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Industrial-scale aquaponics- “real aquaponics“?RAS vs double RAS in aquaponics food production

BIGH Anderlecht

Inagro - Kick off project Aquavlan2

31th May 2017

BIGH Building Integrated GreenHouses

• Urban surface as a high valuable ressource:• Greenhouse « integration »

• Uptake of urban discharges: CO2, heat, rainwater, organic waste

• High visibility and transparency

• Local production, local consumption

• High valuable farming for high valuable products

Urban aquaponic farming by BIGH

• 2000 m2 outdoor garden + 2000 m2 aquaponics greenhouse production:

• Fish stripped bass 40t/year

• Cherry tomatoes 16,5t/year

• Herbs 572 000 units/year

• Microgreens 10 000 trays/year

• Mescluns 6000 kg/year

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BIGH Anderlecht – Abattoir site

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Total rooftop 4000 m2 including:2000 m2 greenhouse incl. mezzanine / 2000 m2 productive garden

Juvenile plants Aquaculture Growing tables


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OUTDOOR

GARDEN

2000 m2

AQUAPONIC

GREENHOUSE

2000 m2

(including

mezzanine 550m2)

RESTAURANT


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BIGH Anderlecht - Aquaponic greenhouse

BIGH - Aquaponic greenhouse

• Growing fish and plants together in one integrated system. The fish waste provides an organic food source for the plants, and the plants naturally filter the water for the fish (“The Aquaponics Source”)

• Combining conventional aquaculture (snails, fish, crayfish or prawns in tanks) with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) in a symbiotic environmentWater from an aquaculture system is fed to a hydroponic system

Nitrates are utilized by the plants as nutrients

water is then recirculated back to the aquaculture system

(Wikipedia)

BIGH – Aquaponics definitions

• Mayas, Aztecs, Asia 1000 BC: crop grow better when fish are present

• Modern times:1. “Backyard aquaponics”

2. RAS Fish farmers want to filter their recirculating water

3. Commercial “aquaponics” farms still in the beginning

BIGH – Aquaponics history

• RAS = the only “real” aquaponics?• Adapting fish to the crops, scaling the plant for the fish

• Pursuit of compromizes

• Technics before economics

• Optimizing for one or for both?

• Critics• The most expansive irrigation water of the world

• Crops in alkaline water, fish in fertilized water?

• More sustainable?

• Control

• Economical reality

BIGH – Aquaponics as an industrial production system

• “Double RAS” system

• Optimization for the fishand the crops• Technically

• Economically

• Sustainability

BIGH – Reconsidering aquaponics

• Double RAS = “improved” aquaponics?• Create a system where both cultures can be favorized.

• Create a system where both cultures can be economically viable, even independantly.

• Flexibility, control, sustainability

BIGH – Reconsidering aquaponics

• Horticultural world not yet ready• Old manners are the best proven

• Unconventional thoughts

• Unconventional scales (high costs for low surface)

• Fish farming world

• (Belgian?) Legislation lack• Aquaponics legislation?

• Urban agricultural “wastes“

• …

• Financing an aquaponics farm• Lack of farming subsidies in Bxl

• Investor‘s lack of confidence in (modern) agriculture

BIGH – start-up challenges

• Start of building site in June 2017

• Farm opening: January 2018

• Outdoor garden in construction & test

BIGH – almost there

… And see you at the farm opening!

BIGH thanks you!