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REVIEW ARTICLE
Reuse of hydroponic waste solution
Ramasamy Rajesh Kumar &Jae Young Cho
Received: 9 February 2014 / Accepted: 7 May 2014 / Published online: 20 May 2014
#Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014
Abstract Attaining sustainable agriculture is a key goal in
many parts of the world. The increased environmental aware-
ness and the ongoing attempts to execute agricultural practices
that are economically feasible and environmentally safe pro-
mote the use of hydroponic cultivation. Hydroponics is a
technology for growing plants in nutrient solutions with or
without the use of artificial medium to provide mechanical
support. Major problems for hydroponic cultivation are higher
operational cost and the causing of pollution due to discharge
of waste nutrient solution. The nutrient effluent released into
the environment can have negative impacts on the surround-
ing ecosystems as well as the potential to contaminate the
groundwater utilized by humans for drinking purposes. The
reuse of non-recycled, nutrient-rich hydroponicwaste solution
for growing plants in greenhouses is the possible way to
control environmental pollution. Many researchers have suc-
cessfully grown several plant species in hydroponic waste
solution with high yield. Hence, this review addresses the
problems associated with the release of hydroponic waste
solution into the environment and possible reuse of hydropon-
ic waste solution as an alternative resource for agriculture
development and to control environmental pollution.
Keywords Agriculture .Greenhouse .Hydroponic .Nutrient
solution .Pollution .Alternative resource
Introduction
Recently, natural resources like soil and water have become
scarce; hence, opening new agricultural landscape is not fea-
sible due to deforestation and also concern for the environ-
ment. Annually, 87 % of the freshwater is used worldwide for
agricultural production (Postel 2001). In general, it is difficult
to rationalize the reliable water supply because of seasonal and
geographical variations (Choi et al. 2011a). Growing renew-
able freshwater crisis may threaten economic development,
sustainable human livelihoods, environmental quality, and a
host of other societal goals in arid and semiarid regions in
many parts of the world, such as South Africa, the Middle
East, Southern Europe, and South America (Haddad and
Mizyed 2011;Al-Karaki2011). A rapid growth of industrial-
ization and population and their high demand per capita for
water are problematic in Korea with regard to the limited
water resources available (Jang et al. 2008). During the year
2000, the mean annual precipitation in Korea was 1,274 mm,
which is approximately 1.3 greater than the world’smeanof
973 mm (Jin et al. 2005). In Korea, the summer monsoon
brings copious moisture from the ocean and approximately
75 % of the annual rainfall in Korea observed during June to
August; however, the occurrence of drought has recently
increased due to global climate change (Choi et al. 2011a).
Hence, during the drought season, it is necessary to rationalize
water consumption using alternative resources. Various stud-
ies have been recently conducted regarding the occurrence of
water shortage in response to climate change or its adverse
effects, and these studies have proposed the approaches for
conserving the limited resources of available water by reusing
reclaimed wastewater for agriculture purposes (Cooper 1991;
Kang et al. 2007; Kim et al. 2009). However, regulations of
water quality for using reclaimed water are very strict due to
concerns of human health against pathogenic organisms and
crop quality (Stanghellini and Rasmussen 1994; Ehret et al.
Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues
R. R. Kumar :J. Y. Cho (*)
Department of Bioenvironmental Chemistry, College of Agriculture
and Life Sciences, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju,
Jeollabuk-do 561-756, Republic of Korea
e-mail: soilcosmos@jbnu.ac.kr
Environ Sci Pollut Res (2014) 21:9569–9577
DOI 10.1007/s11356-014-3024-3
2001). The world population is estimated to increase by 3.7
billion by 2050, and the demand for food will increase as well,
putting added strains on fresh water resources (Wallace 2000).
It is becoming increasingly necessary to enhance the produc-
tivity of different edible plant species by breeding or by novel
techniques such as hydroponics that promise the preservation
of natural resources like water and soil and increase the
productivity (Correa et al. 2012).
The high-density maximum crop yield, crop production where
no suitable soil exists, a virtual indifference to ambient tempera-
ture and seasonality, more efficient use of water and fertilizers,
minimal use of land area, and suitability for mechanization,
disease, and pest control can be achieved through hydroponic
systems. Hydroponics is a methodology to use for plant cultiva-
tion in nutrient solutions (water containing chemical fertilizers)
with or without the use of an organic or inorganic inert medium
such as sand, clay-expanded, gravel, vermiculite, rock wool, peat
moss, perlite, coir, coco-peat, and sawdust to provide mechanical
support (Castellane and Araújo 1995;Torabietal.2012), or other
substrates were used, to which nutrient solution containing all the
essential elements needed by a plant for its normal growth and
development were added. Since many hydroponic methods em-
ploy some type of medium, it is often termed “soilless culture,”
while hydroculture with mineral nutrients alone would be true
hydroponics (Resh 2013). There are six different types of hydro-
ponic systems, they are (1) aeroponic system: one of the most
high tech growing systems, (2) drip system: the most widely used
type of hydroponic systems, (3) ebb and flow system: the system
canbemodifiedinmanyways,(4)nutrientfilmtechnique
system: the most commonly used system, (5) water culture sys-
tem: a very simple-to-use hydroponic system, and (6) wick
system: the simplest of all hydroponic systems. In order to provide
temperature control, to reduce evaporative water loss, and to
reduce disease and pest infestations, all hydroponic systems in
temperate regions of the world are enclosed in greenhouse-type
structures (Jensen and Malter 1995).
According to Carruthers (2002), hydroponic crop produc-
tion has significantly increased in recent years worldwide,
from 5,000–6,000 ha in the 1980s to 20,000–25,000 ha in
2001. In a recent publication by Hickman (2011)statesthat
world hydroponic vegetable production is about 35,000 ha.
Today, most of the hydroponic culturing facility has difficulty
to control point source pollution fromgreenhouses. In the near
future, many nurseries will have to address their runoff nutri-
ent wastewater pollution problems, because of strict enforce-
ment of current laws and passage of tougher new laws (Beagle
and Justin 1993). Consequently, innovative approaches are
required to deal socioeconomically acceptable solutions that
can overcome point source pollution. One possible way is the
reuse of nutrient solution discharged from hydroponic system.
Hydroponic systems are commonly designed as open (i.e.,
once the nutrient solution is delivered to the plant roots, it is
not reused) or closed (i.e., surplus solution is recovered,
replenished, and recycled) systems (Raviv and Lieth 2008).
In open systems, the nutrient solution is discharged into the
surrounding environments after crop cultivation. Jensen and
Collins (1985) insisted that the discharged solution can be
recycled for irrigation purposes without secondary environ-
mental pollutions.
Hydroponic wastewater and problems
Hydroponics culture requires large quantities of water and
essential nutrients to optimize plant production (Gagnon
et al. 2010). Resh (2013) recommended essential
macroelements and microelements supplied to plants by dis-
solving fertilizer salts in water to make up the nutrient solu-
tion. A list of recommended macroelements and microele-
ments are in Table 1. The hydroponics nutrient solution con-
tains nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), potassium (K), calcium
(Ca), magnesium (Mg), sulfur (S), iron (Fe), boron (B), copper
(Cu), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn). However, the solution
that feeds the plants needs to be replaced periodically, gener-
ating hydroponic wastewater that is particularly rich in nitro-
gen and phosphorus; when these nutrients are discharged
directly into the environment, they may cause contamination
(Bertoldi et al. 2009).
In a report, Grasselly et al. (2005) states that, the amount of
nutrient solution supplied is approximately 20–30 % more
than the plant that requires to account for variability of irriga-
tion equipment and plant uptake from the substrate and to
keep fertilizer salt levels from increasing in the growing
media. The excess amount runoff contains high nutrient con-
centrations, particularly nitrate, ranging 150–500 mg L
−1
.
Park et al. (2008a) and Prystay and Lo (2001)recordedthat
hydroponic wastewater solution (HWS) contained highly con-
centrated nitrate (200–300 mg L
−1
) and phosphorus (30–
100 mg L
−1
) but not containing organic carbon (Gagnon
et al. 2010) thereby resulting in large amount of point source
pollution. Though there are other nutrients also discharged
from hydroponic systems, it is difficult to record as there is
lack of information about the concentrations of other nutrients
discharged. In hydroponics, there are two types of wastewater
run-to-waste and dumped. The first run-to-waste, nutrient-
loaded water comes from flow-through hydroponic systems
that use a growing medium. In the second type of wastewater,
residual nutrient solution in recirculating systems is periodi-
cally dumped or when a nutritional or disease problem arises
(Badgery-Parker 2002).
The amount of the HWS producing everyday were
2880 L ha
−1
day
−1
from the greenhouse experimental facili-
ties, and this wastewater solution could irrigate 409.86 m
2
of
area to compensate for the amount of water loss by evapo-
transpiration (Park et al. 2005). Most of the farms discharge
their effluents to lagoons, and to the River, without any
9570 Environ Sci Pollut Res (2014) 21:9569–9577
treatment (Figueiredo et al. 2005). Rural Development
Administration (RDA) of Korea stated that the total area of
hydroponic cultures dramatically increased in Korea from
23 ha in 1993 to 1,107 ha in 2008 (Choi et al. 2011a). The
discharged water from an open hydroponic culturing system is
categorized as industrial wastewater according to the Water
Quality Conservation Act of Korea, and the levels of total
nitrogen (T-N) and phosphate (T-P) in the discharged water
are restricted at 60 and 8 mg L
−1
, respectively (Choi et al.
2011a). The discharge of untreated hydroponics effluent
poses a significant environmental concern as it contains
high amount of nitrate and phosphate, and these nutrients
can induce eutrophication in the receiving waters causing
algal blooms, which deplete oxygen in the water and
can also release toxins that can affect animals or
humans (Fig. 1). Nitrate leaching can cause several
environmental problems including the loss of calcium
and other cations as well as moving into surface or
groundwater where it can severely impact drinking water
(Prystay and Lo 2001).
Hydroponic waste solution treatment and reuse
In a closed hydroponic culturing system, it is difficult to
evaluate the quantity of water discharge because of many
Tabl e 1 List of general microelements and macroelements recommended for growing plants in hydroponics
Chemical formula Chemical name Molecular weight Elements supplied Solubility ratio of solute
to water
Microelements
FeSO
4
·7H
2
O Ferrous sulfate 278 Fe
2+
,SO
4
2−
1:4
FeCl
3
·6H
2
O Ferric chloride 270.3 Fe
3+
,3Cl
−
1:2
FeDTPA Iron chelate 468.15 Fe
2+
Highly soluble
FeEDTA Iron chelate 382.1 Fe
2+
Highly soluble
H
3
BO
3
Boric acid 61.8 B
3+
1:20
Na
2
B
8
O
13
·4H
2
O Disodium octaborate tetra hydrate 412.52 B
3+
Very soluble
Na
2
B
4
O
7
·10H
2
O Sodium tetraborate 381.4 B
3+
1:25
CuSO
4
·5H
2
O Copper sulfate 249.7 Cu
2+
,SO
4
2−
1:5
MnSO
4
·4H
2
O Manganese sulfate 223.1 Mn
2+
,SO
4
2−
1:2
MnCl
2
·4H
2
O Manganese chloride 197.9 Mn
2+
,2Cl
−
1:2
ZnSO
4
·7H
2
O Zinc sulfate 287.6 Zn
2+
,SO
4
2−
1:3
ZnCl
2
Zinc chloride 136.3 Zn
2+
, 2Cl 1:1.5
(NH
4
)
6
Mo
7
O
24
Ammonium molybdate 1,163.8 NH
4
+
,Mo
6+
1:2.3 Highly soluble
Na
2
MoO
4
Sodium molybdate 205.92 2Na
+
,Mo
6+
Highly soluble
ZnEDTA Zinc chelate 431.6 Zn
2+
Highly soluble
MnEDTA Manganese chelate 381.2 Mn
2+
Highly soluble
Macroelements
KNO
3
Potassium nitrate 101.1 K
+
,NO
3
−
1:4
Ca(NO
3
)
2
Calcium nitrate 164.1 Ca
2+
,2(NO
3
−
)1:1
(NH
4
)
2
SO
4
Ammonium sulfate 132.2 2NH
4
+
,SO
4
2−
1:2
NH
4
H
2
PO
4
Ammonium dihydrogen phosphate 115 NH
4
+
,H
2
PO
4
−
1:4
NH
4
NO
3
Ammonium nitrate 80.05 NH
4
+
NO
3
−
1:1
(NH
4
)
2
HPO
4
Ammonium monohydrogen phosphate 132.1 2(NH
4
+
), HPO
4
2−
1:2
KH
2
PO
4
Monopotassium phosphate 136.1 K
+
,H
2
PO
4
−
1:3
KCl Potassium chloride 74.55 K
+
,Cl
−
1:3
K2SO4 Potassium sulfate 174.3 2 K
+
,SO
4
2−
1:15
Ca(H
2
PO
4
)
2
Monocalcium phosphate 252.1 Ca
2+
,2(H
2
PO
4
−
)1:60
CaH
4
(PO
4
)
2
Triple super phosphate Variable Ca
2+
,2(PO
4
2−
)1:300
MgSO
4
·7H
2
O Magnesium sulfate 246.5 Mg
2+
,SO
4
2−
1:2
CaCl
2
·2H
2
O Calcium chloride 147 Ca
2+
,2Cl
−
1:1
CaSO
4
·2H
2
O Calcium sulfate 172.2 Ca
2+
,SO
4
2−
1:500
H
3
PO
4
Phosphoric acid 98 PO
4
3−
Concentrated acid solution
From Resh 2013
Environ Sci Pollut Res (2014) 21:9569–9577 9571
factors including crop types, plant species, growth stages, and
meteorological conditions. On the other side, in a closed
hydroponic system, availability of nutrient solution is higher
(Seo 1999) and the nutrients can be recycled and approxi-
mately 30 % of water can be saved (van Os 1999). Discharge
of nutrient solution from open hydroponic culturing system
into the agroecosystem without any purification process poses
detrimental effects to the environment (Isozaki et al. 2004;
Yang et al. 2005). In Korea, the open hydroponic culturing
systems are more common (Seo 1999;Choietal.2011b), and
discharged nutrient solution from open hydroponic culturing
systems is categorized as industrial wastewaters according to
the present Water Quality Conservation Act of Korea
(WQCAK) (Choi et al. 2011b). Hence, it is essential to devel-
op innovative technology to address the environmental risk
associated with nutrient solution discharged from hydroponic
culturing systems. The nutrient that loaded HWS should be
treated by physical and biological methods prior to discharge
into the environment. Many practices such as sedimentation,
activated sludge, and filtration are employed to eliminate
detrimental factors (Lazarova et al. 1999).
The applications of ultraviolet (UV), filtration, or ultrafil-
tration can be alternatives for disinfecting wastewater (Liberti
et al. 2002; Caretti and Lubello 2003). According to the
research study of Salgot et al. (2002), different filtration and
disinfection processes significantly reduce the chemical oxy-
gen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand (BOD), and
fecal coliforms. They also reported that the combination of
UVand ozone treatment was more effective for disinfection of
wastewater than any other treatment methods. The efficient
alternative methods such as settling, filtration, and UV radia-
tion including ultrafiltration (UF) eliminated almost 100 % of
the coliform bacteria. However, COD removal rate was much
higher when ultrafiltration was uses in comparison with the
other processes (Illueca-Muñoz et al. 2008). The use of UV
and sand filtration can control total coliform bacteria in waste
nutrient solution (Choi et al. 2011a) and can be used for
agricultural irrigation. Ahn et al. (2005)reportedthatsand
filter pretreatment can remove water turbidity and improve the
performance of UV irradiation. The hydroponic waste
solution procured by Choi et al. (2011b)frompaprika
(Capsicum annuum L.) and tomato (Lycopersicon
esculentum) farms had a high value (2.1 dS m
−1
)ofelectrical
conductivity (EC) and indicated brown in color as it contained
high nutrients. The EC in waste nutrient solutions decreased to
1.3 and 0.7 dS m
−1
after one and two filtration cycles, respec-
tively, and turned bright color when they were treated in sand
filter column containing sand (0.1 to 0.5-mm grain diameters)
of 5-cm diameter and 27-cm high, including 3-cm charcoal
between sand layers. In a study, Takamizawa et al. (1998)
recycled the nutrient solution by ultrafiltration technique.
They observed the growth inhibition of plant lettuce
(Lactuca sativa L.) by the sporangia of water mold Pythium
aphanidermatum, a phytopathogen. They applied ultrafiltra-
tion technique and successfully removed the phytopathogen
from the hydroponic culturing system. Their results suggested
that ultrafiltration is an effective method to remove pathogenic
microorganisms from hydroponic nutrient solution.
Reverse osmosis is a method through which water is puri-
fied to remove essentially all dissolved minerals and patho-
gens and possibly reused for irrigation purposes. That mem-
brane is preceded in the system by sediment and charcoal
filters to remove suspended (undissolved) solids and organic
molecules.The ultrafiltration and reverseosmosis methods for
waste solution are efficient (Koide and Satta 2004) but have
high operational and maintenance costs (Gagnon et al. 2010).
Reverse osmosis separation has been widely applied to sus-
tainable industrial growth and protection of the environment
(Oya 1973; Audinos et al. 1993; Andres et al. 1997; Bazinet
et al. 1999;Gainetal.2002). However, there are only a few
records on reverse osmosis separation of electrolytes in
discharged nutrient solution from greenhouses. In an
investigation, Koide and Satta (2004) used ion-exchange
membranes for treating discharged nutrient solution from a
tomato cultivated commercial greenhouse. Their report sug-
gested that reverse osmosis separation, which involves simul-
taneous concentration and dilution, enables the automatic
control of EC in concentrated and diluted solutions without
any injection of water or fertilizers. Furthermore, their study
recommended that reverse osmosis would be an efficient
Fig. 1 Fate of hydroponic waste
solution to the environment
9572 Environ Sci Pollut Res (2014) 21:9569–9577
process for recycling the discharged nutrient solution contain-
ing nitrate and phosphate from greenhouses effluents.
A research on treatment of HWS in small-scale constructed
wetlands was conducted by Park et al. (2008b). In order to obtain
optimum configuration, depth and load of constructed wetlands
(CWs) for treating of HWS discharged from cucumber-,
paprika-, and strawberry-cultivated greenhouses, they used four
different combined wetland systems, namely vertical flow (VF),
horizontal flow (HF), VF-VF, HF-VF, and HF-HF (Fig. 2). The
removal rate of pollutants under different depths of VF and HF in
two-stage hybrid CWs was 50 cm <70 cm regardless of CWs
configuration. The removal rate of pollutants from HWS in two-
stage hybrid CWs was in the order of 150–300 L m
−2
day
−1
>
450 L m
−2
day
−1
. The optimum depth and HWS loading were
70 cm and 300 L m
−2
day
−1
in four configurations of CWs,
respectively. Under optimum conditions, for various HWSs (cu-
cumber, paprika, and strawb erry HWS), the observed re-
moval rate of pollutants in HF-HF CWs was higher than
that in HF-VF CWs. Their study concluded that the HF-
HF two-stage hybrid CWs were good for treating HWSs
in greenhouses and under the optimum conditions and
the observed removal rates of BOD, COD, suspended
solid (SS), T-N, and T-P were 84, 81, 84, 51, and 93 %,
respectively.
In order to evaluate the removal rate of nitrogen and
phosphorus from HWS in CWs, four different kinds of
Fig. 2 Four different small-scale
constructed wetland systems for
hydroponic waste solution
treatment (avertical flow-
horizontal flow system; bvertical
flow-vertical flow system; c
horizontal flow-vertical flow
system; dhorizontal flow-
horizontal flow system) (Park
et al. 2008b)
Fig. 3 Different types of constructed wetlands for hydroponic waste solution treatment. System A Up-Up stream; System B Up-Down stream; System C
Down-Up stream; System D Down-Down stream (Park et al. 2012)
Environ Sci Pollut Res (2014) 21:9569–9577 9573
connection method of piping such as system A (UP-UP
stream), system B (UP-DOWN system), system C (DOWN-
UP stream), and system D (DOWN-DOWN stream) (Fig. 3)
were investigated by Park et al. (2012). From their study, they
observed that the removal rates of BOD, COD, SS, T-N, and
T-P by the system at (UP-UP stream) connection method in
actual CWs were slightly higher than their other systems. At
system A, the removal rates of BOD, COD, SS, T-N, and T-P
were 88, 77, 94, 54, and 94 %, respectively. Under different
HWS loading, the 75 L m
−2
day
−1
≒150 L m
−2
day
−1
≧
300 L m
−2
day
−1
. Their study concluded that the optimum
connection method was system A for treating HWS from
greenhouses.
In a study, the nitrogen and phosphate of nutrient waste
solution were removed by using four different photosynthetic
filamentous bacteria (Anabaena HA101, HA 701, and Nostoc
HN601, HN701) by Yang et al. (2004). They reported that the
Nostoc HN601 grown faster and higher uptake of N and P was
observed than the other cyanobacterial strains. In the tomato
grown HWS the Nostoc HN601 completely removed phos-
phate over a period of a week. The T-N and T-P removed by
Nostoc HN601 were 63.3 mg N gram dry weight and 19.1 mg
P gram dry weight, respectively. Their overall study
concluded that cyanobacterial mass production under
greenhouse condition might be used for recycling and
cleaning of HWS.
In a research study, Bertoldi et al. (2009) subjected
Chlorella vulgaris to remove pollutants from HWS, diluted
HWS 1:1 (50 % residue and 50 % deionized water) (HWS50),
and diluted HWS 1:3 (25 % residue and 75 % deionized
water) (HWS25). Their study stated that growing of
C. vulgaris in HWS could efficiently remove total inor-
ganic nitrogen in HWS as 204.04, 109.41, and
78.65 mg L
−1
in HWS, HWS50, and HWS25, respec-
tively. The total removal of phosphorus in their study
was18.18,9.01,and4.05mgL
−1
in HWS, HWS50,
and HWS25, respectively.
The development of technologies for reusing waste solu-
tion from open hydroponic culturing systems may provide an
opportunity to reduce the quantity of wastewater or waste
nutrient solution and increase water availability. For instance,
approximately 57 to 67 % of nitrogen in nutrient solution
supplied in a hydroponic culturing may be removed by plant
uptake, and the rest of nitrogen would be discharged (Uronen
1995); therefore, recycling nutrients such as NO
3
−
and PO
4
−
are available for crop growth without any cost. Sonneneld and
Well e s ( 1984) suggested that reuse of the discharged waste
nutrient solution for hydroponic culturing system produces the
economic value by reducing fertilizer cost and environmental
pollution and increasing crop yield.
Nutrient-rich waste solutions often produce higher crop
yields as compared to fresh water (Sheikh et al. 1987;
Chakrabarti 1995; Miranda et al. 2008). The advantages of
hydroponics are that the nutrient solution is a known quantity
and concentration, and it can be readily collected from the
hydroponics system (Carruthers 2002). The supply of nutrient
waste solution from hydroponic culturing to plant root has a
direct effect on the growth of plant crops (Both et al. 1999).
Fig. 4 Possible reuse mechanism
of hydroponic waste solution
Tabl e 2 Concentration of pH, EC, and minerals in groundwater, wastewater, and organic and inorganic waste nutrient solution
Treatments pH EC Na
+
NH
4
+
K
+
Mg
2+
Ca
2+
Cl
−
NO
3
−
PO
4
3−
SO
4
2−
dS/m (mg/L)
GW 7.0 0.2 8.1 ND 3.9 5.6 38.3 10.1 15.4 ND 4.9
WNSO 6.0 3.0 21.7 ND 401.6 110.5 244.2 56.2 394.6 61.9 284.9
WNSI 7.0 1.0 14.7 ND 67.3 61.0 66.0 3.6 84.0 14.3 112.0
WW 7.4 0.5 52.3 9.2 12.6 6.8 48.1 63.4 21.6 1.6 8.1
From Hong et al. 2009
ND not determined, GW groundwater, WNSO waste nutrient solution from organic, WNSI waste nutrient solution from inorganic, WW wastewater
9574 Environ Sci Pollut Res (2014) 21:9569–9577
The possible reuse mechanism of HWS for plant and crop
production is depicted in Fig. 4.
Park et al. (2005) demonstrated the reuse of waste nutrient
solution by growing paprika (C. annuum L.). Their experi-
ment suggested that the introduction of HWS increased the pH
and EC of the soils, coupled with the increases in the concen-
trations of exchangeable cations (Ca, Mg, and K), T-N, NH
4
-
N, and NO
3
-N. Their study suggested that the growth and
yield of red pepper were higher when they were combined
with 70 % of chemical fertilizer and 30 % of HWS. Yang et al.
(2005) applied the HWS to the upland soils by column
leaching and field experiment by growing paprika
(C. annuum L.). The soil pH and EC were increased when
the amount of HWS was increased. Their results suggested
that the HWS can be recycled and reused as plant nutrients to
enhance soil fertility and maintain environmental quality. In
another study, Zhang et al. (2010) used non-recycled HWS for
growing paprika. The paprika decreased nitrous concentration
as the plants grew. The cultivated paprika showed a thicker
stem diameter and higher leaf area index. The chlorophyll,
potassium, magnesium, and calcium contents were higher.
Their study concluded that the growth, total yield, and
number of paprika fruits were higher in the plants grown in
HWS.
A study conducted by Choi et al. (2011b)reportedthat
nutrient solution discharged from hydroponic culturing sys-
tems can be reused for the cultivation of Chinese cabbage
(Brassica campestris L.). Their study concluded that the leaf
width, fresh weight, and dry weight of the cabbage plants
irrigated with waste nutrient solution were similar or greater
than those of plants irrigated with a conventional groundwater
cultivation method. In another study when Choi et al. (2011c)
introduced the waste nutrient solution with 10 g m
−2
of NO
3
−
,
K
+
,SO
4
2−
,andCa
2+
, it increased the pH and EC values of the
nutrient solution by 6.3 and 1.5 dS m
−1
, respectively, and
thereby enhanced the Chinese cabbage growth. A similar
study by Hong et al. (2009) found that the concentrations of
K
+
,NH
4
+
,Mg
2+
,Ca
2+
,Cl
−
,NO
3
−
,PO
4
3−
,andSO
4
2−
were
higher in waste nutrient solution than wastewater, and the
growth of Chinese cabbage seedlings irrigated with waste
nutrient solution was similar to those irrigated with ground-
water (Table 2). Their study added that, the T-N uptake in
Chinese cabbage seedling irrigated with groundwater (GW),
waste nutrient solution from organic (WNSO) and inorganic
(WNSI) hydroponic cultures and wastewater (WW) were
5.47, 10.02, 5.20, and 4.59 mg/plant, respectively. Their over-
all study suggested that the waste nutrient solution can be used
as an alternate water resource for cultivating Chinese cabbage.
Bertoldi et al. (2009) had proven the reuse of hydroponics
waste solution for the successful cultivation of single-cell
protein C. vulgaris. In their study, they subjected Bold’sbasal
medium (BBM), HWS, diluted HWS 1:1 (50 % residue and
50 % deionized water) (HWS50), and diluted HWS 1:3 (25 %
residue and 75 % deionized water) (HWS25). Their results
suggested that C. vulgaris cultivated in HWS has potential to
obtain single-cell protein of good quality, due to its
composition and balanced amino acid distribution, as well as
high protein content that presented values of 52.40, 50.51,
43.96, and 39.98 g/100 g for BBM, HWS, HWS50, and
HWS25, respectively.
The study of Zhang et al. (2006) had shown good yield and
marketable fruit percentage of melon and cucumber grown in
a non-recycled hydroponics waste solution. The study of Yang
et al. (2004) revealed that cyanobacterial strains can be grown
on HWS and possibly used for agriculture as a biofertilizer.
Leaf lettuce (L. sativa L) was successfully cultivated in
discharged nutrient solution by Lee et al. (1999). The germi-
nation rate of lettuce showed no difference when Choi et al.
(2011b) conducted a comparative test with wastewater and
waste nutrient solution, and twice sand-filtered waste nutrition
solution promoted the radicle growth. Kim et al. (2000)also
found that the reuse of waste nutrient solution from rose
hydroponic cultures promoted the growth of commercially
important plant species poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima).
Conclusion
The reason behind the drive to the reuse of HWS was to
overcome water crisis in arid and semiarid areas of the world
and to control point source pollution. More attention should be
given as the hydroponics runoff from greenhouse contains
rich nutrients such as nitrous, phosphorus, potassium, calci-
um, and magnesium, so it is important to monitor the concen-
tration of nutrients before discharging into the environment.
Instead of discharging HWS into the environment, it could be
reused for cultivation of popular choice of fruits, vegetables,
medicinally important plants, and high protein-rich mush-
rooms. Recently, around the world, many researchers are
showing interest and investigating the possibility of growing
various commercial plants using HWS. Recharge and reuse of
HWS may be valuable as economic, control environmental
pollution and could contribute to reduce the consumption of
irrigation water.
Acknowledgments This research was supported by “Cooperative
Research Program for Agriculture Science & Technology Development”
Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea (Project No.:
PJ008396).
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