PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR CLOSED-LOOP MULTITROPHIC AQUACULTURE

Abstract

The invention provides a process for the production of seafood in a closed-loop multitrophic aquaculture system comprising the steps of: (A) culturing phytoplankton in a medium, wherein said medium is irradiated with light; (B) transferring such cultured phytoplankton to a medium for culturing zooplankton; (C) transferring such cultured zooplankton to a medium for culturing seafood; and (D) transferring a part of the medium of step (C) as nutritient to the medium of step (A), thereby creating a closed loop, wherein steps (A) to (D) are carried out in a closed system, in which free gas exchange with the environment is prevented. The invention further provides an apparatus for carrying out this process.

Claims

1. A process for the production of seafood in a closed-loop multitrophic aquaculture system comprising the steps of: (A) culturing phytoplankton in a medium, wherein said medium is irradiated with light; (B) transferring such cultured phytoplankton to a medium for culturing zooplankton; (C) transferring such cultured zooplankton to a medium for culturing seafood; and (D) transferring a part of the medium of step (C) as nutritient to the medium of step (A), thereby creating a closed loop, wherein steps (A) to (D) are carried out in a closed system, in which free gas exchange with the environment is prevented.

2. The process according to claim 1, wherein the phytoplankton in step (A) is cultured in a medium with a surface-area-to-volume-ratio of at least 25 m.sup.−1.

3. The process according to claim 1, wherein the irradiation in step (A) is controlled by culture density of the phytoplankton.

4. The process according to claim 1, for the production of shellfish, preferably shrimp.

5. An apparatus for carrying out the process according to claim 1, comprising a phytoplankton unit for culturing phytoplankton, a zooplankton unit for culturing zooplankton, a seafood unit for culturing seafood, and a controller that, preferably automatically, controls the transfer of contents from the phytoplankton unit to the zooplankton unit, from the zooplankton unit to the seafood unit, and from the seafood unit to the phytoplankton unit, wherein said units are interconnected containers that form a closed system, in which free gas exchange with the environment is prevented.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the phytoplankton unit has a surface-area-to-volume-ratio of at least 25 m.sup.−1.

7. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the phytoplankton unit comprises an array of multiple connected pipes or tubes, wherein the pipes or tubes are preferably arranged in parallel to each other.

8. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the combined volume of the phytoplankton unit, the zooplankton unit and the seafood unit is between 80 m.sup.3 and 90 m.sup.3, or multiples thereof.

9. The apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising an artificial light source, preferably a LED, for irradiating the phytoplankton unit.

10. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the phytoplankton unit is situated closer to the light source than the zooplankton unit, thus shading the latter, with the seafood unit being arranged below the zooplankton unit and thus farthest away from the light source.

11. The apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a photovoltaic panel, which provides renewable electric energy to the apparatus and is arranged in such a way that it provides adjustable shade to the phytoplankton unit.

12. The apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising pumps to provide flow within the phytoplankton unit and/or the zooplankton unit and/or the seafood unit.

13. The apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising heat exchangers to control the temperature inside the phytoplankton unit and/or the zooplankton unit and/or the seafood unit, wherein suitable tubing provides for temperature control in each unit by using excess heat from other unit(s).

14. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the phytoplankton unit and/or the zooplankton unit and/or the seafood unit comprises a packed media aeration column.

15. The apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising at least one camera for monitoring the seafood unit.

Description

[0052] The present invention is further illustrated by the following figure, without being limited thereto.

[0053] FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a preferred embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention. The apparatus comprises a phytoplankton unit (1) for culturing phytoplankton, a zooplankton unit (2) for culturing zooplankton, a seafood unit (3) for culturing seafood, and a controller (not shown) that controls the transfer of contents from the phytoplankton unit (1) to the zooplankton unit (2), from the zooplankton unit (2) to the seafood unit (3), and from the seafood unit (3) to the phytoplankton unit (1). The units (1)-(3) are interconnected containers (connections only shown schematically) that form a closed system, in which free gas exchange with the environment is prevented. In the displayed preferred embodiment, the phytoplankton unit (1) comprises an array of multiple connected pipes or tubes (4) arranged in parallel to each other.