Integrated system and method for purifying water, producing pulp and paper, and improving soil quality

A bioremediation, packaging, and soil improvement method comprising the steps of:

• culturing algae in an attached periphyton bed;
• running water to be treated over the periphyton bed;
• permitting the algae to sequester a pollutant from the water, thereby cleansing the water;
• harvesting the algea, thereby removing the pollutant from the periphyton bed, to produce a wet algal biomass;
• mixing the wet algal biomass with a shredded fibrous material to produce a pulp;
• producing a package from the pulp;
• using the package to transport an item to a delivery site;
• and
• adding the package to soil adjacent the delivery site for enriching the soil.

A bioremediation, packaging, and soil improvement method comprising the steps of:

• culturing a plant material chosen from a group consisting of water hyacinth, dollar weed, water lettuce, and duckweed in a confined bed, the plant material capable of absorbing or sequestering a pollutant from water;
• running water to be treated over the bed;
• permitting the plant material to sequester a pollutant from the water, thereby cleansing the water;
• harvesting the plant material, thereby removing pollutant from the bed, to produce a wet biomass;
• mixing the wet biomass with a shredded fibrous material to produce a pulp;
• producing a package from the pulp;
• using the package to transport an item to a delivery site;
• and adding the package to soil adjacent the delivery site for enriching the soil.