The Project Partners in front of the prototype for the VIDA project – Saving water by removal of off-flavor in farmed fish H2O3. left: Jesper Heldbo (Aquacircle), middle left: Gert Jørgensen (Bornholms lakseklækkeri), middle right: Richard Martin (Water ApS), right: Henrik Levy (OxyGuard International), photographer: Jacob Højgaard (Pisco ApS)

Duration:

7^th of September 2019 / 7^th of September 2020

Summary:

In a context of sustainable aquaculture and food safety, land-based Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) are the most environmentally sound way to produce fish and other aquatic animals. There is however, a number of challenges when using RAS technology where one of the significant challenges comes from tainting of the meat by two naturally occurring organic compounds: Geosmin and MIB. Both are formed by bacteria in the biome in the water; and concentrations above 10 nanogram per liter water will lead to accumulation in the fatty tissue of the fish. Today the problem is solved by purging (“watering down”) the fish in the tanks with clean water before they are slaughtered. During the purging period, which may take 5-10 days, the fish is not fed and a weight loss of 3-5 % of the fish is common, and a substantial amount of new water is used in this process. The issues related to purging (weight loss and water use) generate a high value loss in the food-chain and increase the water usage. This is a barrier for the further expansion of RAS in the Aquaculture industry.

Our innovation is an entirely new way to do a focused and measurable ozone treatment of water to destroy Geosmin and MIB in recirculation water. The innovation is based on the world’s first ozone sensor developed by OxyGuard International AS, and a new highly effective, high pressure ozone generator by WATER ApS. Using the control platform OxyGuard Pacific to control both units it allows for online registration of ozone concentrations in the water and adjustment of the ozone injection.

This innovation has the potential to completely remove the need for purging in RAS based aquaculture, or at least significantly reduce the water usage during the purging process. This will significantly reduce the total water consumption for farmed fish in RAS systems, and result in future savings in € millions for each RAS installation. In addition, the innovation will help to ensure Denmark’s continued leadership position on the world market for aquaculture technology and strengthen the export value, which is already at 375 million €/year.

Assembly of the off-flavor removal unit at the Head office of OxyGuard International, Farum, Denmark.

Partners

OxyGuard International ASwww.oxyguard.dk

Water ApSwww.water.dk

Pisco ApSwww.piscogroup.dk

Nexø havn udvikling ASwww.bornholmslakseklaekkeri.dk

Aquacirclewww.aquacircle.org

Learn more: www.vidaproject.eu I info [at] vidaproject.eu (      ) I Follow us: @h2020vida

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme, under Grant Agreement nº 777795.

Disclaimer: The content of this document represents the view of the author only and is his/her sole responsibility: it cannot be considered to reflect the views of the European Commission and/or the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-size Enterprises (EASME). The European Commission and the Agency do not accept responsibility for the use that may be made of the information it contains.