Effect of four different pretreatments in nitrogen and phosphorus flow and mass balance in effluents of a recirculating aquaculture system.

The effluents from intensive aquaculture operations such as recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) have high concentrations of sludge that can become a source of pollution if they are not properly treated and disposed. Anaerobic digestion is commonly used for biological degradation of sludge. Pretreatments prior to anaerobic digestion can enhance sludge degradation and decrease nitrogen and phosphorus load through microbial activity. This study examines the effect of four different pretreatments (biological, chemical, mechanical and thermal) in the N and P fluxes and mass balance from a RAS effluent in a seven-month period at ambient temperature. Each month a 15-day experiment was performed. All pretreatments, except chemical, removed N (thermal 29.78%, biological 36.75%, control 42.25%, mechanical 49.46%, chemical -7.68%). All pretreatments produced phosphorus (chemical 1.96%, mechanical 16.07%, thermal 24.37%, biological 32.39%, control 58.50%). Our results showed that the mechanical pretreatment was the most effective in removing N. In contrast, none of the pretreatments reduced P content in the sludge.