Application of the Vetiver System in Computer Modeling for Industrial Wastewater Disposal

摘要

In recent years, computer models have been increasingly considered as an essential tool for managing environmental systems. The complexity of wastewater management has made computer models instrumental in the planning and implementation of industrial wastewater disposal schemes. In Queensland, Australia, the Environmental Protection Authority has adopted MEDLI (Model for Effluent Disposal using Land Irrigation) as a basic model for industrial wastewater management. MEDLI is a Windows based computer model for designing and analysing effluent disposal systems which use land irrigation, for a wide range of industries such as piggeries, feedlots, abattoirs, sewage treatment plants and food processing factories. To date the application of MEDLI in tropical and subtropical Australia has been restricted to a number of tropical and subtropical crops and pasture grasses. These species have been specially calibrated for MEDLI use. Due to its extraordinary capacity for nutrient uptake, particularly Nitrogen and Phosphorus, vetiver grass has recently been calibrated for MEDLI application. This paper introduces MEDLI and illustrates its use to develop and plan a sustainable effluent disposal system for a food-processing factory and an abattoir in Queensland, Australia.