Designing a Aquaponics system

[magnifier661]

Our company is designing an aquaponics system. It will be a "closed system" with our product helping the cycling of the system to optimal performance.

According to our engineering figures; we should produce roughly 100 tons of Spinach and 80 tons of fresh trout annually. The system cost $1,450,000 (equipment, concrete pouring, pumps, etc.).

Revenue will include:
Resale of the fish is roughly $3.38 per lbs for fillet wholesale (35% of total fish weight of 176,000 lbs) = $61,600 X 3.38 = $208,208

Wholesale pricing for Spinach is $3.00 per lbs. = $660,000

Fish waste (heads, guts and bones) @ 65% of fish harvest = 114,400 lbs.
Converting waste to liquid fertilizer = 950 lbs - 300 gallons of fertilizer.
Total annual fertilizer production = 36,126 gallons

Fertilizer wholesale market = $12-14 per gallon
Total wholesale of liquid fertilizer = $433,515

Total annual revenue = $1,301,723.00

Estimated annual operating costs = $650,861.50

Net return = 650,861.50

Return off investment 2.23 years


But what we are really trying to work out, is applying a settling pond, injecting the CO2, released from the fertilizer digestion and grow algae for biodiesel. We haven't worked out those numbers yet because the conversion equipment is extremely costly.

After this program is up an in operation, we will promote this system for sale in Africa to help the smaller communities grow food and revenue for the needy.

Tell me what you guys think?

 

[maxiep]

Mags, be honest. How much weed will it produce?

 

[DaLincolnJones]

great idea

 

[magnifier661]

Mags, be honest. How much weed will it produce?

Well since this is part of a government grant; there will be zero weed growing!

But if you want to know; you can have roughly 10,000-20,000 lbs of weed per year.

Average price per lbs wholesale = $1,200 (mid shelf variety)

Total yearly revenue of $24,000,000

 

[tlongII]

Repped!

 

[Eastoff]

That's awesome Mags!

Are you talking about something like this?

 

[magnifier661]

That's awesome Mags!

Are you talking about something like this?

Thanks man, but that is a bigger system than we would produce. The process for making liquid fertilizer is literally much smaller in scale. What ever gallons you produce, produces about 0.01% CO2. If you make 100,000; you only need about an acre of surface area to inject the CO2 into. You can skim the algae from the top of the raceway daily, usually harvesting much of the CO2 in the atmosphere that you aren't producing.

 

[Eastoff]

Thanks man, but that is a bigger system than we would produce. The process for making liquid fertilizer is literally much smaller in scale. What ever gallons you produce, produces about 0.01% CO2. If you make 100,000; you only need about an acre of surface area to inject the CO2 into. You can skim the algae from the top of the raceway daily, usually harvesting much of the CO2 in the atmosphere that you aren't producing.

So why not more compact, like in the tubes?

 

[magnifier661]

So why not more compact, like in the tubes?

The problem with the tubes is the cost associated with being compact like that. Also, its much easier to have a tractor dig a trench of 1 acre surface area at 18", then use a "plastic liner" to water seal the area. Add about 100 ft of plumbing with airstones pumping in the CO2. The skimmer is cheap.

What's expensive is converting the biofuel on a mass scale.

 

[maxiep]

I still think Mags is growing a lot of weed.

 

[magnifier661]

I still think Mags is growing a lot of weed.

Actually I don't grow any weed because of the liability for the company I work for. It is still considered a "no no" plant for most in this country. Last thing I need is negative press about a CEO of two successful companies growing weed. LOL

 

[Further]

Absolutely cool!

 

[maxiep]

Actually I don't grow any weed because of the liability for the company I work for. It is still considered a "no no" plant for most in this country. Last thing I need is negative press about a CEO of two successful companies growing weed. LOL

You know I'm just messing with you. It was a cheap laugh.

 

[magnifier661]

You know I'm just messing with you. It was a cheap laugh.

LOL!

 

[BrianFromWA]

I've been looking hard recently at an integrated farm setup, the biggest part of which (in my eyes) is getting the anaerobic digester part right. There are plenty of options for that scale of operation. That's where you're going to get your natural gas from, and how to get rid of the pathogenic waste and turn your biomass into nutrients.

The design I've been working on (not to your scale, just a thought for about a 10-25 acre off-the-grid ranch setup) had the digester effluent going into a 1st pond (algae), which turns the high-BOD and COD digestate into water suitable for a aquaculture pond with a few different types of maritime life (tilapia, atlantic salmon and catfish for the high-order; mussels, abalone and maybe shrimp for the organic waste) recycling that water back into the algae tank. If you use chorella as your microalgae, calculations show that out of a half-acre pond you can get about 250 gallons of biodiesel extracted from the algae, the waste of which is a high-protein organic animal feed. The "fish pond" would sustain not only the aquaponics (1 bin of rice started each week, in a 12-week grow cycle, and water spinach) but you could also siphon off some of the fish pond water to run a hydroponics area (you'd need some controls on the nutrient level of the water going to the hydroponics, so this was a "step two" of my idea). If you don't have animals, you can toss the algae waste from oil production back into the digester--if you do, then cow dung is the best C-N ratio to keep the digester producing usable gas (vice, say, human waste, which has a low C-N ratio and is not an optimal environment for the digester microbes).
Also, on the scale you're talking about you probably have enough biomass going into the digester to get sufficient quantities of gas out of it to run a thermophilic digester, which requires so power and controls to maintain the optimal temperature but which processes the biomass much faster and more efficiently.
I've been trying to find some literature of anyone who's used termites in their anaerobic digester. Theoretically, most of the anaerobic digestate (which is cellulose and lignin, predominantly) should be able to be broken down further by microbes that do it in the digestive system of termites, producing even more natural gas per volume and breaking down the digestate into even more basic nutrient sources.

Is your grant a commercial one? Can you add things like shiitake mushrooms and livestock?

 

[Haakzilla]

Last thing I need is negative press about a CEO of two successful companies growing weed. LOL

...I am pretty sure that searching through this OT forum is all the negative press "they" will ever need

 

[magnifier661]

I've been looking hard recently at an integrated farm setup, the biggest part of which (in my eyes) is getting the anaerobic digester part right. There are plenty of options for that scale of operation. That's where you're going to get your natural gas from, and how to get rid of the pathogenic waste and turn your biomass into nutrients.

The design I've been working on (not to your scale, just a thought for about a 10-25 acre off-the-grid ranch setup) had the digester effluent going into a 1st pond (algae), which turns the high-BOD and COD digestate into water suitable for a aquaculture pond with a few different types of maritime life (tilapia, atlantic salmon and catfish for the high-order; mussels, abalone and maybe shrimp for the organic waste) recycling that water back into the algae tank. If you use chorella as your microalgae, calculations show that out of a half-acre pond you can get about 250 gallons of biodiesel extracted from the algae, the waste of which is a high-protein organic animal feed. The "fish pond" would sustain not only the aquaponics (1 bin of rice started each week, in a 12-week grow cycle, and water spinach) but you could also siphon off some of the fish pond water to run a hydroponics area (you'd need some controls on the nutrient level of the water going to the hydroponics, so this was a "step two" of my idea). If you don't have animals, you can toss the algae waste from oil production back into the digester--if you do, then cow dung is the best C-N ratio to keep the digester producing usable gas (vice, say, human waste, which has a low C-N ratio and is not an optimal environment for the digester microbes).
Also, on the scale you're talking about you probably have enough biomass going into the digester to get sufficient quantities of gas out of it to run a thermophilic digester, which requires so power and controls to maintain the optimal temperature but which processes the biomass much faster and more efficiently.
I've been trying to find some literature of anyone who's used termites in their anaerobic digester. Theoretically, most of the anaerobic digestate (which is cellulose and lignin, predominantly) should be able to be broken down further by microbes that do it in the digestive system of termites, producing even more natural gas per volume and breaking down the digestate into even more basic nutrient sources.

Is your grant a commercial one? Can you add things like shiitake mushrooms and livestock?

Wow you got great ideas. I can go a step further because we have aerobic digesters that convert waste into stable liquid fertilizer, basically working the protein from the bio fuel into bottle nitrogen.

I believe anything is possible. The selling point is finding as much recycling and revenue streams. Your bio diesel concept, then protein to fertilizer adds more revenue streams, plus one more recycling step.

What's up with the mushrooms? I know their off gas is CO2, like humans. I've seen systems where they would grow mushrooms in their grow rooms to circulate the CO2 levels. Is that the same angle you were after?

 

[magnifier661]

...I am pretty sure that searching through this OT forum is all the negative press "they" will ever need

Shhhhhh

 

[BrianFromWA]

Wow you got great ideas. I can go a step further because we have aerobic digesters that convert waste into stable liquid fertilizer, basically working the protein from the bio fuel into bottle nitrogen.

I get it, and it's basically the same idea...you're just flushing your digestate to get a liquid fertilizer, where I'm engineering it to seed an algae pond that processes the solid-ish digestate and then feeds into the aquaculture/aquaponics pond. It all comes out the same.

I believe anything is possible. The selling point is finding as much recycling and revenue streams. Your bio diesel concept, then protein to fertilizer adds more revenue streams, plus one more recycling step.

Yeah, for my loop I end up with methane, electricity, heat, biodiesel, a few different types of fish, mussels and oysters, high-protein animal feed, rice, water spinach, whatever I want to grow hydroponically and mushrooms, as well as whatever animal products (wool, milk, cheese, cream, meat) I want to work with and waste removal. I'm looking into what a micro-distillery would take to get running, and if it's even close to revenue-neutral or worth setting aside crop space for. Additionally, depending on the plant life around the acreage and what I grow in the non-hydroponic gardens, I'm looking into doing some save-the-species beekeeping. And that would bring honey, royal jelly, etc. The trick for me is to figure out how to manage the scale so that I keep the loop running, but without needing 15 employees or 300 acres or a ton of startup cash. I'm not getting rich in Afghanistan.

What's up with the mushrooms? I know their off gas is CO2, like humans. I've seen systems where they would grow mushrooms in their grow rooms to circulate the CO2 levels. Is that the same angle you were after?

It's more just to get another high-yield, low-maintenance cash crop in there...you can pretty easily aquaponically grow the stover for the mushrooms, cultivate the shiitake and use the mycellum sugar for more animal food. Additionally, If you have some room, a couple of acres of miscanthus can get you ethanol and the waste biomass gives you natural gas, if you don't want to go the animal route or deal with manure.

 

[magnifier661]

Brian, you should really look into the Clinton global initiative.

http://www.clintonglobalinitiative.org/

It seems you have sound ideas that fit into their project scheme. There are ambassadors and leaders that can get your concept off the ground. Don't mind that most of them are liberal assholes. They mean well!

 

[Eastoff]

Brian, it sounds like you need cheap land, and a reasonable climate. Where were you considering this off the grid farm? It seems to me SE Oregon, read Malheur county, might be ideal, except for the winter weather.

 

[BrianFromWA]

It's funny you say that...

There are a couple of properties in NE Cali and NW Nevada that might work (I don't know SE Oregon well enough). The premises are year-round water and a decent amount of sun. As I said in another thread, part of the problem is that it's California, as run from Sacramento. If it were middle-of-nowhere Jeffersonia ( ) it might be more palatable, but I can't see jumping 500k into California right now.

The ones I've seen that would probably be ideal are in the 400 acre range, which is way more that I need. I think with 25 acres or so I could do just about everything I wanted, at a sustainable scale. I don't want to have to hire a ton of farmhands.

 

[Eastoff]

It's funny you say that...

There are a couple of properties in NE Cali and NW Nevada that might work (I don't know SE Oregon well enough). The premises are year-round water and a decent amount of sun. As I said in another thread, part of the problem is that it's California, as run from Sacramento. If it were middle-of-nowhere Jeffersonia ( ) it might be more palatable, but I can't see jumping 500k into California right now.

The ones I've seen that would probably be ideal are in the 400 acre range, which is way more that I need. I think with 25 acres or so I could do just about everything I wanted, at a sustainable scale. I don't want to have to hire a ton of farmhands.

http://www.usa.com/malheur-county-or-weather.htm