Colorado Patent of the Month – February 2022
Aquaponic systems use the waste created while growing fish in tanks to improve plant growth systems. A plants’ most limiting nutrient is nitrogen. Aquatic systems have an abundance of nitrogen as fish excrete it in the form of ammonia or organic nitrogen. Dr. Ron Malone of Malone Industries, LLC has developed a nutrient generation module that supports this nutrient transfer process.
This aquaculture system has a fish tank, floating media bio-clarifier, and a mineralization tank. This design effectively supplies nutrient rich water completely free of suspended solids to the hydroponic system. A floating bead bio-clarifier has a sludge compartment that connects to the mineralization tank. The effluent moves back and forth between these two systems, returning a nutrient rich water with iteratively less solid particles. This is driven by a series of pneumatic pressures generated by the bio-clarifier’s backwashing sequence. As this process continues, the sludge and captured solids are moved to a lower internal sludge compartment for temporary storage. It can then be digested by an aerobic sludge digester over the course of 10 days. The water is then transferred into a connected hydroponic system.
With this system, a true cooperation between fish and plants can be achieved in a controlled setting. By reducing the limitation of nitrogen, the hydroponic system can experience improved growth rate and yield. The aquaculture system requires cleaning or water-cycling regardless, so using the by-product waste enhances sustainability of the hydroponic system without negatively impacting the aquatic environment.
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