Electrochemical Ammonia Removal for Aquaculture

Ammonia is a toxic metabolic waste product of marine organisms grown or held in aquaculture tanks. Typically, ammonia is degraded using bacteria grown on filter media, but these bacterial colonies can take weeks to become established, which requires significant planning before seasonal fisheries begin. An alternate electrochemical method for eliminating ammonia could be turned on at any time. However, such methods can co-generate highly toxic hypochlorite ions from seawater. The proposed research project seeks to modify the design of electrochemical water treatment systems to eliminate both ammonia and hypochlorite before they exit the treatment system. This would remove a major risk factor and enable the use of electrochemical alternatives that allow for more agile response to changing environmental and market conditions.

Faculty Supervisor:

Xu Zhang;Ken Oakes

Student:

Partner:

Aqua Production Systems

Discipline:

Physics

Sector:

Aquaculture and Fishing; Clean Technology

University:

Cape Breton University

Program: