CIRCULAR AQUACULTURE THROUGH A NEXT-GENERATION WASTE-TO-FEED BIOTECHNOLOGY

Through the development and validation of a novel, sustainable and profitable waste-to-feed (W2F) biotechnology, we aim to help develop a circular aquaculture industry that not only helps feed the increasing global population but also significantly improves the industry's sustainability. The proposed W2F biotechnology integrates the commercially proven anaerobic digestion (AD) with a recently patented circulating coculture biofilm photobioreactor (CCBP) to convert aquaculture waste into single cell protein (SCP) as aquafeed supplements, treated clean water, and fertilizer. To develop and validate this W2F technology, we propose the following five specific objectives: (1) AD of fish sludge and food waste to produce biogas and nutrient-rich AD effluent; (2) develop a bench prototypeof the patented CCBP that converts biogas and AD effluent into SCP; (3) demonstration of continuous and stable SCP production using CCBP; (4) assessment of the efficacy of SCP as a nutrient source for shrimp; (5) assessing the technical and economic feasibility and sustainability of the proposed W2F biotechnology.