Application of a membrane photobioreactor combined with microalgae for shrimp culture wastewater treatment

Abstract

Shrimp farming has emerged as a multi-billion-dollar industry in our country, creating numerous economic benefits. However, this sector has several negative environmental impacts. Recent studies on the utilization of microalgae for wastewater treatment are of current interest due to their environmental remediation ability, as well as their potential to generate economic value from the biomass produced after treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the wastewater treatment efficiency of Chlorella Vulgaris using a PMBR membrane photobiological model in shrimp aquaculture. The evaluation process included an acclimatization phase and a treatment effectiveness evaluation phase, which lasted a total of 101 days. Algae biomass, the removal efficiency of COD, N-NO -, N-NO -, N-NH +, and P-PO 3-, and membrane fouling behavior were analyzed. The initial results demonstrated that the algae were well-adapted to shrimp aquaculture wastewater. The removal efficiency of N-NO -, N-NO -, N-NH +, and P-PO 3- and COD was 88.55%, 76.15%, 84.58%, 78.07%, and 81.33%, respectively. The algae biomass steadily increased from 91.3 mg/L to 327.69 mg/L, reaching an average level of about 208 mg/L. Additionally, the transmembrane pressure (TMP) evaluation indicated that the necessary time for membrane fouling removal was approximately 25-26 days.