Preparation of plant materials
This experimentation began in April 2008. Since it was not the season for water hyacinth harvest, the plant material was provided by Xiamen Lvbo Biotechnology Co., Ltd. The water hyacinth with an average stalk height of 70 cm was harvested from a hyacinth lagoon in the Torch Park, Xiamen and prepared in the previous summer. The leaf stalks were sliced lengthwise, sun-dried after extraction (Chen et al., 2010) and filled in plastic netting bags (50 cm × 50 cm) to be laid on the surface of the facultative tank of wastewater.