Abstract
Abstract: The disposal of the shrimp aquaculture sludge requires large area and high amount of disposal cost. The improper treatment and disposal can cause soil and water pollution. Sludge drying is an effective solution to reduce the weight of sludge and eventually reduces the disposal cost. This study was aimed to assess the effectiveness of thermal treatment on drying shrimp sludge at different power and time of 270W, 450 W 630W and 60s to 390s, respectively. Heavy metals concentrations and chemical compounds were also determined. Results reveal that the best drying rate recorded were at power and time of 630 W and 240s, respectively. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectrum (FTIR) shows that the main groups presence are aliphatic chains with double bonds, as well as carbonyl, hydroxyl and N–H groups in organic compounds. Sludge drying has proven to be effective in reducing moisture content and organic matters for shrimp aquaculture sludge. It could be considered as one of the alternative methods to handle sludge.
Highlights
In shrimp farming, accumulation of sludge at the bottom of the pond induces the deterioration of the aquatic environment and greatly affects the growth and survival of shrimps.To prevent sludge accumulation, it needs to be constantly removed from the pond, but effective treatment or utilization method is yet to be established
Low moisture content and low volatile matter content in raw aquaculture sludge indicating that the sludge to be relatively rich in organic matter and making microwave heating as a suitable option for drying
The basic principle of microwave heating is that the polar molecules contained in the dielectric materials will move quickly and collide intensely with each other in high frequency microwave electromagnetic field
Summary
Accumulation of sludge at the bottom of the pond induces the deterioration of the aquatic environment and greatly affects the growth and survival of shrimps.To prevent sludge accumulation, it needs to be constantly removed from the pond, but effective treatment or utilization method is yet to be established. Cripps and Bergheim, 2000 reported that many technologies have been developed to remove solids produced during fish farming such as micro-screens, filter beds, Cornell-type circular tanks and settling tanks. Regular removal of pond sediments is an optimal management practice, but manual excavation after draining and drying ponds is labor intensive (Haqu et al, 2013). These systems are rarely used in small production facilities as they are relatively expensive and labor intensive. In small fish production facilities thermal treatment technology for sludge drying could be a suitable strategy to properly manage sludge generated during fish production
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