Settling velocity characterization of aquacultural solids

A top-loading settling column is described and used to characterize the settling properties of the solids in the discharge water from a commercial rainbow trout production facility. Mass-based and phosphorus-based settling curves are presented. The median settling velocity on a mass-basis for the settleable solids was 1.7 cm s⁻¹. The median settling velocity for the settleable phosphorus was 1.15 cm s⁻¹. Manually stripping fecal material from rainbow trout resulted in settleable solids with a median settling velocity of 0.7 cm s⁻¹. Examination of the settling velocity curves show that halving the overflow rate (OFR) from 2 to 1 cm s⁻¹ changes the removal efficiency from 0.61 to 0.73, an increase of about 20%. Halving the OFR again to 0.5 cm s⁻¹ increases the removal efficiency to 0.81, an improvement of about 11%. Settling characteristics of aquacultural solids will vary from facility to facility. The methods described in this paper can be used to perform a similar type of analysis at other aquacultural sites, which may be growing other species under different management regimes.     

白肉甜油桃‘北极星’贮藏过程中果实品质的变化研究

以白肉甜油桃‘北极星’为试材,研究其在贮藏过程中果实可溶性固形物含量、可滴定酸含量和硬度的变化。结果表明：在3℃贮藏条件下,‘北极星’果实可贮藏42d;贮藏过程中硬度和可溶性固形物含量随贮藏天数的增加均呈先下降,后上升,最后再下降的变化趋势;第42d时果实硬度（12．12kg·cm^-2）仅比采收当天（12．6kg·cm^-2）降低3．8％;可滴定酸含量随贮藏天数的增加逐渐下降。     

Determining design parameters for recovery of aquaculture wastewater using sand beds

Design information for the use of sand beds to remove suspended solids from wastewater discharged from recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) was developed. Wastewater from a commercial RAS tilapia farm with 2% total solids and 1.6% total suspended solids (TSS) was applied to sand columns to determine infiltration rates and phosphorus capture. Various hydraulic loading rates and drying periods between application events were evaluated. Infiltration rates stabilized after five application events to 3.5 cm/day (S.D.=1.7). Practically, all suspended solids were captured at the top of the columns, creating the primary resistance to infiltration. Concrete sand removed approximately 93% of the soluble phosphorous in the wastewater and wollastonite, an economical aggregate alternative to sand, removed at least 98%. A modified Darcy equation is presented to predict infiltration based upon TSS and the number of sequential applications.     

Water quality dynamics and shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) production in intensive, mesohaline culture systems with two levels of biofloc management

A dense microbial community develops in the water column of intensive, minimal-exchange production systems and is responsible for nutrient cycling. A portion of the microbial community is associated with biofloc particles, and some control over the concentration of these particles has been shown to provide production benefits. To help refine the required degree of control, this study evaluated the effects of two levels of biofloc management on water quality and shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) production in commercial-scale culture systems. Eight, 50 m³ raceways were randomly assigned to one of two treatments: T-LS (treatment-low solids) and T-HS (treatment-high solids), each with four replicate raceways. Settling chambers adjacent to the T-LS raceways had a volume of 1700 L with a flow rate of 20 L min⁻¹. The T-HS raceways had 760 L settling chambers with a flow rate of 10 L min⁻¹. Raceways were stocked with 250 shrimp m⁻³, with a mean individual weight of 0.72 g, and shrimp were grown for thirteen weeks. Raceways in the T-LS treatment had significantly reduced total suspended solids, volatile suspended solids, and turbidity compared to the T-HS treatment (P ≤ 0.003). The T-LS raceways also had significantly lower nitrite and nitrate concentrations, and the T-HS raceways had significantly lower ammonia and phosphate concentrations (P ≤ 0.021). With the exception of nitrate, there were no significant differences between the change in concentration of water quality parameters entering and exiting the settling chambers in the T-LS versus the T-HS treatment. Nitrate never accumulated appreciably in the T-LS raceways, possibly due to denitrification in the settling chambers, bacterial substrate limitations in the raceways, or algal nitrate assimilation. However, in the T-HS raceways nitrate did accumulate. The T-HS settling chambers returned a significantly lower nitrate concentration and significantly greater alkalinity concentration than what entered them (P ≤ 0.005), indicating that denitrification may have occurred in those chambers. There were no significant differences in shrimp survival, feed conversion ratio, or final biomass between the two treatments. However, shrimp in the T-LS treatment grew at a significantly greater rate (1.7 g wk⁻¹ vs. 1.3 g wk⁻¹) and reached a significantly greater final weight (22.1 g vs. 17.8 g) than shrimp in the T-HS treatment (P ≤ 0.020). The results of this study demonstrate engineering and management decisions that can have important implications for both water quality and shrimp production in intensive, minimal-exchange culture systems.     

Effect of enzymatic and technological treatments on solubilisation of arabinoxylans from brewer's spent grain

Brewer's spent grain (BSG), the most abundant brewing by-product, has hidden and underexploited nutritional potential. In order to valorize BSG, the effects of three commercial xylanases and a peptidase on water unextractable arabinoxylans (WUAX) were studied. Comparing all treatments, higher addition of xylanase resulted in an increase in water extractable arabinoxylans (WEAX). In the most efficient treatment, xylanase alone was able to solubilise 23.7% of WUAX, while the peptidase showed no effect. However, when added together with xylanase, peptidase increased the solubilisation of WUAX up to 1.6 folds. A positive correlation between particle size reduction and solubilisation of WUAX was also proved through milling BSG. These results suggest that access to xylan backbone increases with proteolytic activities, proving a synergistic effect of these specific enzymes. Therefore, if properly treated before being added as ingredient, BSG could add health functionalities to foodstuff while reducing the environmental impact of brewing industries.     

设施灌溉猕猴桃成熟期预报方法研究

根据收集到的猕猴桃果实生长后期采集的猕猴桃可溶性固形物含量检测数据资料,使用前期气象资料设计并计算猕猴桃成熟熵.选取猕猴桃当年末花期次日至检测日前一日≥0℃积温和累计日照时数作为计算猕猴桃成熟熵的气象因子,按其与猕猴桃可固含量的回归系数权重加权求和,得到成熟熵指数(H)的计算公式为:H=0.28ΣT+0.72ΣS,对猕...     

Settling velocity and particle size bioengineering parameters gathered from solids generated by wild-caught premature punctuated snake-eels (Ophichthus remiger) reared in a marine prototype recirculating aquaculture system

This research reveals the applied engineering basis for determining the particle size and settling velocity distributions of solids generated while rearing wild-caught premature punctuated snake-eels (Ophichthus remiger) in a prototype recirculating aquacultural system. Settled solids were sampled from the bottom of the rearing tanks, and suspended solids were sampled before filtration within the drum filter and analyzed to characterize their settling velocity and particle size properties. These particle properties are considered bioengineering parameters since they will provide biological information to improve engineering solutions for RAS solids removal processes. The average settling velocity for the settleable solids in the rearing tanks was 2.89 ± 0.02 cm s⁻¹, and the average particle size ranged between 7.32 ± 3.41 and 19.44 ± 8.58 mm. Suspended solids within the drum filters before filtration had an average settling velocity of 0.35 ± 0.11 cm s⁻¹ and it was found that 69.93 % of the particles size was greater than 200 μm, 15.40 % were within the range of 120 μm and 90 μm sizes, and 6.53 % were between 70 μm and 40 μm sizes. The particle physical properties, settling curves, and particle sizes curves obtained from this experience represent valuable information to be used to improve engineering design of solids handling mechanisms, especially in marine land-based systems, and in this case, applied for rearing wild-caught punctuated snake-eels. The present investigation constitutes an advance in the knowledge of applied engineering to the design of a marine aquaculture fattening operation targeted to feed up wild-caught premature punctuated snake-eels to the point of sale or trade.     

Performance of single-drain and dual-drain tanks in terms of water velocity profile and solids flushing for in vivo digestibility studies in juvenile shrimp

In vivo digestibility determination in shrimp is a challenge because these animals are coprophagous, benthic and slow feeders and the small amount of feces that they produce is difficult to collect. The objective of this study was to evaluate an efficient tank design for the purpose of studying shrimp digestibility. Different tank designs were evaluated considering drain system (dual-drain and single-drain), water inlet flow rate (8, 12, and 16 L min⁻¹) and bottom drain diameter (6, 13, 19, 25 and 50 mm) and their effects on tank hydraulics, water velocity and solids flushing. A circular and slightly conical 500 L tank was adapted with a clarifier for the two dual-drain designs (Cornell-type and central-type) and settling columns for the two single-drain designs (Guelph-F and Guelph-L). Results showed that: (1) water rotational velocity profile was more homogeneous in tanks with larger bottom drain outlets, and water velocity increased with water inlet flow rate from almost zero up to 14.5 ± 0.7 cm s⁻¹; (2) solids flushing, measured as the percentage of feed pellets retained at both the bottom drain and in the settling devices, was positively correlated with the surface loading rate (L min⁻¹ flow per m²) and was more effective at the Guelph-L design fitted with a 150 mm diameter settling column. In this system 100% of the solids were removed at the inflow rate of 16 L min⁻¹. It can be concluded that among the systems evaluated, the Guelph-L at an inflow-rate of 12 L min⁻¹ was most efficient for both solids removal and water velocity profile and thus seemed more suitable for shrimp digestibility studies in high performance conditions. Technologies involving hydrodynamic must be intensively applied to solids removal for aquatic species production as well as research purposes like digestibility, which is highlighted in this study.     

Controlled Atmosphere Storage of Sour Cherry (Prunus cerasus L.)

Sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) variety 'English Morello' fruits were stored for up to 20 days at 2°C in air or controlled atmosphere (CA) consisting of 25% CO₂+10% O₂, 15% CO₂+10% O₂, or 5% CO₂+10% O₂. The effects were compared on decay, juice optical density, titratable acidity, pH, soluble solids content and firmness. CA treatment has a great potential for sour cherry storage in maintaining quality and in extending the length of the storage period. The study has indicated that the decay of sour cherry can be greatly reduced by 25% CO₂. High CO₂ concentration gave the best retention of red colour and titratable acidity throughout the storage period. Fruit juice optical density and firmness increased with storage time. Fruits stored in 25% CO₂+10% O₂ had higher soluble solids content compared with fruits stored in air.