Progress 07/15/18 to 03/14/20

Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audiences include aquaculturists such as novice and experienced aquacultural farmers and producers, state agents and extension agents, academic researchers, and industrial professionals. Our goal is producing an economic tool using low-cost, high-tech hardware and Creative Commons open source software so that groups from community gardens, non-for-profits, and NGOs which serve the underserved populations can also afford our product for their systems. The grow-out waters were obtained from eight different operating aquaculture operations in the Midwest and Eastern states areas. In total, over 20 different sources were included from these operations including aquaponics, RAS grow-out, hatchery, hydroponic, laboratory, and ponds. Both fresh and saltwater samples were obtained. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Training Three students - one physics master's student, one computer science master's student, and one computer science undergraduate student - have had the opportunity to assist the project team in implementing design modifications to the optical bench and develop software and hardware for the final products. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have met, interacted, and disseminated our findings regarding this project while visiting and collecting water samples from aquaculture farmers, operators and researchers in more than eight locations nationwide. We continue keeping in touch and update our progress and final results to our network of aquaculture practitioners through emails, site visits, reports, and Enertrex's website. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The IMPACTS of our project: Interest in domestic aquaculture production is increasing among American farmers to diversify the crops and response to growing demand of locally produced and healthy food consumption. However, many factors challenge the US to meet this need. Large investment, major labor commitment, skills and technical insights - in particular monitoring grow-out water parameters including ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate - are among significant bottlenecks. Applied high technology, remote monitoring, and automation tools with low cost are the future ways to help farmers, especially startups, achieve the needed efficiencies to improve profit and reduce mortality loss which are critical to business survival in aquaculture. The Enertrex team developed an optical sensor that utilizes specialized laser techniques, known as Raman spectra, for simultaneous ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate nitrogen measurements. This integrated sensor / processor device can provide continuous read-outs and send remote alarms when tank conditions deteriorate. The prototype system was validated with water quality standards, was tested with tank water samples from over 20 farms around the country, and optimized with inputs directly from farmers. Successful outcomes of this project can enable new entrants into aquaculture, including entities with limited resources -- small farmers, beginner farmers, NGOs, local entrepreneurs -- and provide an efficient tool for new and existing farmers to proactively manage their operations, improve animal health, boost economic gain, and limit the number of failed operations. The ultimate results will lower dependence on imports, which are currently more than 90% of available aquaculture products on the market, and create jobs for a diverse workforce. Objectives 1-3: *** Major activities completed / experiments conducted; Developed and calibrated our prototype detector Designed and constructed our flow through panel to enable automatic sampling Tested our sensor system with potential absorption interferences and contaminants Optimized our sensor system with simulated aquaculture water *** Data collected Confirmed pure component sensor concentration limits, optimized optics Developed sensor response for a range of mixtures *** Summary statistics and discussion of results Sensor calibration for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate concentrations and solids content was completed. The sensor was then integrated into our flow-through process prototype and made ready for laboratory testing. The system format we developed features a continuous sample flow through our package and return to the grow-out tank. Our design includes self-calibration hardware and software. *** Key outcomes or other accomplishments realized For our sensor to have an impact on aquaculture farmers, it must accommodate both a complex mixture of components found in aquaculture water and efficient use by those farmers. These essential issues had to be explored and resolved. We accomplished this once our Raman sensor was integrated successfully into flow-through sensor unit, thereby enabling us to demonstrate the efficacy of the prototype developed during this project. We also developed our capability to design and fabricate the data acquisition, analysis, and control electronics needed for operation. Objectives 4-6: *** Major activities completed / experiments conducted Flow through prototype was calibrated with mixtures of standards and tested with actual tank fluids in an integrated prototype system. *** Data collected Tests were conducted on our optical bench to gain additional sensitivity and selectivity of our Raman sensor. This data was utilized to guide the development of our project prototype. This prototype was used to take data with calibration standards and field-derived water from over 20 operating aquaculture systems around the country. We have collected these samples from six types of grow-out tanks in a variety of locations including pure biofloc, enhanced biofloc (using solids and nitrite separators), pure RAS (Recirculating Aquaculture System), aquaponics, and outdoor ponds. Samples have come from three operating farms, two university research/extension systems, and our own modified biofloc operation. As a reference, at four of the operations we carried out on-site comprehensive compositional analysis using commercial chemical testing. At all sites, we have collected available data they have taken and have samples of their feed. *** Summary statistics and discussion of results The project has demonstrated that our concept of a "Smart Sensor for Aquaculture Nitrogen Using Raman Spectroscopy" is feasible and worthy of further development towards commercialization with a focus on increasing sensitivity. *** Key outcomes or other accomplishments realized Changes in knowledge: Farmers and aquaculture practitioners will gain knowledge of their own farms e.g. water quality, growth performance, food conversion ratio as a result of more data collected automatically. More under-served youth and adults will have opportunities to enter the industry due to the decreasing total cost of ownership of small and mid-sized aquaculture systems and the reduction in technical training and manual labor required to operate salt water shrimp systems, aquaponics and RAS aquaculture. Consumer buying habits are changing; locally grown shrimp and fish can become more widely available to meet the demand. Changes in action: The replacement of static manual nitrogen parameter measurements with our smart Raman sensor can enable effective remote management and informed-decision making in monitoring of aquaculture production. Applying our low-cost, high-tech system to water quality control optimizes the production of aquatic animals from working lands while protecting the Nation's natural resource base and environment. Changes in condition: Increasing domestic aquaculture production leads to reducing imports. The more farm-raised products available for consumption, the more familiar consumers are to the idea of consuming farmed-products than wild-caught which will reduce over-fishing and the pressure on un-replaceable natural resources. More locally available aquaculture products can encourage healthy-diet resulting in reducing obesity rates and improving nutrition and health. A common solution for poor water quality in aquaculture is replacing grow-out water with good clean water. With more knowledge gained, farmers have the option to adjust water quality before the water turns bad and needs replacement. This will lower the amount of natural clean water to be used for replacement and less waste water released from farms.

Publications

Progress 07/15/18 to 07/14/19

Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audiences include aquaculturists such as novice and experienced aquacultural farmers and producers, state agents and extension agents, academic researchers, and industrial professionals. Our goal is producing an economic tool using low-cost, high-tech hardware and Creative Commons open source software so that groups from community gardens, non-for-profits, and NGOs which serve the underserved populations can also afford our product for their systems. The grow-out waters were obtained from eight different operating aquaculture operations in the Midwest and Eastern states areas. In total, over 20 different sources were included from these operations including aquaponics, RAS grow-out, hatchery, hydroponic, laboratory, and ponds. Both fresh and saltwater samples were obtained. Interaction With Farmers/Growers We have collected samples including pure biofloc, enhanced biofloc (using solids, nitrite, and nitrate separators), pure RAS (Recirculating Aquaculture System), aquaponic, and outdoor ponds. Samples have come from three operating farms, four university research/extension systems, and our own modified biofloc operation. As a reference, at four of the operations we carried out on-site comprehensive compositional analysis using commercial chemical testing. At all sites, we have collected available data they have taken and have samples of their feed. Preliminary results from this work are presented in our technical interium report; the focus has been on identifying potential interfering compounds in the grow-out waters and feeds. Three more field site samplings are planned. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Training Two students - one physics master's student, and one computer science student - have had the opportunity to assist the project team in implementing design modifications to the optical bench and develop software and hardware for the final products. Professional Development One applied scientist directs the overall operation of the project; is responsible for overseeing the implementation of project activities including technical integration of all sensor components; sets up and conducts experiments in the laboratory; designs and implements the process components of the sensor; designs and directs the gathering; tabulating and interpreting of required data; is responsible for overall program evaluation and progress; and is the responsible authority for ensuring necessary reports/documentation are submitted as required. This position relates to all program objectives. One aquaculture engineer is responsible for sensor testing in and out of laboratory, interfacing with aquaculture farmers during development and testing to obtain samples and gain feedback on our designs, conduct qualitative and quantitative laboratory testing of sensor hardware, design and guide sensor user interface microprocessor software. One research scientist/chemist gains experience on development of sensor chemistry testing, and for maintaining and developing intellectual property for the team. One physicist works on sensor / detector signal processing and optical bench design. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have met, interacted, and disseminated about this project idea while visiting and collecting water samples from aquaculture farmers, operators and researchers in more than eight locations nationwide. We will continue keeping in touch and update our progress and final results to our network of aquaculture practitioners through emails, site visits, reports, and Enertrex's website. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue working on our modified optical system and gather more field data from operating aquaculture sites to optimize our design and final products.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The primary purpose of the project's research is to demonstrate that ammonia, nitrate, and nitrate can simultaneously be measured quickly and inexpensively in aquaculture grow-out waters. This would be done in a way that would require minimal labor and skill, could be automated to enable unattended operation, and not require chemical consumables to operate. The research carried out during this project has focused initially on demonstration of our core sensing tool- Raman shift. Investigations of sensitivity and linearity are being carried out using our bench setup with simulated and actual aquaculture grow out waters. To date we have found that the target component concentrations can be calibrated and that the 'background' optical properties of the samples do not significantly impact the accuracy of the sensor. However, we have had to redesign our optical system to increase sensitivity. This activity is ongoing. We are finding that the optimal wavelengths for sensing can be interfered with by our laser emitter if that emitter does not have sufficient spectral purity. We are investigating this finding by conducting experiments with a variety of candidate emitters. Our research has direct application to our target vision of a low-cost, automatic ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate sensor package for aquaculture where there are no sensors available at our sensor cost. Our findings suggest that our sensor may have applications in water quality and wastewater processing markets where our accuracy and precision are acceptable, and our cost can be quite competitive. Calibrate our existing prototype detector We are calibrating our modified prototype detector with representative aquaculture tank waters as well as calibrated reagents and solids. To date, we have examined from eight locations 22 varied aquaculture samples and plan to test at least three more locations to meet the total of ten described in our proposal. Construct the flow through panel As we have modified the optical configuration of our initial prototype to gain needed sensitivity, we are in the process of redesigning and constructing the flow through panel and related control hardware and control software that will allow near real-time measurements. Integration of the detector and flow through panel are in progress. Study the impact of potential absorption interferences and contaminants Demonstrate that the potential absorption interferences and contaminants can be handled by our system. This involves collaboration with some of the aquaculture farmers we have worked with in the past to gather samples and get feedback on operational issues. This effort is in progress. Milestone One. We are completing sensor calibration for concentration and solids content. We are preparing for integrating it into our 'process' package. Milestone Two. (in progress) Flow though "process" prototype ready for laboratory testing Milestone Three. The flow through "process" model of the prototype will be ready for Phase II field testing. Achieving Milestone Three has taken additional time due to further development of the optical bench to gain additional sensitivity, selectivity, and provide for testing of these components.

Publications