Nanobubble technology for enabeling sustainable land-based aquaculture

AQUAbubble: Advancing Aquaculture with Nanobubble Technology The AQUAbubble project is aiming to tackle three major challenges in land-based fish farming using innovative nanobubble (NB) technology: 1. Improved oxygenation: Ensuring fish get enough oxygen in closed systems. 2. H2S firewall: Preventing the formation of toxic hydrogen sulfide (H2S). 3. Biological CO2 capture: Using carbon dioxide (CO2), and other gasses emitted by industrial processes, to grow microalgae sustainably. By creating and studying ultra-fine bubbles filled with oxygen, CO2, and flue gas, the project aims to understand how these bubbles behave in water and can improve oxygenation in commercial aquaculture. The NB generator technology developed by Oxy Solutions will be employed in lab experiments and commercial land-based aquaculture systems for Atlantic salmon. Lab experiments will help fine-tune the bubble-making process and test how efficient oxygen NBs can prevent and mitigate H2S. Field trials will be conducted to investigate if NB generators can replace or enhance current oxygenation methods and improve water quality. The project will monitor fish growth, health, and the surrounding environment over several months to gather data on the effectiveness of NB technology for oxygenation in aquaculture systems. Additionally, AQUAbubble will explore using NB technology to use CO2 and other gases for growing microalgae, contributing to a circular bioeconomy. This will stimulate the efficient capture of CO2 in algae biomass, which can be used as feed ingredients or source for extracting valuable bioproducts, such as fatty acids or carotenoids. The project will compare the costs and benefits of NB technology with traditional oxygenation methods, aiming to position Oxy Solutions as a recognized contributor to sustainable aquaculture and create new jobs in the industry.

By employing and optimizing innovative nanobubble (NB) technology, the AQUAbubble project addresses three major economic and sustainability challenges in intensive land-based aquaculture: 1. Effective oxygenation of closed aquaculture systems, 2. Prevention and mitigation of H2S formation in CAS, and 3. Enabling sustainable microalgae production with CO2, N and flue gas. The project is based on using reliable methods to detect and measure produced nano- and micro-bubbles containing O2, CO2 and flue gas in natural water bodies, understanding their behavior and stability. Lab-experiments will be conducted to establish analysis protocols and optimise settings for NB formation and to assess the potential of O2 NBs for H2S prevention and mitigation. NB generators will be installed at commercial land-based salmon producing partner facilities for conducting field trials. This will allow us to assess the potential of NB generators as sole or main oxygenation system and generate solid data on O2 and energy consumption compared to currently used methods. AQUAbubble will study the impact of NB oxygenation on the fish and corresponding production environment by monitoring growth and feed conversion rates, fish welfare and dynamics in microbial communities over longer periods (4-6 months). Additionally, the project explores the use of NB technology for utilizing CO2, N, and flue gas for negative emission microalgae production. This will demonstrate the potential of NB-technology as an innovative building block for establishing circular bioeconomy processes. Empiric data and numeric modelling results will be used for reliable technical-economic analysis of NB vs. conventional oxygenation methods. The project aims to strengthen Oxy Solutions position as pioneer in innovative gas-transfer technologies for a sustainable growth in the aquaculture sector and generate new jobs in the company, but also at partner companies and the aquaculture sector in general.