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MAROFF-2-Maritim virksomhet og offsh-2

Technology transfer from ballast water to aquaculture water for removal of delousing agents in wellboats and pens

Alternative title: Teknologioverføring fra ballastvann-behandling til akvakultur for å fjerne avlusningskjemikalier etter bruk i brønnbåter og merder

Awarded: NOK 5.1 mill.

The overall idea of the WeBoat project is to develop an environmentally friendly marine water treatment technology for post-sealice treatment application in salmon aquaculture. WeBoat aim to transfer and optimise existing technologies from ballast water treatment to wellboats used for delicing and fish transport. The salmon parasite sealice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis and Caligus elongatus) is a major problem in aquaculture along Norwegian and European coastlines and a threat for native salmon too. It is difficult to remove it from infected salmons. One method is to bath the fish in delousing pharmaceuticals on board wellboats/in pens by service boats. After treatment, the wastewater is released back into the sea, along with remaining medicines and other waste products. Some of those chemicals are harmful to the local aquatic environment, and this issue needs a solution to ensure a sustainable aquaculture in the future. The WeBoat solution will provide removal of selected compounds after delicing, according to the coming changes in Norwegian/European regulations. Those regulations aim for reducing discharge of chemical residues from wellboats, including delicing agents. The removal efficiency will be demonstrated in small scale before verification in full scale experiments. WeBoat aims to determine optimal conditions for dimensioning, operation and management of the maritime technology onboard a wellboat for efficient removal of pollutants in the delousing wastewater according to environmental regulations, while minimizing energy consumption, footprint and cost for competitiveness on the marked. WeBoat aims to: ¤ Explore and transfer green technologies from ballast water treatment to aquaculture wastewater applications. ¤ Develop and demonstrate environmentally sustainable water treatment technologies based on laboratory and pilot scale results towards full industrial scale onboard wellboats. ¤ Develop sensors for on-site monitoring of the removal performance.

The overall idea of the WeBoat project is to develop and demonstrate an environmentally friendly marine water purification technology for chemical post-sealice treatment application. The salmon parasite sealice is still a major problem in aquaculture along Norwegian and European coastlines. To combat sealice, the fish can be treated by delousing pharmaceuticals-based bath treatment on board of wellboats or in pens at sea by service boats. After treatment, the treated wastewater is usually released back to sea, along with the remaining medicines and other chemicals generated in the water during chemical sealice treatment. Some of those released chemicals might be potentially harmful to the local aquatic environment, and will increase the problem of medicine resistant sealice emergence. Therefore, recent and upcoming national regulations are becoming stricter for the reduction of the discharge of delousing agents. WeBoat solution will answer to those regulations by providing removal and/or neutralization of medicines or other chemical residuals in delousing wastewater. First, the potentially most harmful release of sealice agents will be identified and defined by the project as the target for the removal treatment. The WeBoat technology development will be based on maritime technology transfer from ballast water treatment technology. The removal efficiency will be demonstrated in small scale experiments and verified finally in full scale experiments with representative fish water quality. The goal of the R&D work will be to determine optimal conditions for dimensioning, operation and management of the maritime technology onboard of a vessel for efficient removal of the pollutants in the delousing wastewater according to environmental regulations, while minimizing energy consumption, footprint and cost for competitiveness on the marked.

Funding scheme:

MAROFF-2-Maritim virksomhet og offsh-2