Progress 07/01/11 to 02/28/13
Outputs
OUTPUTS: No outputs have been produced nor disseminated for this project. PARTICIPANTS: Douglas Drennan (Co-PI): Responsible for project oversight and commercialization of the final product base don the results from the project Todd C. Guerdat (Co-PI): Responsible for project management, data collection and analysis, report generation, personnel management. James M. Ebeling (collaborator): Provided project advice and direction via consulting, assistance with report generation. Ronald F. Malone (collaborator): Provided project advice and direction via consulting, assisted in the commercialization plans for the final product ideas based on results from the project. Rachel von Bodungen (research technician): Responsible for data collection and organization, project management, and report generation. Erik Kopache (research engineer): Responsible for data analysis and model development TARGET AUDIENCES: The results from this study have provided the necessary justification for moving forward in exploring the commercialization and implementation of direct filtration in the freshwater and marine aquaculture and zoo and aquarium industries. The successful turbidity, TSS, and orthophosphate removal demonstrated are all very attractive and potentially soon-to-be-required components to water treatment processes. The list of applicable coagulants and flocculant aids for use in aquaculture developed in this study great expands upon the limited amount of information in the literature on aquaculture effluent and wastewater treat. Implementation of direct filtration in FBFs into aquaculture may be applied either as a short-term or long-term application, depending on the requirements and dynamics of each system. AST intends to market the new direct filtration floating bead filter in the following ways: 1.Short-term and/or "spot" treatment can be implemented as a mobile filtration system for quick results in clearing turbid waters. 2.Direct Filtration treatment as a side-loop can be used when existing filtration systems fail to capture small particles, such as a drum screen filter, and operate until the fine solids have been effectively reduced or removed. 3.Existing bead filters may be adjusted in operation (for "spot" or continuous treatment) to facilitate the appropriate G-values required for direct filtration. This operation may be implemented on a regular basis with frequent backwashing for system water quality polishing. 4.Custom controllers and sensor can be adapted to automate and self-adjust the direct filtration process via turbidity monitoring and coagulant dosage regulation. Our initial market for this technology will be freshwater and marine aquaculture hatcheries, grow-out and research facilities, as well as aquariums and zoos worldwide concerned with providing optimal water quality/clarity while at the same time meeting ever more stringent discharge regulations for TSS and phosphorus and/or the discharge of saline water. Additionally, if we combine treatment of recovered saline waters with the effective nitrate removal process currently in the commercialization phase at AST as a result of a previous USDA Phase II Grant, this will allow marine RAS (including zoos and aquaria) to extend the use of water in their facilities resulting in a significant savings since most rely on expensive artificial sea salt mixtures or transport of saltwater from offshore sites for make-up water. This technology is also directly applicable to many of the hatcheries operated by the US Fish and Wildlife Service as well as ARS-USDA funded research labs conducting aquaculture research. Many recirculating systems have chosen to locate inland for a variety of reasons ranging from the high cost of land in coastal communities, the need to be closer to their markets and/or their desire to avoid the impact of natural disasters such as hurricanes which are an ever present danger in coastal areas. These facilities will also benefit from our next generation direct filtration FBF for many of the same reasons as those affecting the marine exhibits at zoos and aquariums. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: No major changes were required for the success of this project.
Impacts
Successful application of the coagulation/flocculation process requires a well-matched and properly dosed coagulant and/or flocculant aid with the water to be treated. As such, the use of standardized jar tests will always be required prior to the application of any coagulation/flocculation process - direct filtration included. A great deal of time and energy was spent obtaining, testing, and evaluating numerous coagulant and flocculant aids prior to performing any direct filtration applications. The Phipps and Bird Jar Testing Apparatus was instrumental in developing the knowledgebase reported in the project and in the successful implementation of direct filtration. Turbidity, TSS, and Soluble Reactive Phosphorus (SRP, orthophosphate) were measured to establish performance expectations and optimal removal conditions. The methods used for each analysis were all based on Standard Methods and protocols used within the coagulation/flocculation industry. When appropriate, reagent standards and blanks were analyzed along with the samples to ensure quality control. The concentration of turbidity-causing fine solids and removal of orthophosphate through the use of direct filtration will reduce the requirement for new water by enabling the reuse of system water, thus reducing the volume of wastewater from a facility. Enabling the reuse of system water reduces the overall cost of operation by reducing the amount of new water which must be replaced as well as reduces the volume of wastewater to be treated. The savings in makeup water and reduced wastewater treatment capacity of a system should offset the cost of treatment of direct filtration. Based on the result of our Phase I effort AST plans to improve upon the traditional coagulation/flocculation approach to water treatment, by combining the traditional 4 step direct filtration process in single compact FBF specifically designed for this application. The key to successful commercial-scale recirculating aquaculture systems is the availability of reliable and cost effective production technologies. AST has successfully commercialized a family of floating bead filters or bioclarifiers, which can accomplish both solids capture and nitrification in a single unit economically and efficiently. AST believes that this "next generation" of FBF optimized for direct filtration will provide low-tech, cost effective solutions for several important issues facing the aquaculture, zoo and aquarium industries - namely fine solids removal in effluents both recirculated and discharged.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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