2.2 Chemistry of Water Hyacinth: (Jafari 2010)

• The fresh plant contains 95.5% moisture, 0.04% N, 1.0% ash, 0.06% P₂O₅, 0.20% K₂O, and 3.5% organic matter.
• On a zero-moisture basis, it is 75.8% organic matter, 1.5% N, and 24.2% ash.
• The ash contains 28.7% K₂O, 1.8% Na₂O, 12.8% CaO, 21.0% Cl, and 7.0% P₂O₅.
• It contains, per 100 g, 0.72 g methionine, 4.72 g phenylalanine, 4.32g threonine, 5.34 g lysine, 4.32 g isoleucine, 0.27 g valine, and 7.2 g leucine.
• Water hyacinth roots naturally absorb pollutants, including such toxic chemicals as lead, mercury, and strontium 90 (as well as some organic compounds believed to be carcinogenic) in concentrations 10,000 times that in the surrounding water.