Efficiency of Salicornia neei to Treat Aquaculture Effluent from a Hypersaline and Artificial Wetland

Mónica R. Diaz, Javier Araneda, Andrea Osses, Jaime Orellana and José A. Gallardo
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Mónica R. Diaz: Escuela de Ciencias del Mar, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, 2340007 Valparaíso, Chile
Javier Araneda: Escuela de Ciencias del Mar, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, 2340007 Valparaíso, Chile
Andrea Osses: Escuela de Ciencias del Mar, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, 2340007 Valparaíso, Chile
Jaime Orellana: Erwin Sander Elektroapparatebau GmbH, 31311 Uetze-Eltze, Germany
José A. Gallardo: Escuela de Ciencias del Mar, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, 2340007 Valparaíso, Chile

Agriculture, 2020, vol. 10, issue 12, 1-11

Abstract: In this study, we evaluated the potential of Salicornia neei , a halophyte plant native to South America, to treat saline effluents with simulated concentration of ammonium-N (Amm) and nitrate-N (Nit) in a similar manner to land-based marine aquaculture effluents. Plants were cultivated for 74 days in drainage lysimeters under three treatments of seawater fertilized with: (1) Nit + Amm, (2) Nit, or (3) without fertilizer (Control). Over five repetitions, nitrogen removal efficiency (RE) was high in both treatments (Nit + Amm = 89.6% ± 1.0%; Nit 88.8% ± 0.9%), whereas the nitrogen removal rate (RR) was nonlinear and concentration-dependent (RR day1–4 : Nit + Amm = 2.9 ± 0.3 mg L − 1 d − 1 , Nit = 2.4 ± 0.5 mg L − 1 d − 1 ; RR day5–8 : Nit + Amm = 0.8 ± 0.2 mg L − 1 d − 1 , Nit = 1.0 ± 0.2 mg L − 1 d − 1 ). Effluent salinity increased from 40.6 to 49.4 g L − 1 during the experiment, with no observed detrimental effects on RE or RR. High nitrogen removal efficiency and significant biomass production were observed (Nit + Amm = 11.3 ± 2.0 kg m − 2 ; Nit = 10.0 ± 0.8 kg m − 2 ; Control = 4.6 ± 0.6 kg m − 2 ) demonstrate that artificial wetlands of S. neei can be used for wastewater treatment in saline aquaculture in South America.

Keywords: aquaculture effluents; halophyte; nitrogen accumulation; saline effluent; sustainable aquaculture (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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