Development of Dissolved Oxygen & Carbon Dioxide Control System for Large Scale, Intensive Marine Commercial Aquaculture Recirculating Sys.

Commercial-scale marine aquaculture has the potential to close the gap between an increasing demand for high quality seafood products and a marine fisheries near maximum sustainable yields. Intensive recirculation systems are regarded as one critical component of a commercially viable marine aquaculture development program. However, the application of recirculating technology for the production of marine organisms has lagged behind freshwater applications, due in part to the lack of design criteria for system components operating in a marine environment. To fully realize the economic potential of intensively stocked marine recirculating systems, a gas exchange system capable of transferring oxygen into the water, while removing carbon dioxide is critical. This research project will modify a multi-stage low head oxygenator (MS-LHO) and its supporting gas transfer simulation program to operate efficiently in a marine system over a range of salinities with minimum energy input. Dissolved carbon dioxide removal capability will be added by coupling a low profile packed-bed stripping column to the MS-LHO as a pretreatment step. Overall system performance will be optimized using simulation programs for gas transfer and field experience with prototype systems. Finally, the economic feasibility of producing full-scale marine grade MS-LHO units coupled with stripping columns will be determined.