European aquaculture organizations including the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organization have joined with parties from the agriculture and biogas sectors in a new project.
Date:
Mon, 02 Dec 2013
Source:
Undercurrent News
Called BiFFiO, the initiative aims to jointly develop technology that will use animal manure and fish faeces to produce renewable energy and nutrient recovery. The agriculture and aquaculture sectors are under continuous pressure to improve sustainability and reduce environmental impact, said the European commission’s Community Research and Development Information Service (Cordis) in a statement announcing the project.
BiFFiO, it said, addresses these challenges with respect to regulatory and societal demands for dealing with the waste produced. Over the next three years, the BiFFiO consortium will develop an economical and efficient system for handling mixed waste from aquaculture and agriculture, said the statement from Cordis. The system will comprise the following stages: waste pre-treatment, biogas reactor, and fertilizer recuperation. One key strategy of the consortium will be to take current state-of-the-art technologies that are used in large scale waste treatment and utilize them in a smaller, yet scalable, system, which can be located at, or close to, near-shore and on-shore fish farm operations or agriculture farms.
The project will also make recommendations as to how the energy produced could best be used. BiFFiO is a cooperation between SME (small and medium enterprise) associations, industrial enterprises and RTD performers.
The BiFFiO consortium consists of the following beneficiaries:
Teknologisk Institutt AS, Norway (Coordinator and RTD Performer)
Landberatung Niedersachsen GMBH, Germany (SME Association/Grouping)
Norsk Bioenergiforening, Norway (SME Association/Grouping)
Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organization Limited, UK (SME Association/Grouping)
British Trout Association Ltd, UK (SME Association/Grouping)
European Biomass Association, Belgium (SME Association/Grouping)
Awite Bioenergie GMBH, Germany (Other enterprises)
Aqua waste International GMBH, Germany (Other enterprises)
The University of Liverpool, UK (RTD Performer)
Aqua consult Ingenieur GMBH, Germany (RTD Performer)
This article first appeared on the Undercurrent News website.