dead aquatic vegetation, the remnants of living organisms plankton, also particles soil humus, contains a large number of organic substances. This sapropel black or almost black color. After extraction he dried in order to avoid the rotting bottom organic and loss of useful properties. Viscous like dirt weight is powder, which then pressed in granules or leave in form. Sometimes he meets semi.

One of the most important areas of application sapropel is agriculture. In livestock it is used as a complementary for animals, as it is rich in calcium salts, iron, phosphorus, without impurities sand and poor clay. Sapropel prevents the development of pathogenic bacteria and very simple extracted in the finished form and can be used as a miracle fertilizer. The nature of the spent on his education goals, collected as part of the many useful substances. He is formed on the great depth, at the bottom of the freshwater bodies, and not all, but only stagnant lakes. The river and small ponds may not be a source of valuable resource.

Limited access oxygen, inaccessible place, fresh stagnant water are the main conditions for the formation of a unique layer at the bottom of the water. In the process of its education are the remains of the plants, insects, small animals, especially arthropods, whose chitin cover provides the presence of a large number of calcium. Not to be confused sapropel with sludge. These substances are similar, but il is much faster, is present in all reservoirs, has no such rich composition. Experts say that il also involved in education sapropel, but is not them.

In sapropel contains a large number of organic substances, sodium, potassium, phosphorus, vitamins, amino acids, biologically active substances. But the greatest interest humic acid - after all, they stimulate the growth of plants. In addition, the humic acids disinfection soil, suppress pathogenic bacteria, activate the process of metabolism in living organisms. The undoubted dignity sapropel is that it is useful for any plants.

The object of our research is exactly the sapropel, which acts as a filter for the treatment of various mixtures. It lot filamentous and sulfur bacteria (natural filters), capable of exist even in the case, when the water is very dirty and there is no oxygen.;In the world practice are increasingly evident trend application for the treatment of domestic and industrial waste method adsorption. We have investigated the most studied types of sorbent: sapropel with the content of sawdust, sapropel with activated carbon and net sapropel.

As sinks use zeolites, silica, organic sorbents and activated charcoal, the latter sorbent plays a leading role. So, in the UNITED states, for example, the volume of production of activated charcoal with 1952, the 1970 increased more than three times. Activated carbon, you can use for the extraction of waste products such surface-active substances, heavy metals, oil and etc. In some cases, the adsorption of activated carbon allows not only to clean water, but also to dispose of recovered products. It is established that the carbon mineral sorbents of sapropel have a high mechanical strength (compressive strength 58 - 64 Mpa) and are able to simultaneously adsorb as organic substances, and metal ions of the aquatic environment. Binary mixture of sapropel and activated charcoal brand AG-3, which allows you to delete from the water, as oil, and heavy metals. It should be noted that the sawdust well and quickly absorb oil, oil products and heavy metals, in particular aluminium. The most widely spread in the use of wastewater treatment this type of sorbent received in Singapore, where almost in every city is a lot of interest for maintenance of vehicles, including wash with local cleaning waste water. These countries can be attributed and Russia.

To improve these indicators sapropel should be used not in its pure form, and with the addition of other substances to get sorbent to filter the lake water.

The technology of production sapropel not only environmentally safe for water, but also useful: mining sapropel water rejuvenescence on several thousand years, which contributes to the development of the water and the environment. In this way, we found that pollutants sapropel can and clean water and not only. Removing sapropel of the water we not only clean lake, but also extract benefit from it.

In Kazakhstan there plants produced sapropel, and thus improve the economic condition of our country. The average price 50L sapropel is 9000 tg ( 26,95$). Yields sapropel from the lake Kopa state may provide not only high-quality fertilizer, but also to provide jobs unemployed people. And sorbent for water filter 50 kg cost 78000 tg (230$) in foreign countries. At this price, not all will be able to afford or to clean water resource sorbent. Much cheaper cost do sorbent with Sapropel which can produce from the lake, dry and add activated carbon. Both of these substances cost budget than purchase sorbent. Thus help to keep public money and clear lake which is the main purpose of my project.

The prospects of sapropels as cleaners waste water is of great practical application. Comparing with the cost of chemical additions, which acquired in the countries of the cis countries, manufacturing sorbents can do about $200 cheaper. Summing up the results I achieved the desired result. With the help of the sorbent of sapropel in fact, you can clear the water pollutants from his metals. Thus, not spending a lot of the budget for this. I as a resident of the city very glad that we have found useful and affordable way out of this situation. As said Julian Wilson, "Every puts his soul in the life of the world and the beautiful your attachment, the beautiful world around." Each of us should contribute to , if you want to our country, our earth was clean and healthy.