Biomimetic Inspiration to Remediate Water Quality Issues Along The Ganges River Basin Chris Novotny, Lex Hundsdorfer, David Zaitz INDIA TABLE OF CONTENTS 2-6 7 8 9-51 10-27 28-42 43-51 52-76 53-61 62-76 77 1 INTRODUCTION TAXONOMY HOW-TO-READ REPORT FILTER PARTICULATES < 5 μm-5μ m 5.1 μm-200μ m 201 μ m-20mm ABSORB NUTRIENTS NITROGEN NITROGEN + P HOSPHOROUS CREDITS The Challenge & Context: As human populations grow, industrial and agricultural activities expand, and climate change threatens to cause major alterations to the hydrological cycle, less people have access to clean drinking water. Furthermore, freshwater ecosystems are degraded more than any other ecosystem on the planet. Major nutrient sources include agricultural runoff, domestic sewage (also a source of microbial pollution), industrial effluents, and atmospheric inputs. In an effort to address the United Nations’ call-to-action regarding water quality for humans and the myriad of aquatic organisms that rely on clean freshwater, we seek to look to nature to understand how she might filter particulates from water at the points of contact from homes and industrial sites to sewage treatment facilities, as well as points of impoundment, where human-designed drainment enters a water enclosure such as that of a reservoir. To hone in on an area most affected by degradation, we have chosen to focus on the Ganges River and thus have targeted the engineering and design firm AECOM for its strategic implementation in its existing work in the area. For hundreds of millions of people, in India and around the world, the Ganges is not just a river to extract resources from but a force that shapes the sociocultural system that makes up a large part of India’s economy. Deemed the “the water of immortality,” there is stark dissonance between the value the river holds and the care that it’s often imparted. As the river flows South of the Himalayas, it increases in degradation through, and along, the Ganges river basin. Its banks are disfigured by small hydropower stations, and diversion tunnel networks, blasted from solid rock, that leave miles of riverbed dry. India’s municipalities often don’t have strong regulations on waste disposal and sanitation. Left in open dump sites, waste often washes into the river after heavy rains. Furthermore irrigation canals, built by the British in the 19th century, further distort river flows. What’s left of the river is ill-equipped to cope with the pollution and remains inefficient for further irrigation use downstream. As a result, local fish populations have depleted, migrating to other freshwater systems, causing both ecosystem and economic cascades. INTRODUCTION How Does Nature Clean Water? Over billions of years, life has adapted unique ways of removing impurities and solid particles from water. Whether for feeding or for separating and collecting contaminates for cleansing, nature provides a wealth of targeted strategies and mechanisms that we can glean from, and mimic, to better improve water treatment systems—restoring ecosystems, improving human health, environmental sustainability, and economic prosperity. In this document, we use the biomimicry process to discover solutions from nature and translate them into design principles for AECOM’s work within, and along, their Ganges River Basin Project. It is our hope that this report encourages the engineering team to undertake new approaches in improving the health of the Ganges River and surrounding ecosystems. 2 The Ganges system offers a proxy model for multifaceted water quality issues worldwide. There are three leverage points of intervention, all equally equipped to handle in part, or in whole, a Ganges River restoration and cleanup initiative from the Himalayas down through the river basin. 1. Irrigation canal rerouting to allow more water to flow back into the system 2. Agricultural runoff filtration systems that mitigate nutrient leaks (including Phosphorus and Nitrogen) 3. Macro waste filtrations systems that mitigate domestic and industrial pollution (This often also leads to microbial pollution) Because biomimicry is both a resource and culturally benign discipline, we believe it works well as a design inference tool to help inform local Ganges River populations and municipalities that depend on the system’s health to thrive. At this point of entry and for our scope of work, we believe that biomimicry will be best utilized as a leverage initiative for points 2 and 3. Function: Clean water by filtering particulates / Absorb or remove organic nutrients from water (containing: Nitrogen and/or Phosphorus) Considerations: Musts/Non-negotiables: • At the system level, collection and filtration process must address domestic pollution of various chemical make up, size, and shape • At the micro level, filtration systems must address concerns with elements like phosphorus and nitrogen • Harvesting and filtration processes must hone in on particles ranging from 1 μ m up to, and including, 5mm • Able to remove particles at higher frequencies as the river flows near city beds, and high congestion, more susceptible to pollution runoff • The solution must not contribute to the problem, such as creating harmful byproducts during removal process • Must be able to adapt under various temperature ranges (from freezing conditions along the Himalayas through high heat and humidity along equatorial regions) • Culturally benign (cannot implement large scale technology that interferes with religious practices, i.e. must not be visible) Wants: • Ability to adapt to additional contexts/infrastructures • Ability to be updated/replaced given changing conditions specific to place • Uses low energy processes during various stages of use • Offers monetary gain to the local economy by presenting new unexploited opportunities INTRODUCTION 3 Nice-to-haves: • Micro-level particulate removal system able to be adapted to capture larger, bulk items, such as raw sewage, plastic bags and bottles, human waste, cow dung, remnants of cremation practices, garlands of flowers, animal carcasses, butcher’s offal, and construction waste. Biomimicry Process : The Biomimicry Thinking process offers an in-depth approach to scoping a challenge at hand (such as in the case of water quality here), discovering biological models to learn from and apply to a design context, creating a design using principles gleaned from natural strategies, and lastly, evaluating the design against Life’s Principles. Life’s Principles are a compilation of the evolved strategies found from life that have sustained over 3.8 billion years to today. After determining the contextual needs and restraints for the challenge at hand, we identified goals within these principles to pursue in a final design. These are illustrated below. INTRODUCTION Map shows the Ganges River, slightly North of the Himalayas, down through slightly South of West Bengal. Cities flagged as having high pollutant outflow are highlighted geographically . 4 Life’s Principles to Integrate into Design: • Be Resource Efficient (Material and Energy) • Use low energy processes - Populations along the Ganges are amongst the poorest in the world and access to available energy dependent systems and infrastructures are rare. Naturally, we seek systems that mitigate requisite temperatures, heat, and pressure needed for reactions. • Use multifunctional design - In an ideal scenario, the solution would be adaptable to various sources of entry and exit, i.e. leaving a home and entering a sewage treatment plant, agricultural facilities, industry exit points, openings toward impoundment systems, etc. • Fit form to function - Design of product, process or system ought to not use more materials than it needs, fitting form to function. • Be Locally Attuned and Responsive - The Ganges socioeconomic systems requires a level of fitting into the context around it. Cultural constraints put limitations on technology. Likewise, the design/process/system ought to be able to fit in and respond appropriately to its constantly changing dynamics of nutrient loads. • Use feedback loops - To increase effectiveness and efficiency, feedback loops will help ensure the system is working properly and is able to be improved when necessary/ able. • Use readily available materials and energy - To implement a design such as this, whether it is an adaptable piece about to be fitted for an existing system or a new design element, resources ought to be sourced within 100 miles to keep costs for transportation low, as well as subsequent environmental impact, and support community economies by buying local. • Use Life-Friendly Chemistry • Break down into benign constituents - System must not release volatile compounds back into the environment. Decomposition of chemical filtration must not release harmful byproducts. • Adapt to Changing Conditions - Using real time data and feedback loops, an ideal system would be able to adapt to changing conditions with minimal input from humans, i.e. less maintenance needed and more self-sustaining design functioning. • Embody resilience through variation, redundancy, decentralization - With weather and climate changes continually changing, becoming more dramatic and unstable, a design that can maintain function following a disturbance by incorporating a variety of duplicate forms, processes, or systems that are not located exclusively together would be an added benefit for this design. • Integrate Development with Growth - With population size and urbanization continuing to rise, the adaptability for a design to change over time will be key in preventing future problems from occurring and maintaining the design solution longevity. • Combine modular and nested components - By building from simple to complex, the design team ought to aim to fit multiple units within each other progressively to capture a unified amount of particulates, as well as optimize space and efficiency for filtration. INTRODUCTION 5 These principles would be taken into the creating phase to design a concept (not contained in this document) and ultimately evaluated against to ensure the design creates conditions conducive to life. For more information on Life’s Principles, please visit www.biomimicry.net We began our work in the discovery phase by seeking solutions to our identified functions above by asking the questions: “How does nature filter?” and “How does nature capture or absorb phosphorus and/or nitrogen?” This led us to a wealth of information currently available through scientific literature. We extracted the necessary information in order to illustrate the strategy and mechanism used by the organism, or what we like to call “biological champion.” Quoted excerpts of this research and biological diagrams accompany each champion for reference. Following this analysis, we converted the mechanism by which the organism has successfully 1) filtered a fluid and/or 2) collected and absorbed/removed nitrogen (N) and/or phosphorus (P). This is what we call an Abstracted Design Principle. This principle can then be used by itself or in combination with other design principles to create an effective solution to cleaning water. INTRODUCTION 6 Taxonomy Overview : This taxonomy serves as a visual representation and comparison of the fifteen organisms contained in this report. The organisms are arranged in order of particulate size— ranges the organisms are equipped to filter and/or capture. This taxonomy also indicates the organisms’ other notable attributes such as passive or active filtration / diffusion, as well as their ability to deal with Nitrogen and Phosphorus, characteristics of eutrophic waters. For organisms utilizing diffusion, parts per million is also indicated. This matrix is meant to facilitate easy and quick comparison of the fifteen organisms this report. TAXONOMY 7 How-To-Read : Organisms’ highlighted in the pages to come are organized in correspondence with our taxonomy (see page: 7). Each organism will have a logo, pictured below, on its header and strategy page. These logos serve as a reference point for individuals seeking natural strategies for specific particulate scales and / or nutrient compositions for absorption. Furthermore, the Table of Contents (see page: 1) serves as a quick reference glossary to locate specific collections within this report. For organism strategy collections, see the below logos as a guide for report navigation. HOW-TO-READ • Venus Flower Basket : pp. 10-14 • Choanoflagellates: pp. 15-18 • Various Tree Species: pp. 19-22 • Blue Mussel: pp. 23-27 • Fiddler Crab: pp. 28-32 • Bladderwort: pp. 33-36 • Sea Squirt: pp. 37-42 • Larvaceans: pp. 43-46 • Basking Shark: pp. 47-51 • Italian Ryegrass: pp. 53-56 • Water Hyacinth & Cyanobacterium Mutualism: pp. 57-61 • Human Kidney: pp. 62-65 • Salp: pp. 66-69 • Seaweed: pp. 70-73 • Water Lettuce: pp. 74-76 Particulate Filtration Nutrient Absorption 8 PARTICULATE FILTRATION 9 Strategy / Mechanism: Euplectella aspergillum , and other types of the Hexactinellid sponges, utilize silica to create basket-like sieves to capture small food particles. Euplectella aspergillum has a vase-like body composed of interlocking perpendicular and diagonal skeletal grids that make up its form. This interlocking skeletal grid is comprised of six hierarchical layers ranging in scale from nanometers (nm) to centimeters (cm). When filtering, Euplectella aspergillum intakes water and particulates through its base, where it then enters the inside body cavity. The particles get trapped inside the basket and water is expelled through sieved top plate. Euplectella aspergillum filters particulates in sizes ranging from 0.4 μ m-5 μ m. Additionally, Euplectella aspergillum can also intake shrimp larvae. These larvae eventually grow and are then too large to escape the basket structure. Quoted excerpt: “ Euplectella species feed on organic debris and microscopic organisms that are drawn into its central cavity through numerous holes in the body wall. ” (Britannica, 2010) “ ...Euplectella aspergillum, is a sediment-dwelling marine sponge that is anchored into the sea floor by a flexible holdfast apparatus consisting of thousands of anchor spicules (long, hair-like glassy fibers). Each spicule is covered with recurved barbs and has an internal architecture consisting of a solid core of silica surrounded by an assembly of coaxial silica cylinders, each of which is separated by a thin organic layer. The thickness of each silica cylinder progressively decreases from the spicule’s core to its periphery, which we hypothesize is an adaptation for redistributing internal stresses, thus increasing the overall strength of each spicule.” (Monn et al. 2015) “ ... The grids are supported by bundles of spicules that form vertical, horizontal and diagonally ordered struts. The overall cylindrical lattice is capped at its upper end by a terminal sieve plate and rooted into the sea floor at its base by a flexible cluster of barbed fibrillar anchor spicules. External diagonally oriented spiral ridges that extend perpendicular to the surface further strengthen the lattice. A secondarily deposited laminated silica matrix that cements the structure together additionally reinforces the resulting skeletal mass.” (Weaver et al. 2011) Clean Water By Filtering Particulates (0.4-5 μm) Venus Flower Basket ( Euplectella aspergillum ) 10 Prepared By: Chris Novotny Mechanism Image: Photograph of Euplectella aspergillum specimen by Swee-Cheng. (Image: http://bit.ly/1qmCoAi ) Close-up of the spicule structure of a E. aspergillum by Ryan Moody. (Image: http://bit.ly/1xNjCqJ ) Venus Flower Basket ( Euplectella aspergillum ) Clean Water By Filtering Particulates (0.4-5 μm) 11 Venus Flower Basket ( Euplectella aspergillum ) Detail of Euplectella aspergillum top plate by Grover Schrayer. (Image: http://bit.ly/1tZ61ZM ) Organizational detail of the terminal sieve plate. (A) Scanning electron micrograph illustrating the convex nature of the terminal sieve plate. (B) Higher magnification views of this structure reveal that it is composed of a wide range of morphologically distinct spicules cemented together. (C) Lateral and vertical flaring of the peripheral spicules results in complete interdigitation of the sieve plate with the inner wall of the cylindrical skeletal lattice (C). Scale bars: A: 5 mm; B: 1 mm; C: 2 mm. (Weaver et al.) Vertical, horizontal, and diagonal reinforcement of the cylindrical skeletal lattice. Three-dimensional structural renderings show that superimposed on the underlying quadrate lattice are a series of vertical, horizontal, and diagonal struts, which form an alternating open and closed cell structure (A). Scanning electron micrograph of the interior lattice wall reveals that the horizontal supporting struts are predominantly positioned on the interior lattice surface and the vertical components are on the exterior (B). Each strut is in turn composed of a series of individual spicules bundled together (C). Scanning electron microscopy provides a comparative view of a similar region of the native skeleton showing the semi-disordered nature of the diagonal components (D). Scale bars: A: 5 mm; B: 5 mm; C: 2 mm; D: 2 mm. (Weaver et al.) Clean Water By Filtering Particulates (0.4-5 μm) 12 Abstracted Design Principle: Overlapping ,interlocking, perpendicular, and diagonal grids create rigid dense mesh body in which fluid and particles are drawn into the cavity, trapping the particles within, and exhausting the remaining fluid. ! ! Venus Flower Basket ( Euplectella aspergillum ) Clean Water By Filtering Particulates (0.4-5 μm) 13 Application Ideas: Filtering water of particulates ● Selective removal of unwanted particles in other mixtures References Cited : W eaver, J. et al. (2007). “Hierarchical assembly of the siliceous skeletal lattice of the hexactinellid sponge Euplectella aspergillum.” Journal of Structural Biology. 158 (1): pp. 93-106. Monn M.A. et al.(2015). “New mechanics insights into spicule architecture”. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 112 (16) 4976-4981. Yahel,G. et al. (2006) “Size independent selective filtration of ultraplankton by hexactinellid glass sponges”. AQUATIC MICROBIAL ECOLOGY. 45 (1): pp. 181–194. The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. (1998). Venus Flower Basket. Encyclopedia Britannica. Venus Flower Basket ( Euplectella aspergillum ) Clean Water By Filtering Particulates (0.4-5 μm) 14 Strategy / Mechanism: Choanoflagellates ( Species rich ) are single-celled suspension feeders that range from 10-30 μ m long. They often live in sessile colonies. Along the organism's posterior plane resides a cylindrical cone called the collar. This collar is laced with 40-200 tiny troughs and valleys, 1-2.5 μ m in length. Each valley contains tiny fibrous hairs known as microvilli. These troughs and valleys increase surface area. As water passively flows through, and around the organism, detritus, up to 3 μ m, is captured by these microvilli and held within these crevices. The motorary flagellum of choanoflagellates increase detritus capture by oscillating, creating water vortices, which push detritus to and towards the collar. Quoted excerpt: “ Choanoflagellates, one type of suspension feeder that is primarily sessile, have been estimated to filter between 1 and 25% of the sea water in coastal areas each day... Some estimates suggest that every fluid particle in such coastal areas may pass through the filtering apparatus of a suspension feeder at least once per day. ” (Rachel et al., 2013) “ Surface area increases... detritus and bacteria are captured by the microvilli and ingested .” (Nielson et al., 2017). Clean Water By Filtering Particulates (1-3 μm) Choanoflagellates ( Species rich ) 15 Prepared By: David Zaitz Mechanism Image: Clean Water By Filtering Particulates (1-3 μm) Choanoflagellates (Species rich ) 16 Abstracted Design Principle: Grid-like structure is laced with intersecting lines forming perpendicular cross-sections. Along these intersections, micro troughs and valleys, up to 2.5 μ m in width, form crevices along the grid periphery. These crevices contain micro bristles which trap particulates, up to 3 μ m, as they passively move along, and with, the water current. Clean water By Filtering Particulates (1-3 μm) Choanoflagellates ( Species rich ) 17 Application Ideas: Polluted water restoration and cleanup ● Aquaculture ● Public water systems ● Sanitation References Cited : Rachel, P. et al. (2013). “A new Angle on Microscopic Suspension Feeders near Boundaries” Biophysical Journal. 105 (8): pp. 1796-1804. Nielson, L.T. et al. (2017). “Hydrodynamics of microbial filter-feeding” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 114 (35): pp. 9373-9378 Clean Water By Filtering Particulates (1-3 μm) Choanoflagellates ( Species rich ) 18 Strategy / Mechanism: A s part of their photosynthesizing strategies, tree leaves often exhibit large surface areas relative to other tree structures. Some tree leaves also exhibit micro- ornamentations, ~1-5 μ m in overall size, that offer a multitude of functional adaptations. Tree leaves with trichomes (tiny hairs) might offer self-shading and water retention strategies, for example. Whereas channels may aid in fluid transfer, gas exchange and absorption. As a byproduct, micro- ornamentations have also been found to bio-filtrate airborne particulates, up to 2.5 μ m in area, simply by blocking, capturing, and retaining them as they travel through the air. As particulates travel, micro-ornamentations, and leaf surface area, hinder progression by offering opportunistic regions for particulates to settle, by slowing momentum, or retained under, or within, a groove, ridge, or bump. Since tree species rarely exist in silos and are often part of an ecosystem with a high degree of flora diversity, varying tree leaves, in their various textures and micromorphologies, offer greater opportunistic capture of particulates. Since particulate dimensions and characteristics vary, particulate capture is greatly improved when a multitude of varying microstructures are present, often characterized in mature forests. Furthermore, foliage density also increases particulate filtration. Studies on the ill effect of particulate matter on aquatic organisms show similar symptoms to that of terrestrial organisms (Hartono et al 2017, Zhao et al 2014). Fluid dynamics of particulate matter movement in air and water are similar when particle size is under 5 μ m. The viscosity of water compared to air has little differentiation at this scale. Compressibility of water is comparable, when particles are smaller than 5 μ m, to that of air up to depths of 10.33m, where water pressure and air pressure differ on particulate motion (Zhao et al 2014). While there may be evidence of particulate capture within marine and coral ecosystems, due to similar micro- ornamentations, coral reef degradation and bleaching have shown lackluster data (Coral Reef Conservation Program, 2009). Quoted excerpt: “Given that the surface properties of objects are known to influence particle immobilization, plant species differ in their ability to scavenge dust-laden air. The dust-retention abilities of vegetation depend on several factors including canopy type, leaf and branch density, and leaf micromorphology (e.g., roughness, trichomes and wax)...Foliage acts as a bio-filter of air pollution and improve air quality due to the leaves’ rough texture and large contact area. Clean water By Filtering Particulates (2.5 μm) Various Tree Species ( Genera Rich ) 19 Prepared By: David Zaitz