POTENCIAL OF FISHERY WASTEWATER FOR BIOGAS AND MICROALGAE PRODUCTION

Abstract

Introduction:
The fish processing industry generates large volumes of wastewater, which are generally treated in lagoons, generating bad odors and emitting polluting gases into the atmosphere. According to their organic matter content, these can be treated in anaerobic reactors with a microalgae coupling for the bioremediation of the effluent, due to their high N, P and CO2 removal capacity.
Objective:
To determine the potential of fish processing wastewater from the fishing industry in Sancti Spíritus for biogas and microalgae production.
Materials and Methods:
The physicochemical characteristics of the wastewater are taken as a starting point and mass balances are performed using indexes from the literature to determine the volumes of biogas and the amount of biomass harvested from the microalgae Chlorella vulgaris.
Results and Discussion:
The analyzed waters represent a potential for obtaining biogas and for the development of microalgae cultures as a promising alternative to improve process performance, which allows obtaining energy and high value-added products.
Conclusions:
The wastewater from the Pescaspir fishing company produces 21.8 m3 of biogas per day and 0.58 kg/d of dry microalgal biomass, so the proposed treatment system allows the generation of renewable energy, the production of biomass, obtaining a purified effluent and reducing the environmental impact on natural aquatic systems, in addition to other possible technological applications.