Phosphorus removal from aquaculture effluents at the Northeast Fishery Center in Lamar, Pennsylvania using iron oxide sorption media

•Fixed bed sorption trials demonstrated the feasibility of using iron oxide media to remove P from aquaculture wastewater.•Under the conditions tested, removal of P was 50–60% after 70–170 days of operation without regeneration.•Total P was statistically higher than reactive P in both feed and effluent samples, but only by about 20%.•Media derived from mine drainage residuals performed as well as a commercially available sorbent, but at a much lower cost.•Stripping and regeneration of the media enabled multiple cycles of sorption as well as recovery and recycle of P.

Three different iron oxide-based sorption media samples were tested for removal of phosphorus (P) from fish hatchery effluents using fixed bed processing. Two of the media samples were derived from residuals produced by the treatment of acid mine drainage, which were then compared to granular ferric hydroxide (GFH), a commercially available sorption medium. All of the media types removed from 50 to 70% of the P from the incoming aquaculture wastewater over 70–175 days of operation without regeneration. In some of the sorption trials, the GFH media showed superior adsorption in the earlier stages of the trial, but the GFH appeared to reach saturation more quickly, so that media performance was similar – at about 60% removal of P – over a longer time period of 175 days. Media regeneration tests were also conducted for both the commercial and mine drainage media, and demonstrated longer term performance, with overall P removal of 50–55%, over 223 days of total operation, with the advantages of phosphorus recycle and media reuse.