Water district to develop algae reuse technology

A Florida-based project that had won the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s 2021 Farmer to Farmer grant is developing technology in nutrient reduction and reuse.

The project’s host, the Northwest Florida Water Management District (NWFWMD), had been awarded $959,754 for an Algae Harvesting and Biomass Reuse project. Under the project, unused nutrients from agricultural practices would be captured and transformed into a biofertilizer to support sustainable nutrient reduction in agricultural runoff.

The objective of the project is to demonstrate how nutrients that are discharged within the Gulf of Mexico watersheds from farming operations can be captured and reused on-site. On June 14 NWFWMD and EPA demonstrated a algae-harvesting unit, as well as the project’s progress, at May Nursery.

“The Farmer-to-Farmer program is an ideal fit – and May Nursery is an ideal location – for this type of project,” said Anna Upton, a Governing Board member for the Northwest Florida Water Management District. “We applaud the creative energy by all participants involved who brought this project forward and we look forward to seeing how this algae-harvesting unit performs in an agricultural setting.”

The project demonstrates a novel approach to harvesting nutrient-enriched, algae-dominated water within an agricultural setting: harvesting the algae for reuse and nutrient reapplication on the originating nursery operation, and then releasing highly treated water, in accordance with local, state, and federal permits, back into the natural environment. The outcomes include the following:

• Reduced export of nutrients from the participating agricultural operation. When applied broadly, this would reduce nutrient enrichment and the potential for cultural eutrophication within the receiving watershed and downstream coastal waters.
• Reduced release of toxic algae to the environment, with reduced public and environmental exposure to toxins such as microcystin.
• Demonstration of the potential for reuse of extracted nutrients, in the form of treated algae slurry, within the originating agricultural operation, with further demonstration of economic benefits from reduced needs for introduction of commercial fertilizers.
• Improved water use efficiency, through reapplication and reuse of water, reducing demands on regional water resources.
• Public outreach, to educate producers about this emerging technology, as well as obtaining the benefit of the expertise of the agricultural community to further advance and improve the methods.
• Demonstration of the applicability and effectiveness of this approach and technology regionally and through the Gulf of Mexico drainage, as well as beyond.