Integrated modified anaerobic baffled reactor with aerobic post treatment for nutrient removal from aquaculture wastewater

Abstract

The present study is an attempt for treatment of aquaculture wastewater from indoor facilities such as hatcheries etc through integrated process. which comprises an anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR) packed with coconut coir fibre as bacterial support medium and an aerobic cascading step to aerate the effluent coming out of the anaerobic baffled reactor. The maximum COD removal obtained in coconut coir packed ABR was 96 % while in the control, it was 65 %. The maximumTotal Kjeldahl Nitrogenremoval in coconut coir packed ABR was 95 % while in the control ABR the removal was 61 %. The maximum percentage ammonia removal obtained in coconut coir packed ABR was 97 % while in the control ABR 95 % of ammonia removal was achieved. Therefore the study concludes that the process significantly reduces the nutrient load in the wastewater making it suitable for release into natural water bodies or for recirculation.

Keywords

• Aquaculture
• anaerobic baffled reactor
• cascade aeration
• nitrogen removal
• sustainability
• wastewater treatment