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Biofilm, the aggregates of microbial layers that are attached on the surface of biofilter carriers, plays a central role in the removal and conversion of nutrients in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS). The bacterial activity in biofilm involves autotrophic and heterotrophic processes. These biological processes are crucial for the water quality in RAS but are difficult to monitor. In this study, we demonstrate a new method based on intermittent respirometry to selectively estimate bacterial activity in biofilm following a spike in substrate concentration. The method was tested with three different biofilter carriers (extruded polypropylene, injection molded polypropylene and polymeric foam) from moving bed biofilm reactors in a common freshwater RAS. Oxygen consumption rates of biofilm-associated bacteria were measured in closed metabolic chambers under standard conditions. The protocol included sequential flushes of either pure tap water, or tap water spiked with nitrite, ammonium or acetate. The results showed consistent carrier-specific metabolic activities of endogenous respiration, nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB), ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and heterotrophic bacteria (HB) in biofilm. The highest activities normalized to volumetric oxygen consumption rates, were found in polymeric foam with values of 677 ± 125, 764 ± 156 and 166 ± 36 g O2·m−3·d−1 for NOB, AOB and HB, respectively. The biofilter performance evaluation based on respirometric data showed satisfactory accordance with the values from substrate degradation batch kinetic tests for all three tested carriers, confirming the feasibility and robustness of the method as a means to assessing biofilter performance. Our study provides an on-site tool in biofilter performance tests and leads to a better understanding of dynamic and relationship between biofiltration and water quality.

In this study, a novel sponge biocarriers (SB) in moving bed bioreactor (MBBR) treating recirculating aquaculture systems wastewater was evaluated for the first time. Two lab-scale MBBRs were operated simultaneously for 116 days under various hydraulic retention times (HRTs). The reactors R1 and R2 were filled with K5 plastic carriers and SB, respectively. From the results, at an optimum HRT of 6 h, ammonia removal efficiency and nitrification rate were 86.67 ± 2.4% and 1.43 mg/L.h for the R1 and, 91.65 ± 1.3% and 1.52 mg/L.h for the R2, respectively. The microbial community analysis showed that the predominant genera in the nitrifying community were Nitrosomonas (AOB) and Nitrospira (NOB) in co-existence with heterotrophic genera Hyphomicrobium, Mesorhizobium, Zhizhongheella, and Klebsiella spp. Modified Stover-Kincannon model examined the ammonia removal kinetics, and the values of kinetic parameters obtained were Umax: 0.909 and 1.111 g/L.d and KB: 0.929 and, 1.108 g/L.d for the R1 and R2, respectively. The correlation coefficients (R2) of the MBBRs were higher than 0.98, indicating that the model adequately described the experimental data. Overall, MBBR, filled with the proposed novel SB operated at 6 h HRT, can achieve the highest nitrification performance and increase the diversity of the functional microbial communities.

Under Minamata Convention restrictions, mercury-free UV source was in need for ultraviolet disinfection in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS). Ultraviolet emitting diodes (UV-LEDs) seemed a potential mercury-free UV source and had gained increasing attention in water disinfection. In this study, a mercury-free UVA-LED and low concentration peroxymonosulfate (PMS) combination was proposed for E. coli (CGMCC 1.3373) inactivation and real RAS wastewater disinfection. Results showed that UVA-LED and low concentration PMS combination enhanced E. coli inactivation over UVA-LED alone. A synergistic effect on E. coli inactivation with synergy factor of 58.7 % was found when combining UVA-LED irradiation with 1 mg/L PMS. Kinetic rate constant increased by up to 139 % by UVA-LED and 1 mg/L PMS combination, which implied the required UV fluence to 2-log E. coli inactivation was saved up to 42 %. Also, UVA-LED and 1 mg/L PMS combination showed disinfection potential for real RAS wastewater treatment. Mechanism study revealed that the Cl−, ·OH and SO4·- played important roles and ·OH was dominant radical in saline solution by UVA-LED/PMS process compared to that in phosphate buffered solution(PBS). The E. coli inactivation was caused by UVA-LED irradiation and reactive species generated in UVA-LED/PMS system. Our study provided a potential strategy to introduce the mercury-free UV-LED into RAS and a better understanding of UVA-LED/PMS disinfection process.