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The Vetiver grass will tolerate high levels of nitrates, phosphates, heavy metals, and agricultural chemicals.  The Vetiver System can be used for treating wastewater, rehabilitating mine tailings, stabilizing landfills and general rubbish dumps. The Vetiver System takes up the toxic materials and confines the contaminates to the effected area.

More details are available at the TVNI archives (see water and mining). The two handbooks at the bottom of this page provides good technical and field experience data and images.

Vetiver Phytoremediation Technology (VPT) -- Paul Truong is TVNI's Technical Director and a world authority on the use of vetiver grass technology for the treatment ofcontaminated land and water. We refer to this type of application as Vetiver Phytoremediation Technology (VPT) . He has recently prepared a useful photo essay on the use of VPT for waste water treatment, comparing the before and after impact of vetiver. There are also two water treatment programs one, in Singapore (using C.nemoralis instead of the more efficient C. zizanioides) that Paul helped design, and the other in Oman (using Phragmites sp) designed by BAUER Umwelt GmbH of Germany). Both have interesting design features, and both could use C. zizanioidies. This slide show can be downloaded as a pdf file. Another good example of the use of vetiver is Feng Ziyuan's work in China where he has effectively incorporated vetiver into a small scale village treatment process

COMPUTER MODEL FOR TREATMENT OF SMALL VOLUME WASTEWATER
If you have problems with dealing with waste water and sewage effluent on your property you may be able to use the Vetiver System to mitigate it. This model by Paul and Nicholas Truong shows you how to design and the number of plants that you will need.

Treating Industrial waste water with Vetiver -- A nice example from Paul Truong of how vetiver can be used for industrial or agricultural waste water treatment using floating pontoons (best design yet) and by planting on the banks of the lagoons. There is great potential to apply the Vetiver System for waste water treatment not only on industrial scale but also for smaller treatment needs for single households, small hospitals, hotels, schools, refugee camps, etc. using the alternative "wetland" vetiver application.

Waste Water Treatment Model developed by Paul Truong for determining number of betiver plants required for removal of nitrates and phosphates in waste water. English Spanish Portuguese

 

 

A US company, Leachate Management Specialists (LMS), has been designing landfill leachate disposal systems that use vetiver grass as a phytoremedial technology for landfills in the US Gulf states and Mexico, that have resulted in significant cost savings for the operators.

Short presentations on using vetiver for treating contaminated land and water

Archive files relating to land (including mining) and water contamination and their mitigation by vetiver

Introduction to A Sewage Treatment Pilot Project with VGT in Caixin Village, Puding County, Guizhou Province, Southwest China

Complete sewage system servicing a small village in southwest China with Vetiver as a key component. Presentation by Ziyuan Feng, Hanping Xia, and Yuan Xiong

COMPUTER MODEL FOR TREATMENT OF SMALL VOLUME WASTEWATER.

Papers and Presentation by Paul and Nicholas Truong
Text: English Spanish Portuguese
Presentation: English

VETIVER SYSTEM FOR PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF POLLUTED WATER AND CONTAMINATED LAND

Papers and presentation by Paul Truong
Text: English Spanish Portuguese
Presentation: English

MINE AND ASSOCIATED REHABILITATION PROJECTS IN AFRICA AND INDIAN OCEAN ISLANDS

Papers and presentation by Roley Noffke
Text: English Spanish
Presentation: English

pollution

From Bio Clean Environmental Services - California. A project at Oceanside, California to treat wash down water from a harbor boat wash site, along with many little sewer spills coming from RVs on a continuous basis. It’s a very dirty site. Over 4000 pounds of oil laden sediment was removed from the pre-treatment chamber in the last two years. The system treats 2,000 to 8,000 gallons of water every day. Vetiver Grass was chosen because it has the ability to grow in saline water and the ability to deal with high pollutant loads, both as feature of the site.
Vetiver was a great choice and a real success story. see details and data and field report (best).

WASTE DUMP PROTECTION COLOMBIA
(including Vetiver)

Meclas Ecologicas Parrael Control dela Erosion y La Estabilidad de Taludes pdf KB 872

Madagascar Newsletter #3
(July 09)

This is an interesting newsletter showing work on cleaning up water polluted drains, stabilizing a railway cutting, and handicraft production. (KB 375 07/28/09)

Phyto Remediation Abstract

Vetiver grass, Chrysopogon zizanioides: a choice plant for phytoremedation of heavy metals and organic waste contaminated soils

GREAT RIFT VALLEY LAKES - ENVIROMENTAL MITIGATION

This power point focuses on some very real issues in Eastern Africa where the lakes in Ethiopia's and Kenya's Great Rift Valley are drying up, increasingly polluted, and providing a dump for erosion sediment from mismanaged upland water sheds that surrounds the lakes. The Vetiver System could be a very good way of mitigating some of the problems in rather novel ways. Credits. Dick Grimshaw and Paul Truong

watts

Vetiver System for Environmental Protection of Open Cut Bauxite Mining at Los Pijiguaos, Venezuela. This work by Vetiver Antierosion CA. provides a good example of the diverse ways that VS can be used for stabilization and reclamation of contaminated land particularly in the mining industry in the wet tropics.

watts

Vetiver System for Water Quality Improvement

Clean Water Shortage, an Imminent Global Crisis. How the Vetiver System can Reduce Its Impact. By Paul Truong

wastts bridge

Watts Bridge (Australia) airfield Vetiver System effluent treatment. This is an update of a previous posting. Additionally we provide a short report from Veticon Consulting on the most recent analysis of effluent treatment. The data indicate that when properly applied the Vetiver System is very effective in the disposal of the effluent discharged from sewage system. The success of this project depends very much on the proper implementation and subsequent management of the site. Learn more ....

Pollution Control - Pathogens in animal waste

The effect of flow impedance on deposition of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts with or without a vetiver buffer strip. Janet Hussein et al Read more

handbook2

Vetiver System for Prevention and Treatment of Contaminated Land Read more (html w/ images) This technical handbook was extracted from "The Vetiver System - A Technical Reference Manual" by Paul Truong, Tran Tan Van and Elise Pinners. Quick download and in full color.

NICKEL MINE REHABILITATION IN THE PHILIPPINES

NICKEL MINE REHABILITATION IN THE PHILIPPINES
Mary Noah Mandarin established a vetiver based company in the Philippines over 10 years ago. Today the company, Biosolutions Inc, is active in many environmental mitigation programs. Recently the company completed a nickel mining project in the south of the Philippines. See the excellent quality of work performed by this company (MB1.7). xx See more.

Vetiver System for Phytoremediation

1. The ability of Vetiver Grass to act as a primary purifier of waste water; an answer to low cost sanitation and fresh water pollution. By Mark Gerrard of South Africa.
2. Vetiver Phytoremediation for Heavy Metal Decontamination. By Nualchavee Roongtanakiat of Thailand.
3. Study on the Absorption of a Number of Heavy Metals in the Soil by Vetiver Grass and Assessment of its Effectiveness in the Rehabilitation of Contaminated Lands. By Vo Van Minh of Vietnam

reef protection

Coral reef protection using VS. Don Miller of New Zealand has been working in Vanuatu (South Pacific island) for some years and demonstrates in this slide show how vetiver hedgerows can be used as an essentail part of reforesting badly eroding landscapes to prevent sediment reaching the sea and destroying coastal coral reefs and fisheries. Don's work can be replicated throughout most island ecologiies where eroding sedimnt flows are effecting coastal habitats in the tropics

Pollution Control - Pathogens in animal waste

The effect of flow impedance on deposition of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts with or without a vetiver buffer strip. Janet Hussein et al Read more

handbook

TECHNICAL HANDBOOK
This handbook extracted from "The Vetiver System - A Technical Reference Manual," by Paul Truong, Tran Tan Van and Elise Pinners. Quick download and in full color. Vetiver System for Prevention and Treatment of Contaminated Land (html with images). pic Read more

xx

THE VETIVER SYSTEM FOR IMPROVING WATER QUALITY - THE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF CONTAMINATED WATER AND LAND
This book describes the problems relating to polluted water and land and how VS can mitigate some of the problems. It has some excellent images and case studies. The book can be downloaded at no charge or purchased as hard copy from Amazon.com

Report on the application of the Vetiver System in the Citarum River Basin, Indonesia.This report (1.4MB) by Truong and Booth demonstrates how vetiver can be used to solve to major problems realkting to river pollution: sediment inflow from hillside soil erosion; and pollution from domestic waste water flows into a river. This small pilot project if expanded could so much to solve river pollution, particularly in the upper (more rural) part of a river basin in many btopical countries.

Green Movement Against Green Water
Vetiver Conference – October 14-16, 2010
I Maria Calderon

How do you start a green movement in a country where people have no interest in knowing where their water ends up at the end of the pipe? Why would people in Guatemala want to put a septic tank on their property knowing that their neighbors upstream will be dumping their sewage directly into the river? Read more

WASTE WORKSHOP WITH DOCEY LEWIS

Women Weave of India had organised a workshop which aimed at using the handloom waste produced at the Gudi Mudi center as well as the waste produced by other weavers across Maheshwar town. They also iuncorporated vetiver as a resource. This article with images should be of interest to those working with poor communities. Read more

VETIVER GRASS, VETIVERIA ZIZANIOIDES: A CHOICE PLANT FOR PHYTOREMEDIATION OF HEAVY METALS AND ORGANIC WASTES

Glasshouse and field studies showed that Vetiver grass can produce high biomass (>100t/tha-1 year-1) and highly tolerate extreme climatic variation such as prolonged drought, flood, submergence and temperatures (-15°-55°C), soils high in acidity and alkalinity (pH 3.3-9.5), high levels of Al (85% saturation percentage), Mn (578 mg kg-1), soil salinity (ECse 47.5 dS m-1), sodicity (ESP 48%), and a wide range of heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Se, and Zn). Vetiver can accumulate heavy metals, particularly lead (shoot 0.4% and root 1%) and zinc (shoot and root 1%). The majority of heavy metals are accumulated in roots thus suitable for phytostabilization, and for phytoextraction with addition of chelating agents. Vetiver can also absorb and promote biodegradation of organic wastes (2,4,6-trinitroluene, phenol, ethidium bromide, benzo[a]pyrene, atrazine). Although Vetiver is not as effective as some other species in heavy metal accumulation, very few plants in the literature have a wide range of tolerance to extremely adverse conditions of climate and growing medium (soil, sand, and tailings) combined into one plant as vetiver. All these special characteristics make vetiver a choice plant for phytoremediation of heavy metals and organic wastes. Read more ..

EFFECTS OF METHANE LEAKS ON VETIVER GROWTH

A useful summary of the effect of Methane discharge on vetiver grass

BOONAH SEWAGE EFFLUENT
TREATMENT PLANT

Presentation of the use of Vetiver to clean up large scale effluent discharge in Australia

Phytoremediation of Landfill Leachate Using Vetiver at the Leon, Mexico Landfill

Presentation of landfill stabilization in Mexico - establishment phase (contact)

Phytoremediation of Landfill Leachate Using Vetiver at the Gulf Pines Landfill

Excellent example of quality application of vetiver to a landfill project in the US. (contact)

Evaluation of Vetiver Grass Buffer Strips and Organomineral
Fertilization for the Improvement of Soil Physical Properties

Paper by Effiom Okul, Olajire Fagbola and Paul Truong

Waste Water Management
Boonah, Queensland, Australia

A new project by Paul Tuong in its early stages, showing the impact of frost and the excellent recovery of vetiver from the "dieback"

Phytoremediation of Landfill Leachate
Leachate Utilization, Leachate Seep Control, Soil
Stabilization, and a Potential Biofuel

Presentation by Republic and Leggette, Brashears & Graham, Inc. Includes vetiver (contact)

VetTri Float (Vetiver Trichur Float)

An interesting vetiver float design for small applications of waste water treatment from Kerala, India

VETIVER SYSTEM APPLICATION IN THE USA AND MEXICO

Presentation by Paul Truong (contact) and Brad Granley
(contact)

A Changing Industry: On-site Phytoremediation of Landfill Leachate Using Trees and Grasses – Case Studies

Presentation by Brad A. Granley (contact), Paul N. Truong(contact)

Constructed Vetiver Wetlands in Jimma, Ethiopia

Connie Bottenburg (temporarily removed from website)

VETIVER SYSTEM APPLICATION IN THE USA AND MEXICO

Granley and Truong

A Changing Industry: On-site Phytoremediation of Landfill Leachate Using Trees and Grasses – Case Studies

Granley and Truong

EFFECT OF SOIL SALINITY ON VETIVER GROWTH

PowerPoint Presentation by Paul Truong

AUSTRALIA - BOONAH WASTE WATER TREATMENT USING VETIVER

A short update from Paul Truong of photos (2013) of Vetiver planted in 2011 for the treatment of sewage effluent. You can find earlier inbformationa at: https://www.vetiver.org/AUS_boonah%20waste..pdf

AUSTRALIA - STOTTS CREEK LANDFILL EFFLUENT TREATMENT USING VETIVER

A short update from Paul Truong of photos (2013) of Vetiver planted in 2011 for the treatment of sewage effluent. You can find earlier inbformationa at: https://www.vetiver.org/discus/messages/7/2-08_Tweed_Leachate-678.pdf

TRATAMIENTO DE AGUAS RESIDUALES Y RELLENOS SANITARIOS

Waste water and landfill effulent treatment document with images

TRATAMIENTO DE AGUAS RESIDUALES MEDIANTE FILTROS E HIDROSISTEMAS NATURALES CON PASTO VETIVER

Useful document with images in Spanish relating to the use of vetiver for water quality improvement

WASTEWATER TREATMENT AT A SEAFOOD PROCESSING
FACTORY IN THE MEKONG DELTA, VIETNAM

An excellent paper From the University of Cantho, Vietnam, by Luu Thai Danh, Le Thanh Phong, Le Viet Dung and Paul Truong showing the impact of vetiver in treating efflent from a saefood processing plant.