Recent advances in application of moving bed bioreactors for wastewater treatment from recirculating aquaculture systems: A review

Abstract

In recent years, government investments in implementing restrictive public policies on the treatment and discharge of effluents from the aquaculture industry have increased. Hence, efficient and cleaner methods for aquaculture production are needed. Recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) offers water conservation by recycling the treated aquaculture water for reuse. RAS wastewater treatment using a moving bed bioreactors (MBBRs) process has been considered well suited for maintaining good water quality, thereby making fish farming more sustainable. Currently, improvements were achieved in tackling the influence of salinity, organic matter, disinfectant, and bioreactor start-up process on the MBBR performance efficiency. This review highlights an updated overview of recent development made using MBBR to treat the residual water from RAS. Precisely, nitrification and simultaneous nitrification-denitrification (SND), and other hybrid processes for nitrogen removal were elucidated. Finally, future challenges and prospects of MBBRs in RAS facilities that need to be considered were also proposed.

Keywords

• Ammonia removal
• Biofilm carriers
• Sustainability
• Salinity
• Nitrogenous compound
• Accelerated start-up