Nitrogen removal techniques in aquaculture for a sustainable production

As the aquaculture industry intensively develops, its environmental impact increases. Discharges from aquaculture deteriorate the receiving environment and the need for fishmeal and fish oil for fish feed production increases. Rotating biological contactors, trickling filters, bead filters and fluidized sand biofilters are conventionally used in intensive aquaculture systems to remove nitrogen from culture water. Besides these conventional water treatment systems, there are other possible modi operandi to recycle aquaculture water and simultaneously produce fish feed. These double-purpose techniques are the periphyton treatment technique, which is applicable to extensive systems, and the proteinaceous bio-flocs technology, which can be used in extensive as well as in intensive systems. In addition to maintenance of good water quality, both techniques provide an inexpensive feed source and a higher efficiency of nutrient conversion of feed. The bio-flocs technology has the advantage over the other techniques that it is relatively inexpensive; this makes it an economically viable approach for sustainable aquaculture.     

生物絮团中异养亚硝化菌的分离鉴定及其特性

采用富集培养、分离纯化等微生物学手段,从对虾养殖池的生物絮团中筛选出两株对氨氮具有高转化率的菌株.16S rRNA测序及系统发育分析结果表明,两株菌均属于盐单胞菌属,菌株2011072708与食物盐单胞菌Halomonas alimentaria有99％的同源性,而菌株2011072709与胜利盐单胞菌H.shengliensis有100％的同源性.比较研究了两株菌在不同温度、盐度、pH、碳氮比条件下对氨氮的转化率,菌株2011072708在温度37℃、盐度30～40、pH 8、碳氮比28的条件下对氨氮的转化率最高;菌株2011072709在温度27～42℃、盐度40～50、pH 6、碳氮比21的条件下对氨氮的转化率最高.研究结果表明,胜利盐单胞菌（2011072709）对温度、盐度、pH、碳氮比等各方面的适应性优于食物盐单胞菌（2011072708）,更适合在生物絮团技术中得到应用.     

The basics of bio-flocs technology: The added value for aquaculture

The expansion of the aquaculture production is restricted due to the pressure it causes on the environment by the discharge of waste products in the water bodies and by its dependence on fish oil and fishmeal. Aquaculture using bio-flocs technology (BFT) offers a solution to both problems. It combines the removal of nutrients from the water with the production of microbial biomass, which can in situ be used by the culture species as additional food source. Understanding the basics of bio-flocculation is essential for optimal practice. Cells in the flocs can profit from advective flow and as a result, exhibit faster substrate uptake than the planktonic cells. The latter mechanisms appear to be valid for low to moderate mixing intensities as those occurring in most aquaculture systems (0.1–10 W m^− 3). Yet, other factors such as dissolved oxygen concentration, choice of organic carbon source and organic loading rate also influence the floc growth. These are all strongly interrelated. It is generally assumed that both ionic binding in accordance with the DLVO theory and Velcro-like molecular binding by means of cellular produced extracellular extensions are playing a role in the aggregation process. Other aggregation factors, such as changing the cell surface charge by extracellular polymers or quorum sensing are also at hand. Physicochemical measurements such as the level of protein, poly-β-hydroxybutyrate and fatty acids can be used to characterize microbial flocs. Molecular methods such as FISH, (real-time) PCR and DGGE allow detecting specific species, evaluating the maturity and stability of the cooperative microbial community and quantifying specific functional genes. Finally, from the practical point of view for aquaculture, it is of interest to have microbial bio-flocs that have a high added value and thus are rich in nutrients. In this respect, the strategy to have a predominance of bacteria which can easily be digested by the aquaculture animals or which contain energy rich storage products such as the poly-β-hydroxybutyrate, appears to be of particular interest.