Aquaculture Studies 2018, Vol 18, Num, 1     (Pages: 51-56)

Rotary Drum Filter Effectiveness in Suspended Solids Removal from Trout Farm Discharges - A Case Report

Mehmet Ali Turan Koçer 1 ,Faruk Pak 1 ,Özgür Aktaş 1 ,Hatice Oruç 1 ,Ramazan Uysal 1

1 Mediterranean Fisheries Research, Production and Training Institute, Antalya, Turkey DOI : 10.4194/2618-6381-v18_1_06 Viewed : 16580 - Downloaded : 9755 Utilization of micro-screen filters for mitigation of aquaculture impacts on receiving water bodies has been widened in recent years. However, there are limited practical data on treatment efficiencies of rotary drum filters (RDF) in farms with high production capacities and flow rates. The present study aimed to assess effluent suspended solids treatment efficiencies of RDFs with 200 µm mesh size in 8 flow-through rainbow trout farms. The average concentrations of total suspended solids (TSS) were between 2.6±1.1 mg/L and 6.0±4.3 mg/L in farm outlet waters. The average treatment efficiencies of RDFs for total suspended solids were between 18 and 32%, while they were between 28 and 53% for farm-derived suspended solids. Treatment efficiency of RDFs did not relate linearly to inlet and outlet total suspended solids concentrations as well as farm-derived suspended solids (FSS) (P>0.05). The results indicate that relatively low TSS concentrations resulting from rainbow trout aquaculture in flow-through farms can reduce treatment efficiency of RDFs. The study also shows that the average treatment efficiency of RDFs with a mesh size of 200 µm in removal of FSS may reach up to 40%. Keywords : Aquaculture, Effluent, Suspended solids, Micro-screen, Treatment efficiency