Open AccessEvaluation of Two Textiles with or without Polymer Addition for Dewatering Effluent from an Intensive Biofloc Production System
Author(s) -
Danaher Jason J.,
Shultz Richard C.,
Rakocy James E.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of the world aquaculture society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.655
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1749-7345
pISSN - 0893-8849
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-7345.2010.00444.x
Subject(s) - effluent , pulp and paper industry , oreochromis , geotextile , nile tilapia , dewatering , total suspended solids , textile , biology , suspended solids , polymer , flocculation , recirculating aquaculture system , materials science , aquaculture , microbiology and biotechnology , wastewater , composite material , environmental engineering , chemical oxygen demand , environmental science , fish <actinopterygii> , fishery , geotechnical engineering , engineering
Intensive, recirculating aquaculture systems create concentrated wastes high in solid content. Geotextile has successfully dewatered aquaculture effluent; however, burlap, made from natural plant fiber, may provide similar filtering capabilities at a lower cost. The trial was designed as a 2 × 2 factorial to evaluate burlap bags and geotextile bags with or without polymer addition for dewatering Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus , effluent from an intensive biofloc production system. There were no significant interactions ( P > 0.05) between the main effects on the removal efficiency of total suspended solids (TSS) concentration. There were no significant differences ( P > 0.05) in the main effect of textile; however, there were significant differences ( P ≤ 0.001) in the main effect of polymer on the removal efficiency of TSS concentration from effluent. Overall, TSS removal efficiency in textile‐only treatments was 81%, whereas textile treatments in combination with polymer removed 98%. Partial budget analysis indicated that the cost per kilogram of solids (dry weight) removed from untreated effluent was US$1.52, 1.51, 0.16, and 0.14 for the geotextile with polymer (GP), geotextile without polymer (GNP), burlap with polymer (BP), and burlap without polymer (BNP) treatments, respectively. The BP could provide an effective treatment process for removing TSS in discharged effluent.