Removal efficiency of TAN, BOD and COD by using aerobic fluidized bed reactor with circulation in concentric tubes associated to a column settler in intensive production of tilapia

ABSTRACT

The development of intensive aquaculture is accompanied by an increasing environmental impact produced by the wastewater generated. The recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) are a compact alternative and manage high stocking densities and lower volumes of water. It was used a column settler (CS) associated with aerobic fluidized bed reactor (BAS-CT) with hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 0.55 and 0.20 h respectively, in RAS with tilapias with average weight of 0.32 kg and storage density of 33.1 kg.m^-3 regarding the removal of total ammonia nitrogen (TAN), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD). The removal efficiencies of TAN, BOD and COD were 35.2, 48.0 and 64.9%, respectively. The use of CS with the BAS-CT showed a good performance with low HRT in the treatment of this effluent.

Keywords:
column settler; aerobic fluidized bed reactor; recirculating aquaculture systems; hydraulic retention time; wastewater treatment