Biography
Biography: Uwe Waller
Abstract
Aquaculture continues to increase production because the supply from capture fisheries does not satisfy the demand of the growing human population. Beyond that, the climate change affects conventional aquaculture production systems that are connected with the biosphere. The area of conflict embraces hazardous environmental conditions, possibly caused by the aquaculture itself, extreme meteorological situations, or industrial disasters. The environmental impact of aquaculture is always in focus of science, stakeholders, and politics. A major milestone is the development of recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) that are operating independently from environments. A worldwide unique project of HTW Saar is the large marine fish farm near Saarbrücken. This project proves the feasibility of urban aquaculture. In an experimental scale, RAS production is already linked to agriculture production. RAS technology opens windows for the reuse of dissolved nutrients that are generated in aquaculture production processes. A source of valuable nutrients becomes available for agriculture, i.e. fruit and vegetable gardening as well as large scale production of microalgae. While vegetable gardening supplies food, microalgae are industrial raw material. The application includes pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals. A promising field is the next generation of biofuel, if sustainable sources of nutrients are allocated. RAS aquaculture has special potential because it delivers nutrients dissolved in its process water. The nutrients can selectively be transferred to autotrophic production that is based on solar radiation. An aspect of decisive importance is the management of the material flows. Circular production depends on the coupling of processes and requires novel model based process technology.