Biofloc production in activated sludge system treating shrimp farming effluent

• Main Authors: Sandra Tedde Santaella, Maria do Socorro Vale, Clara Cabral Almeida, Willame de Araújo Cavalcante, Alberto Jorge Pinto Nunes, Oscarina Viana de Sousa, Fátima Cristiane Teles de Carvalho, Renato Carrhá Leitão
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Brazilian Association of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering 2018-10-01
• Series: Engenharia Sanitaria e Ambiental
• Subjects: Microbial flocs; nutritional supplements; Litopenaeus vannamei; wastewater treatment; biological systems
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1413-41522018000601143&lng=en&tlng=en

ABSTRACT The release of wastewater and the shrimp feed cost are the main challenges faced by the shrimp farming industry. An alternative solution to both problems is biofloc production in a unit external to the farm, in an activated sludge system for effluent treatment. The treatment system’s influent was composed of the shrimp farm wastewater supplemented with urea and sugarcane molasses. The results show that the average removal of chemical oxygen demand was 71% and the average biofloc production in the reactor was approximately 1.5g.L-1. Adding molasses to the influent contributed to the increase in the quantity and diversity of existing microorganisms that are beneficial to cultured shrimp. The mass balance of nitrogen compounds confirmed that nitrification occurred in the system. Therefore, the use of the activated sludge system is a viable and environmentally suitable alternative to produce bioflocs and shrimp farming effluent treatment.