IMIS - Marine Research Groups

The rapid expansion of the aquaculture industry has brought about a heightened focus on the waste produced by high intensity fish farming. In closed-containment, recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), fish solids are mechanically separated and/or coagulated before being disposed as waste. Subsequent revalorization is typically limited to the direct dispersal of aquaculture solids onto agricultural fields. Here, we developed a novel, continuous flow, low-cost solids waste treatment system for freshwater and saline RAS. Rotating drum filter backwash was collected as the primary feedstock for anaerobic digestion. A laboratory scale set up was used to monitor the conversion of the solids into a methane-rich (60–80% purity) biogas stream. Iron supplementation (ferric iron at 100 mg/L and 1000 mg/L) improved salt tolerance of the methanogenic community, leading to higher methane yields in a supplemented (FeCl₃ at 1000 mg/L) saline treatment than the saline control. The application of iron additionally improves pH stability and volatile fatty acid utilization. The methane yield ranged from 0.1 to 0.4 NL CH₄/ g VS across the three freshwater treatments and the iron-supplemented saline treatment, however, it was significantly lower for the saltwater control: ranging between 0.08 and 0.25 NL CH₄/ g VS. These values correspond to a percentage yield of 57–86% of the total biomethane potential. Overall, implementing anaerobic digestion for RAS waste valorization may generate significant amounts of biomethane to be used in electricity and heating for large-scale aquaculture facilities, while even for smaller facilities it may off-set costs and mitigate environmental impacts of the waste streams.