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- Phoslock Environmental Technologies (PET) China will begin work in early 2020 on Lake Dianchi and its catchment
- The program will improve the water quality in the lake and will be monitored by Yunnan government officials
- Currently, the amount of Phoslock needed is unclear, however, estimates are significant due to the size of the lake
- Phoslock is a unique water treatment product that permanently binds phosphorous in water bodies such as lakes, canals and dams
- PET’s share price is up a slight 4.67 per cent this morning with shares trading for 78.5 cents apiece
Phoslock Environmental Technologies (PET) China will begin work in early 2020 on Lake Dianchi and its catchment.
Lake Dianchi is one of the three most important lakes in China, alongside Chaohu and Taihu, and is the largest of nine Yunnan alpine lakes.
Image sourced Phoslock Environmental Technologies
The Dianchi Lake Catchment Area is 2920 square kilometres, while Lake Dianchi is 330 square kilometres.
PET China is currently applying 3300 tonnes of Phoslock to Xingyun’s river channels and wetlands.
This current stage of the Xingyun project should be completed by, or shortly after, the end of 2019.
Phoslock is a unique water treatment product that permanently binds phosphorous in water bodies such as lakes, canals and dams.
This process forms a new mineral called rhabdophane, which then becomes part of the natural lake sediments.
Phoslock has already been successfully applied to over 250 water bodies around the world.
If a water body has a high concentrate of phosphorus, harmful algal blooms can form — leading to deteriorating health and water quality.
If the phosphorus is left in the water bodies without intervening then the algal blooms will dominate the area and throw out the balance of the natural environment.
In humans, an abundance of phosphate can be extremely toxic and cause vomiting, nausea, dizziness and diarrhoea.
High levels can also affect the body’s ability to effectively use other minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc.
Ordered by the Dianchi Lake Authority, PET China has designed an initial program consisting of water quality improvement for the Shilongba Reservoir in the Dianchi Lake Catchment Area.
The initial plan is to apply Phoslock and engineering services within the Dianchi Lake Catchment Area.
Applications will take place over the next 2-3 months and the program will be monitored by Yunnan provincial government officials.
The plan is that the Shilongba Reservoir project will gather knowledge for the management of Lake Dianchi itself and its catchment areas.
Following this initial program, advanced work will be undertaken progressively in the Dianchi Lake Catchment Area and then Lake Dianchi itself.
It is currently difficult to determine the precise tonnage to be applied, however, given the size of the lake and its catchment area, the tonnage will be significant and spread over a number of years.
“We have over the past two years, been successful in gaining a number of significant long-term projects in China – Xingyun Lake and the Dianchi reservoir trial project announced today,” PET Deputy Chairman Zhigang Zhang commented.
“This means we have a wide and substantial spread of different representative projects across China. It is important to note that the projects include, not only widespread applications of Phoslock, but large engineering projects, which is a fast-growing and increasingly important factor in PET’s future growth,” he added.
PET’s share price is up a slight 4.67 per cent this morning with shares trading for 78.5 cents apiece at 11:29 am AEDT.
