February 1975
From The Space Library
“Mystery Shrouds the Biggest Planet” article appears in National Geographic Magazine
NASA biochemist B. C. Walverton began planting large quantities of water hyacinths as part of a study to determine the plant's ability to absorb and concentrate toxic metals and to metabolize various other chemical pollutants. Scientists at NASA's National Space Technology Laboratories had been experimenting since 1971 with vascular aquatic plants, which are equipped with a system of vessels to carry nourishment from the roots to the leaves. Results of the experiments were so promising that NASA, in cooperation with Mississippi state officials and the city of Bay St. Louis, had installed a special system using water hyacinths as a final filtration to remove nitrates, phosphates, and other chemical pollutants from the 245-sqkm Bay St. Louis, Miss. sewage lagoon. The water hyacinths would be harvested and analyzed to determine the amounts and kinds of impurities assimilated; saturated plants would then be recycled, using one of two methods being developed by NASA, into a mixed hydrocarbon fuel similar to natural gas. (NASA Release 74-332)
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