Ensuring a good environment for fish

New ways with water

A range of technologies exists to help manage and monitor water quality

FOLLOWING a period of successful tes� ng, Norway-based farmer And� ord Salmon has verifi ed the “laminar water fl ow” technology at its fi rst pool at Kvalnes, Andøya.

Laminar fl ow is a type of fl ow pa� ern for a fl uid in which all the par� cles are fl owing in parallel lines, as opposed to turbulent fl ow, where the par� cles fl ow in random and chao� c direc� ons.

A fl ow-through system with laminar water fl ow reduces energy consump� on and associated costs signifi cantly, as there is no need to li� , fi lter or heat the seawater. For And� ord’s site, the seawater is clean and already at the right temperature, as it is sourced directly from the nearby And� orden.

The laminar water fl ow is the heart of And� ord Salmon’s fl ow-through technology. It is this technology that enables the crea� on of a natural environment in which the salmon can thrive. It also enables the company to produce fi sh at an energy cost at only 1kWh per kilo.

Mar� n Rasmussen, CEO of And� ord Salmon, says: “In prac� ce, this confi rms that we have been able to recreate wild salmon’s natural habitat on land. In the wild, salmon swims in laminar water fl ows in the ocean, similar to what we now have in our pool at Andøya. Never have I been more certain that we will meet our ambi� on of building the world’s most sustainable aquaculture facility of its kind.”

The tests have included u� lisa� on of the complete water inlet and outlet infrastructure, fi lling of pool, ac� va� on of power adapters, gradual increase of the laminar water fl ow – from minimum to maximum – and measurements of the water fl ow, plus analyses of how the pool infrastructure reacts to the laminar water fl ow.

Mar� n Rasmussen adds: “This is a major technological milestone for And� ord Salmon and a really nice Christmas present for our shareholders [the results were announced in December], u� lising our own technology. We were always confi dent in the technological capabili� es, but… demonstra� ng it in prac� ce is what ma� ers. As such, the successful verifi ca� on of the laminar water fl ow helps to de-risk our business case substan� ally.

The tes� ng and fi ne-tuning of the laminar water

Above: Mar� n Rasmussen Left: And� ord laminar fl ow test Opposite from top: FiiZKfi ltra� on skid model; Aquacare Inline Tanks, Barramundi farm, Australia; Havlandet Norcod

fl ow technology and other pool func� ons,will con� nue over the coming months.

And� ord Salmon’s aim is to release the fi rst smolt during the second quarter of 2022. The company, which aims to be the world’s most fi sh friendly and sustainable aquaculture facility of its kind, conducted a successful private placement last year, raising NOK 88.2m to fast-track the expansion at Kvalnes.

Clean water for cod

Meanwhile, cod producer Havlandet Norcod has chosen FiiZK Aqua water fi ltra� on solu� ons for its new cod fry produc� on facility, being built at Fjord Base in Florø, Norway, where the company has been opera� ng land-based cod farming since 2001.

The system being delivered by FiiZK contains two skid-based membrane fi ltra� on solu� ons with a total membrane area of 7,680m² with pore size 0.02µm. The plant will deliver over 200m³/h ultrafi ltered seawater for fry produc� on. With this fi ltra� on size, the FiiZK system can guarantee the intake water is free of pathogens such as viruses, bacteria and algae.

The ultrafi ltra� on units are fully automated, and controlled and monitored locally and/or via remote access. Delivery will be completed in the summer of 2022, with water produc� on star� ng in early autumn. This is the fi rst major order for FiiZK Aqua since FiiZK’s acquisi� on of AkvaFresh AS in the autumn of 2021.

By choosing to invest in the FiiZK Aqua water-fi ltra� on system, Havlandet says the company can ensure the best growing condi� ons at the new facility to supply a growing market with high-quality fry.

The FiiZK Aqua (formerly, AkvaFresh) water treatment plant is designed to produce high-quality water for fi sh farming, from hatcheries to post-smolt produc� on in land-based systems and gentle “freshwater” treatments for sea lice management.

FiiZK Aqua uses membrane fi ltra� on to stop unwanted substances and prevent par� cle contamina� on, organic pollu� on and biological pollu� on (parasites, bacteria and viruses). The membrane pore ranges from ultrafi ltra� on (pore size 0.01–1.0µm), nanofi ltra� on (pore size 0.001–0.01µm) and reverse osmosis (pore size <0.001µm).

Oxygena� on solu� ons

Aquacare Environment Inc. also supplies controlled environment aquaculture technology. The company develops, designs and supplies complete fi sh farms for clients worldwide, and can supply cost-eff ec� ve, prefabricated system components to exis� ng farms.

Aquacare is a distributor for FOX, a specialist oxygena� on technology company based in France, which developed the OxyFlow system.

In 2010, JLH Consul� ng and Aquacare began an ini� a� ve to lower the cost of land-based intensive fi sh farming opera� ons. This ini� a� ve focused on two of the largest cost factors: pumping head and oxygena� on. The pumping head has now been reduced by several metres by lowering the biofi lter and CO2 strippers to a level where gravity can supply them, and only pumping clean fi ltered water back to the fi sh tanks with high-fl ow, low-head pumps. This reduc� on in pumping head led to another challenge: how to achieve oxygena� on with a lower head.

The solu� on is OxyFlow, which operates in a sealed vessel, thus not breaking head pressure. Process water enters the top of the unit under mild pressure of about 0.3 bar. The water then passes through a horizontal drilled plate with specially shaped orifi ce holes, which jets the water downward though an oxygen atmosphere approximately 20cm deep.

When the jets strike the water surface below, they cause high turbulence and create a bubble cloud of pure oxygen that extends downwards to 40cm below the surface of the water. These bubbles fl ow upwards, counter to the downward water fl ow in such a way that the downward velocity is not strong enough to carry the bubbles out of the chamber, hence the only way the oxygen gas can escape the OxyFlow unit is to become dissolved in the water. Bubbles that break the water surface inside the unit are again subjected to the turbulence of the downward jets un� l they become dissolved.

A small amount of nitrogen gas that remains in the oxygen-rich atmosphere is vented off to prevent it from becoming dissolved in the water, enabling reliable, cost-eff ec� ve transfer of gaseous oxygen into dissolved oxygen.

It’s always helpful to be able to verify the eff ec� veness of any water treatment system against an objec� ve benchmark.

Late last year, James Hu� on Limited, the commercial arm of the James Hu� on Ins� tute, based in Scotland, can now off er Environmental

“This is a major technological milestone”

Technology Verification (ETV) reports on environmental technologies in the UK, including water treatment.

This service means that producers developing new environmental technologies, and their potential customers, can get an independent assessment of the technology in question. ETV reporting is based on an international standard for verification and James Hutton’s own processes are themselves subject to international testing standards.

Real-time information

For farm sites at sea, real-time monitoring can help to keep on top of a range of risks. Innovasea has developed a wireless aquaculture monitoring system called aquaCurrent, which allows producers to monitor environmental conditions online in real time. Each farm is populated with a suite of cable-less sensors called aquaMeasure. These use a unique underwater acoustic protocol to send data to a central unit called aquaHub.

The aquaMeasure sensors measure temperature and tilt alongside their initial parameter, such as dissolved oxygen (DO), salinity, DO/ depth, chlorophyll, turbidity, BG algae (freshwater and marine) and CDOM/FDOM.

AquaHub is the core of the Aquaculture Intelligence system. It is situated at the surface and can be easily mounted on existing infrastructure or feed barges. The hub receives real-time data via a multichannel hydrophone, deployed at a depth of 10m, which can support up to 100 sensors within a 500m range.

AquaCurrent is a complementary, cloud-based software system that enables the user to visualise their data in real time via computer or iOS and Android app. FF

“Real-time monitoring can help to keep on top of a range of risks”

Left: The aquaHub

James Hutton Limited to offer ETV reports on environmental technologies

James Hutton Limited is pleased to announce that the business has become the second UK-based organisation to offer Environmental Technology Verifi cation (ETV) reports on environmental technologies in the United Kingdom and the only partner within the Water Test Network, a partnership of 10 European technology and testing centres, designated to support SMEs (small-medium sized enterprises) in developing new technologies for the water sector. ETV is an International Standard (BS EN ISO 14034) developed with the objective of providing credible, reliable and independent verifi cation of environmental technologies which have an impact on, or added value for, the environment. For technology producers, ETV provides credibility and assurance on their products and claims while for purchasers, it guarantees selection of the best fi tted eco-technology and helps determine its performance in accordance with policies and regulations.

Gareth Newman, Service Delivery Manager, James Hutton Limited, said: “Climate change and environmental issues are a global problem and standards, regulations, guidelines and tools such as this are part of potential solutions. ISO 14034 works in parallel with other 14000 series standards and will ensure environmental issues are handled proactively by stakeholders. It is a technical standard with a conformity assessment.

“The standard is achieved through a dialogue between the applicant, verifi er and interested parties. It is transparent and credible, being based on reliable test results and robust procedures which are themselves accredited to ISO 17025, the standard for laboratory testing.”

For further information, please contact Gareth Newman at

James Hutton Limited or visit the website www.huttonltd.com more on the Water Test Network can be found at:

nweurope.eu/water-test-network

Top: ETV supports product development by providing credibility and assurances for producers and buyers. Above: The ETV standard is based on reliable test results and robust procedures which are themselves accredited to ISO 17025