[en] Aquaponics is an integrated farming concept that combines fish and hydroponic plant production in a recirculating water system. This food production system promises a reduced environmental footprint when compared to conventional farming systems. However, questions regarding its sustainability remain and there is a lack of data on its performance. A small-scale aquaponic system named PAFF Box (Plant And Fish Farming Box) consisting of a ship container topped by a greenhouse was studied. Plant yield in ebb-and-flow and deep water culture (DWC) hydroponic beds, lettuce, basil and tilapia production capacity and water and energy consumption were investigated. Additionally, all macro- and micronutrient mass balances were analyzed in order to give a better picture of their dynamics and recycling ability. Thanks to the daily inputs of tap water, and 42g of feed per m2 of plant beds, DWC beds showed 3 to 10 fold higher plant yields than ebb and flow. The production of 1kg of vegetable in DWC consumed 244L of water and 84.5kWh of electricity and 1kg increase of tilapia consumed 278L and 96.2kWh. The system was very efficient in water use for fish production but alternative solutions for warming the water and fine-tuned pumping setup are required to decrease energy needs. Key nutrients such as potassium, phosphorus, iron, copper, zinc, manganese and molybdenum, remained low in solution. Nitrate, calcium, boron and sodium concentrations increased quickly and only water exchange could control their accumulation meanwhile a low daily water exchange rate of 3.6\% implicated a high nutrient loss in the environment. In the willingness to decrease aquaponics environmental footprint, this study indicates that improved designs could be explored such as decoupled aquaponic systems.
Disciplines :
Food science Agriculture & agronomy
Author, co-author :
Delaide, Boris ; Université de Liège > Agronomie, Bio-ingénierie et Chimie (AgroBioChem) > Gestion durable des bio-agresseurs
Delhaye, Guillaume
Dermience, Michael
Gott, James
Soyeurt, Hélène ; Université de Liège > Agronomie, Bio-ingénierie et Chimie (AgroBioChem) > Modélisation et développement
Jijakli, Haissam ; Université de Liège > Agronomie, Bio-ingénierie et Chimie (AgroBioChem) > Gestion durable des bio-agresseurs
Language :
English
Title :
Plant and fish production performance, nutrient mass balances, energy and water use of the PAFF Box, a small-scale aquaponic system
Ayer, N.W., Tyedmers, P.H., Assessing alternative aquaculture technologies: life cycle assessment of salmonid culture systems in Canada. J. Clean. Prod. 17 (2009), 362–373, 10.1016/j.jclepro.2008.08.002.
Barbosa, G., Gadelha, F., Kublik, N., Proctor, A., Reichelm, L., Weissinger, E., Wohlleb, G., Halden, R., Comparison of land, water, and energy requirements of lettuce grown using hydroponic vs. conventional agricultural methods. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 12 (2015), 6879–6891, 10.3390/ijerph120606879.
Delaide, B., Goddek, S., Mankasingh, U., Ragnarsdottir, K.V., Jijakli, H., Thorarinsdottir, R., Challenges of sustainable and commercial aquaponics. Sustain 7 (2015), 4199–4224, 10.3390/su7044199.
Delaide, B., Goddek, S., Gott, J., Soyeurt, H., Jijakli, H.M., Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. var. Sucrine) growth performance in,complemented solution encourages the development of decoupled aquaponics. Water, 1-11, 2016, 10.3390/w8100467.
d'Orbcastel, E.R., Blancheton, J.-P., Aubin, J., Towards environmentally sustainable aquaculture: comparison between two trout farming systems using Life Cycle Assessment. Aquac. Eng. 40 (2009), 113–119, 10.1016/j.aquaeng.2008.12.002.
Goddek, S., Espinal, C., Delaide, B., Jijakli, H.M., Schmautz, Z., Wuertz, S., Keesman, K.J., Navigating towards decoupled aquaponic systems: a system dynamics design approach. Water, 2016, 1–14, 10.3390/www.mdpi.com/journal/water (MDPI).
Jones, B.J., Hydroponics − a Practical Guide for the Soilless Grower. 2nd ed., 2005, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
Lee, S., Kwon, K.S., Ryu, J.C., Song, M.K., Pflugmacher, S., Park, C., Lee, S.H., Park, C.H., Choi, J.W., Effective treatment of nutrients by adsorption onto the surface of a modified clay and a toxicity evaluation of the adsorbent. Water. Air. Soil Pollut. 226 (2015), 111–123, 10.1007/s11270-015-2376-8.
Lennard, W.A., Leonard, B.V., A comparison of three different hydroponic sub-systems (gravel bed, floating and nutrient film technique) in an aquaponic test. Syst. Aquac. Int. 14 (2006), 539–550, 10.1007/s10499-006-9053-2.
Love, D.C., Fry, J.P., Genello, L., Hill, E.S., Frederick, J.A., Li, X., Semmens, K., An international survey of aquaponics practitioners. PLoS One, 9, 2014, e102662, 10.1371/journal.pone.0102662.
Love, D.C., Uhl, M.S., Genello, L., Energy and water use of a small-scale raft aquaponics system in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Aquac. Eng. 68 (2015), 19–27, 10.1016/j.aquaeng.2015.07.003.
Martins, C.I.M., Eding, E.H., Verdegem, M.C.J., Heinsbroek, L.T.N., Schneider, O., Blancheton, J.P., d'Orbcastel, E.R., Verreth, J.A.J., New developments in recirculating aquaculture systems in Europe: a perspective on environmental sustainability. Aquac. Eng. 43 (2010), 83–93, 10.1016/j.aquaeng.2010.09.002.
Monsees, H., Klatt, L., Kloas, W., Wuertz, S., Chronic exposure to nitrate significantly reduces growth and affects the health status of juvenile Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus L.) in recirculating aquaculture systems. Aquac. Res., 2016, 1–11, 10.1111/are.13174.
Neto, R.M., Ostrensky, A., Nutrient load estimation in the waste of Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus (L.) reared in cages in tropical climate conditions. Aquac. Res. 46 (2013), 1309–1322, 10.1111/are.12280.
Olsen, C., The significance of concentration on the rate of ion absorption by higher plants in water culture. Physiol. Plant 3 (1950), 152–164.
Pulvenis, J.-F., Fisheries and Aquaculture Topics. The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA). 2016, Topics Fact Sheets. Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, Rome.
Rakocy, J.E., Hargreaves, J.A., Integration of vegetable hydroponics with fish culture: a review. Techniques for Modern Aquaculture, Proceedings Aquacultural Engineering Conference, St. Joseph, MI, USA. American Society of Agricultural Engineers, 1993, 112–136.
Rakocy, J.E., Masser, M.P., Losordo, T.M., Recirculating aquaculture tank production systems: aquaponics- integrating fish and plant culture. Srac Publ. − South. Reg. Aquac. Cent., 2006, 1–16.
Rakocy, J.E., Aquaponics-Integrating Fish and Plant Culture. 2012, Wiley-Blackwell, 344–386, 10.1002/9781118250105.ch14.
Resh, H.M., Hydroponic Food Production: A Definitive Guidebook for the Advanced Home Gardener and the Commercial Hydroponic Grower. 2012, CRC Press Boca Raton, FL, Boca Raton, FL.
Sonneveld, C., Voogt, W., Plant Nutrition of Greenhouse Crops. 2009, Springer, Springer Netherlands, 10.1007/978-90-481-2532-6.
Steffen, W., Richardson, K., Rockström, J., Cornell, S.E., Fetzer, I., Bennett, E.M., Biggs, R., Carpenter, S.R., De Vries, W., De Wit, C.A., Folke, C., Gerten, D., Heinke, J., Mace, G.M., Persson, L.M., Ramanathan, V., Reyers, B., Sörlin, S., Planetary boundaries: guiding human development on a changing planet. Science (80-.), 2015, 347, 10.1126/science.1259855.
Trang, N., Schierup, H.-H., Brix, H., Leaf vegetables for use in integrated hydroponics and aquaculture systems: effects of root flooding on growth, mineral composition and nutrient uptake. African J. Biotechnol. 9 (2010), 4186–4196, 10.4314/ajb.v9i27.
Tyson, R.V., Simonne, E.H., Treadwell, D.D., White, J.M., Simonne, A., Reconciling pH for ammonia biofiltration and cucumber yield in a recirculating aquaponic system with perlite biofilters. HortScience 43 (2008), 719–724.
Vermeulen, N.V.J., Recirculation aquaculture system (RAS) with tilapia in a hydroponic system with tomatoes. Acta Hort., 927, 2012.
Wongkiew, S., Hu, Z., Chandran, K., Lee, J.W., Khanal, S.K., Nitrogen transformations in aquaponic systems: a review. Aquac. Eng. 76 (2017), 9–19, 10.1016/j.aquaeng.2017.01.004.
Yildiz, H.Y., Robaina, L., Pirhonen, J., Mente, E., Domínguez, D., Parisi, G., Fish welfare in aquaponic systems: its relation to water quality with an emphasis on feed and faeces–a review. Water (Switzerland) 9 (2017), 9–17, 10.3390/w9010013.
