[blankpagetooptimizepdfforprinting] Dietary carbohydrates and denitrification in recirculating aquaculture systems Andre Meriac Thesiscommittee Promoter Prof. DrJ.A.J.Verreth ProfessorofAquaculture&Fisheries WageningenUniversity Othermembers Prof. DrH.H.M.Rijnaarts,WageningenUniversity Prof.em. DrT.M.Losordo,NorthCarolinaStateUniversity,Raleigh,USA DrR.W.Melse,WageningenUniversity Prof. DrS.E.Vlaeminck,GhentUniversity,Belgium TheresearchwasconductedundertheauspicesofthegraduateschoolofWIAS. Dietary carbohydrates and denitrification in recirculating aquaculture systems Andre Meriac Thesis submittedinfulfillmentoftherequirementsforthedegreeofdoctor atWageningenUniversity bytheauthorityoftheRectorMagnificus Prof. DrM.J.Kropff, inthepresenceofthe ThesisCommitteeappointedbytheAcademicBoard tobedefendedinpublic onThursday28thofAugust2014 at11a.m. intheAula. AndreMeriac Dietarycarbohydratesanddenitrificationinrecirculatingaquaculturesystems, 129pages. PhDthesis,WageningenUniversity,Wageningen,NL(2014) Withreferences,withsummariesinEnglishandDutch ISBN978-94-6257-035-1 "Ifyoudon’tclaimyourhumanityyouwillbecomeastatistic." [FightClub. DavidFincher. 20thCenturyFox,1999. DVD.] Abstract Meriac,A.(2014): Dietarycarbohydratesanddenitrificationinrecirculatingaquaculture systems. PhDthesis,WageningenUniversity,TheNetherlands. Duetooverfishingofglobalfishstocksandincreasingfishmealprices,plantingredients arebeingincreasinglyusedasanalternativesourceofproteininfishfeeds. However,the inclusionofunpurifiedplantingredientswillalsoincreasethecontentoffibersinfeeds. Fibersarenearlyindigestibleandwillthereforeincreasesolidwasteproductioninaqua- culture. Thissolidwastecanbeusedtoasacarbonsourcefordenitrificationtocontrol nitratelevelsinrecirculatingaquaculturesystems(RAS),therebyreducingbothsolidand dissolvedwasteproduction. Additionally,fiberscanchangetherecoverycharacteristics andlowerthedegradabilityoffecalwaste. Therefore,thisstudyinvestigateshowchanges inthedietarycarbohydratecompositioncanaffectwasteproduction,systemperformance anddenitrificationinRAS.Furthermore,ultrasoundtreatment(todecreaseparticlesize infecalwaste)andenzymaticconditioning(toincreasefiberdegradability)weretestedas possiblemeanstoincreasethebioavailabilityofcarboninfecalwastefordenitrification. Comparingahighfiber(HNSP)andlowfiber(LNSP)dietinRASstockedwithrainbow troutconfirmedthatthefibersintheHNSPdietincreasefecalwasteproduction.Although theHNSPdietproducedmorefecalwastethantheLNSPdiet,bothdietsproducedthe sameamountofbiodegradablefecalcarbon.SincefecesremovalwashigherinRASusing theHNSPdiet,theloadofdegradableorganicmatteronthebiofilterswaslowerwiththe HNSPdietthanwiththeLNSPdiet. Furthermore,fecalwasteproducedwiththeHNSP dietcontainedlargerparticlesthanfecesoftheLNSPdiet,whichcouldalsoimprove therecoveryoffecalwastewithmicroscreens. FecesproducedwiththeHNSPdietwere alsolessdegradablethanfecesproducedwiththeLNSPdiet. Byusingfecalwasteas aninternalcarbonsourcefordenitrification,solidanddissolvedwasteemissionsfrom RAScouldbereducedby~50%fortheHNSPdiet. However,onlyapproximatelyhalf ofthesuppliedcelluloseandhemicelluloseweredegradedinthedenitrificationreactors, whereasligninwasnotdegradedatall. Thus,theoveralldegradabilityoforganiccarbon infecalwastewaslimitedbyfibersashemicellulose,celluloseandlignin. Ultrasound andenzymaticconditioningdidnotsufficientlyincreasethedegradabilityoffecalwaste. Nonetheless,fibersoriginatingfromunpurifiedplantingredientsmayalsohavebeneficial effectsonRASperformancebyincreasingfecalrecovery. Amoreselectivechoiceof feedingredientscouldbeusedtoincreasetherecoveryanddegradabilityoffecalwaste inRAS.
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