Biomass recovery and wastewater treatment in shrimp aquaculture: A comparative study on the performance of HRAPS and PMBR

Abstract

In this study, the utilization of Chlorella vulgaris microalgae for shrimp aquaculture wastewater treatment was explored through two photosynthetic systems: High-Rate Algae Ponds (HRAPs) and Membrane Photobioreactors (PMBR). The application of microalgae and bacteria in shrimp wastewater treatment in both systems exhibited good treatment efficiency, with effective removal rates of COD, N-NO3-, N-NO2-, N-NH4+, TN, and P-PO43- reaching 27.4%, 58.7%, -35%, 92.2%, 77%, and 93.5% respectively in the HRAPs model, and 29.7%, 24.5%, 26%, 83.9%, 75%, and 93.4% respectively in the PMBR model. Both models demonstrated similar capabilities in COD and P-PO43- removal. However, HRAPs showed higher efficiency in N-NO3- removal compared to PMBR, whereas PMBR was more effective in N-NO2- removal. Regarding daily biomass recovery, HRAPs achieved 5474 mg/day compared to PMBR, which reached 7265 mg/day, indicating a higher biomass recovery capability of PMBR over HRAPs. These results unveil the potential application of microalgae in shrimp aquaculture wastewater treatment, providing a comprehensive insight into the performance and advantages of each system in wastewater treatment and biomass recovery.