2:45 PM - 3:00 PM
[HCG24-05] Current status of the combined food production system with material recycling “aquaponics” and its potential for use outside the Earth's sphere
Keywords:Aquaponics, Food production, Closed recirculating aquaculture system, Hydroponic system, Activities outside the Earth's sphere
Aquaponics is a food production system with material recycling that uses hydroponic cultivation to absorb water pollutants discharged from a closed recirculating aquaculture system by providing them to plants as fertilizer and growing them while maintaining the cleanliness of the rearing water. This system has a long history, with experimental research conducted since the 1980s, and pioneering industrial production in the United States, and Australia in the 2000s. In recent years, large-scale commercial facilities that raise tilapia, sturgeon and grow leafy vegetables have started operating in Japan.
These systems mainly use fresh water, but in recent years, research has also been progressing on aquaponics using saline water that combines marine fish, shellfish, and halophytes. Although useful halophytes have been selected, they have a wide range of uses after production, such as food, production of useful ingredients, and materials for fuel, and unique production methods are needed in addition to the production conditions and methods of freshwater aquaponics. and operational formats are being established.
Aquaponics is a method in which the rearing water for cultivating fish and shellfish, and the nutrient solution for cultivating vegetables are shared. The production is proceeded by artificially moving substances through the water. It is a method that improves the balance between supply and consumption of substances and correction of the excess and deficiency is the key to producing seafood and vegetables at the same time. If these material flows can be carried out smoothly, the growth of both fish and vegetables will be stable, and stable food production can be realized. On the other hand, a method has been devised that dissolves this connection and separates the closed recirculating aquaculture system and the hydroponic cultivation system, processing the rearing water and adjusting the nutrient solution optimal for hydroponic cultivation. This has become possible to combine wide species of fish and plants.
The idea of using aquaponics to produce food outside the Earth's sphere has been considered since freshwater aquaponics was developed. This was result that experiments in rearing fish and aquatic organisms that had been carried out in Earth's orbit since the early days of space exploration is reflected to the concept of plant cultivation at other than on the Earth surface that was investigated earlier, and it is the origin of concept of aquaculture conducted for animal protein production in space.
However, to smoothly produce food on satellites or planets, it is important to understand the adaptability of organisms to the local environment, such as gravity and atmospheric pressure. In particular, growth and reproduction of food organisms require long-term experiments, and there are many unknowns. It is necessary to optimize energy supply and material flow control during rearing and cultivation for optimize material circulation efficiency, including energy conservation and gas exchange. In addition, since a certain level of know-how is required for complex rearing and cultivation, various production-related devices are needed to realize this, such as sensors that grasp the production environment and productivity, and rearing, cultivation based on that data. It is also necessary to develop an automatic production system that makes decisions about rearing and cultivation based on objective data such as remote control and AI. Furthermore, consideration must be given to safety as food. Some of these technologies are currently being developed on land, and it is thought that in the future it will be possible to apply the new technologies being developed to food production outside the area.
In this way, there are various issues in carrying out food production such as aquaponics outside the area, and studies that match each concept, determine feasibility by increasing the resolution, and proceed with verification from what is possible is considered important to proceed.
These systems mainly use fresh water, but in recent years, research has also been progressing on aquaponics using saline water that combines marine fish, shellfish, and halophytes. Although useful halophytes have been selected, they have a wide range of uses after production, such as food, production of useful ingredients, and materials for fuel, and unique production methods are needed in addition to the production conditions and methods of freshwater aquaponics. and operational formats are being established.
Aquaponics is a method in which the rearing water for cultivating fish and shellfish, and the nutrient solution for cultivating vegetables are shared. The production is proceeded by artificially moving substances through the water. It is a method that improves the balance between supply and consumption of substances and correction of the excess and deficiency is the key to producing seafood and vegetables at the same time. If these material flows can be carried out smoothly, the growth of both fish and vegetables will be stable, and stable food production can be realized. On the other hand, a method has been devised that dissolves this connection and separates the closed recirculating aquaculture system and the hydroponic cultivation system, processing the rearing water and adjusting the nutrient solution optimal for hydroponic cultivation. This has become possible to combine wide species of fish and plants.
The idea of using aquaponics to produce food outside the Earth's sphere has been considered since freshwater aquaponics was developed. This was result that experiments in rearing fish and aquatic organisms that had been carried out in Earth's orbit since the early days of space exploration is reflected to the concept of plant cultivation at other than on the Earth surface that was investigated earlier, and it is the origin of concept of aquaculture conducted for animal protein production in space.
However, to smoothly produce food on satellites or planets, it is important to understand the adaptability of organisms to the local environment, such as gravity and atmospheric pressure. In particular, growth and reproduction of food organisms require long-term experiments, and there are many unknowns. It is necessary to optimize energy supply and material flow control during rearing and cultivation for optimize material circulation efficiency, including energy conservation and gas exchange. In addition, since a certain level of know-how is required for complex rearing and cultivation, various production-related devices are needed to realize this, such as sensors that grasp the production environment and productivity, and rearing, cultivation based on that data. It is also necessary to develop an automatic production system that makes decisions about rearing and cultivation based on objective data such as remote control and AI. Furthermore, consideration must be given to safety as food. Some of these technologies are currently being developed on land, and it is thought that in the future it will be possible to apply the new technologies being developed to food production outside the area.
In this way, there are various issues in carrying out food production such as aquaponics outside the area, and studies that match each concept, determine feasibility by increasing the resolution, and proceed with verification from what is possible is considered important to proceed.