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Ankara University Department of Soil Science Prof. Dr. Günay Erpul and Agriculture and forestry expert Adem Bilgin's article on the cyclical economic eco-swamp solution produced against mucilage formation was published in the European Journal of Environment and World Sciences. The ecological swamp restores nitrogen and phosphorus in wastewater to the cyclical economy and reduces the release of flue gases into the atmosphere.

*** This release is originally published in Turkish.
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İSTANBUL (TR) - The problem of mucilage, which threatens natural life in the Aegean Sea and Black Sea, especially in the Marmara Sea, is on the agenda not only of our country but also of the world. Finally, on June 5, World Environment Day, Professor from the Department of Soil Science of Ankara University about the invention of Agriculture and forestry expert Adam Bilgin Dr. The scientific paper “redefining water treatment: identifying Wastewater Treatment Plants as a world system problem and cyclical economic eco-swamp system to challenge this problem”, co-authored with Günay Erpul, was published in the European Journal of Environment and Earth Sciences. In an article about the invention of mucilage formation and climate change, Turkish experts point out that the solution goes through a method inspired by nature and called Eco-swamp.  

"Heavy metal and germs in the sewer burn and become concrete”

"Treatment engineering should be not only analytical, but also holistic, that is, in accordance with the law of Natural matter cycles and conservation of mass. A synthetic ecological technology inspired by nature, which I call a cyclical economic eco-swamp, involves vertical agriculture before discharge in the final water of the wastewater treatment plant, producing algae in Plexi pipes, thereby thoroughly drawing phosphate and nitrogen from the final water. The resulting mosses are also turned into sand and aggregate, which we call the smallest natural part of the soil, by marshalling, mucilage formation and deposition in artificial pools where flue gas is given from the bottom. These, in turn, are mixed with the ash obtained by burning the sludge that occurs after treatment and turned into concrete. In other words, it copies natural marshes that already have large carbon reserves in nature in a controlled manner and converts them into nitrogen, phosphate, carbon concrete and biomass of terrestrial origin. Heavy metal and germs in the sewer burn and become concrete. Because the system takes the sulfur of flue gases and makes fertilizers and turns the remaining gases into biomass and concrete, there is no toxic and chemical corrosive substance to humans that gives its smell to natural marshes, which we call hydrogen sulfide. Regularly harvested mosses and Marsh products are packaged for various uses, especially in the fertilizer, cellulose, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. In addition, cement and hydrogen production is also carried out for the chemical sector. Algae production is already a consideration proposed by the EU biomass strategy, especially for the cyclical economy and climate change, we go one step further and make land from algae, we connect carbon to the ground." said. 

"Phosphorus, which is also a very large import item for Turkey, is in danger of running out on land”

A professor who defines eco-marshes as ecological stop places Dr. Günay Erpul said that the waste water can be cleaned with the eco-swamp system and restored to the cyclical economy before it is given to the natural waterway, rivers and seas. Erpul said, " commercial fertilizers containing nitrogen and phosphorus are being used more and more every day. These fertilizers, which lead to large-scale chemically efficient nitrogen and phosphorus fluxes, have serious negative effects on human health and the environment. On the other hand, phosphorus, which is a non-renewable resource and is also a very large import item for Turkey, is in danger of running out on land. Therefore, nitrogen and phosphorus gains and reuse in terms of nutrient cycle are a desirable application. At this point, eco-marshes offer very important opportunities for Biological assimilation of nutrients. A wide range of wastewater is used in eco-marshes to provide nutrient cycling and nutrient recycling. Domestic, dairy, textile production, tanneries, etc. wastewater is the most common example of these. In these days, when we face the mucilage problem, especially in eco-marshes, by growing plants and algae through biological assimilation, reintroducing phosphorus into the nutrient cycle is a very reliable method in the long term,” he said.  

Recalling that the prerequisite for sustainable agriculture is the efficient recirculation of plant nutrients, Erpul concluded his words: “aquatic and marine-based ecosystems where certain amounts of cleaned wastewater are discharged will also benefit the maximum from these processes. Vertical farming in a small area in the eco-marsh system will allow extra nitrogen and phosphate treatment before evacuation in the water and their recycling on land.”