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Biology of Methanogenesis |
Department of Marine Biotechnology UMBC - Institute of Marine & Environmental Technology
Waste
Recycling for Recirculated Aquaculture Systems
Marine
fish farming is one of the world’s fastest growing industries for fish
production. A major drawback of
this industry is its negative impact on the marine environment in the form of
organic/inorganic pollution of coastal areas by decomposition of fish feces
and uneaten food. In response to
this concern there is a trend to shift marine fish farming inland
using closed recirculating systems in order to reduce its environmental
impact. Such systems conserve
water, allow treatment of polluted water within a closed loop and offer
improved control of effluent discharge, thereby reducing the environmental
impact of the system. Most of the
closed recirculating aquaculture systems include biological nitrogen removal
through nitrification / denitrification process and mechanical solids removal.
Strict new regulations on organic matter discharge have motivated the
aquaculture industry to integrate solid waste treatment (which is primarily
organic) as part of its operation. Such
treatment employs flocculation/coagulation processes to reduce sludge volume
prior to composting it for land dispersal.
However, the high salinity of marine and brackish water sludge limits
its use as fertilizers and is a source of pollution in landfills and waste
outflows. The
goals of this study are: a) to reduce solid output from highly saline
recirculated aquaculture systems by anaerobic digestion /biodegradation
to methane and carbon dioxide and b) to test the feasibility of harvesting the
resulting methane as energy source. The
research includes characterization of sludge from
several recirculating aquaculture operations.
Additionally, a comparison between different types and operational
modes of anaerobic reactors in terms of their efficiency, stability and
applicability as an end process for the digestion of highly saline marine and
brackish water aquaculture sludge are being studied.
Novel molecular tools are being used to monitor
and screen the microbial consortia in the different reactors to promote the
establishment of methanogenic consortia.
Operational parameters are being optimized to reduce hydraulic retention
time while minimizing sulfate replenishment.
Two pilot scale anaerobic reactors
will be set up, operated and evaluated as part of a water treatment of marine
(US) and brackish water (Israel) recirculated systems.
Demonstrations
Biogas production from fish waste
Collaborators
Yossi Tal, Ph.D., Center of Marine Biotechnology
Amit
Gross, Ph.D., Ben Gurion University of the Negev
Project Team
Ms.
Nikia
Smith, Towson University
Related Publications and Abstracts
Tal, Y., H.J. Schreier, K.R. Sowers, J.D. Stubblefield, A.R. Place, and Y. Zohar. 2009. Environmentally Sustainable, Fully Contained Marine Aquaculture. Aquaculture 286: 28-35. [ABSTRACT].
Mirzoyan, N., S. Parnes, A. Singer, Y. Tal, K. Sowers and A. Gross. 2008. Quality of brackish water aquaculture sludge and its suitability for anaerobic digestion and methane production in an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor. Aquaculture 279: 35-41. [ABSTRACT].
Tal, Y., J.E.M. Watts, S.B. Schreier, K.R. Sowers, H.J. Schreier. 2002. Characterization of the microbial community and nitrogen transformation processes associated with moving bed bioreactors in a closed recirculated marine system. Aquaculture 215: 187-202 [ABSTRACT].
Tal,
Y., J.E.M. Watts, S.B. Schreier, K.R. Sowers, H.J. Schreier.
2002.
Nitrification, denitrification
and anammox processes associated with the microbial community of moving
bed bioreactors in a closed recirculated marine system, pp 451-460.
Proc. 4th Int. Conf.
Recirculating Aquaculture, Roanoke,
VA.
Sowers,
K.R. and J.G. Ferry.
2002.
Marine Methanogenesis. In:
G. Bitton (ed.), The Encyclopedia of Environmental Microbiology.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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