Ex-situ bioremediation of shrimp culture effluent using constructed microbial mats

In coastal countries, marine shrimp industry poses a problem with respect to the waste effluent disposal into the ocean as well as the nearby area. Constructed microbial mats offer an interesting alternative for shrimp culture effluents. The treatment concept relies on the immobilization of natural marine microbial consortium on glass wool to mitigate the levels of dissolved nitrogen from a shrimp culture effluent. Our results indicate that average efficiencies of ammonia nitrogen removal from shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) effluent was 97% and 95% for nitrate nitrogen, over a 20 days period of treatment. This treatment via constructed microbial mats is a technically feasible method for simultaneously reducing effluent nutrient loading (especially nitrate and ammonia) and for reducing organic loading (especially BOD₅) of shrimp culture effluents.