Recycling waste nutrients back into RAS and FTS marine aquaculture facilities from the perspective of the circular economy

The feasibility of use microalgae biotechnology to improve water quality together with the production of biomass to replace fish meal or fish oil in two marine fish farms with different production systems were studied. The samples were taken from a flow-through system (FTS) and a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) with sea bass cultures of 300 g and 120 g, respectively. The most suitable stream for microalgae cultivation was that from RAS as the concentration of N in the microalgae reactor influent should be >= 8 mg TN L-1 to operate at the same hydraulic retention time than the solids retention time, independently of the productivity of the reactor. Tetraselmis chuii were cultured in 18 L bubble column reactors under batch and semi-continuous operation in media that mimic a RAS stream. The results showed that RAS systems enriched with trace metals generate viable streams for microalgae growth with average biomass productivity under semi-continuous operation of 69 mg TSS L-1 d(-1). Nutrients concentrations at the end of the experiment under semi-continuous operation were 0.76 mg TDN L-1 and 0.01 mg TDP L-1, similar to those in the make-up water of the RAS. The composition of microalgae biomass obtained shows that it could be optimal as a substitute for fish meal in sea bass feed. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The feasibility of using microalgae biotechnology to improve water quality and produce biomass to replace fish meal or fish oil in two marine fish farms was studied. Results showed that RAS systems enriched with trace metals generate viable streams for microalgae growth, with potential for microalgae biomass to be used as a substitute for fish meal in sea bass feed.