Improving efficiency of a microbial bioreactor for aquaponics

NutraPonics加拿大公司(NCC)运营着一个自给自足的水培系统，通过该系统，水在鱼缸、微生物生物反应器和植物生长床中持续循环。这一集成系统使植物的生长速度比传统农业快一倍。微生物生物反应器通过分解鱼类粪便产生大量促进植物生长的营养物质。主要的是，硝化微生物以生物膜的形式生长在生物反应器内的循环塑料载体上，将鱼排泄的氨转化为硝酸盐，植物很容易吸收。为了最大化和优化水培系统中微生物的全部潜力，本建议旨在：1)确定构成生物反应器中载体生物膜的微生物、与鱼鳃组织相关的微生物和与植物根相关的微生物；2)确定载体生物膜微生物群落在氨浓度、pH和氧气水平变化下的氮转化速率；以及3)确定生物反应器内微生物群落的温室气体生产和消费潜力(即二氧化碳、一氧化二氮、甲烷)。这些知识将为该公司的水培系统的设计、未来的改进和营销提供信息。这些数据将使整个系统中微生物的氮素利用效率和其他有用功能得到优化，这将为公司在升级和扩大运营规模时节省时间和资源。

NutraPonics Canada Corporation (NCC) operates a self-contained aquaponics system whereby water continuously circulates through a fish tank, a microbial bioreactor, and plant-growth beds. This integrated system enables plants to grow twice as fast relative to traditional farming. The microbial bioreactor produces an abundance of plant growth-promoting nutrients by decomposing fish waste. Principally, nitrifying microorganisms grown as biofilms on circulating plastic carriers within the bioreactor convert ammonia excreted by the fish into nitrate, which the plants readily absorb. To maximize and optimize the full potential of microorgansims within the aquaponics system, this proposal aims to: 1) identify microorganisms comprising the carrier biofilms in the bioreactor, those associated with fish gill tissues, and those associated with plant roots; 2) determine the rates of nitrogen conversions by the carrier biofilm microbial communities under variations of ammonium concentration, pH, and oxygen level; and 3) determine the greenhouse gas production and consumption potential (i.e. carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane) of microbial communities within the bioreactor. This knowledge will inform the design, future improvements, and marketing of the company's aquaponics system. The data will allow for optimization of nitrogen use efficiency and other useful functions of microorganisms throughout the system, which will save the company time and resources as they upgrade and scale operations.