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Solar-powered aquaponics prototype as sustainable approach for food production

This paper presents the establishment of a solar-powered aquaponics prototype as a sustainable, cost effective and environmentally sound approach for food production. In this study, a prototype bench top aquaponics rig with an integrated 20 W solar panel were fabricated for the cultivation of red...

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Main Authors: Zainal Alam, Muhd Nazrul Hisham, Kamaruddin, Mohd Johari, Adzila, Sharifah, Nordin, Normayati, Othman, Raudhah
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2022
Subjects:
T Technology (General)
Online Access:http://eprints.uthm.edu.my/7712/1/J14565_53d73e41064735352a428c58ee5497e7.pdf
http://eprints.uthm.edu.my/7712/
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2022.02.530
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spelling my.uthm.eprints.77122022-09-19T02:10:12Z http://eprints.uthm.edu.my/7712/ Solar-powered aquaponics prototype as sustainable approach for food production Zainal Alam, Muhd Nazrul Hisham Kamaruddin, Mohd Johari Adzila, Sharifah Nordin, Normayati Othman, Raudhah T Technology (General) This paper presents the establishment of a solar-powered aquaponics prototype as a sustainable, cost effective and environmentally sound approach for food production. In this study, a prototype bench top aquaponics rig with an integrated 20 W solar panel were fabricated for the cultivation of red Hybrid Tilapia (Oreochromis spp.) and leaf mustard (Brassica juncea). The size of the fish tank is about 29.5L and serves as the base for the setup. Additionally, the hydroponic grower compartment (0.45 m (L) � 0.32 m (W) � 0.13 m (H)) was stacked on top of the fish tank and was filled with LECA media bed for the plant growth. Two important operating parameters were studied. First, the amount of energy produced by the solar panel and the energy consumption by the water pump used in the setup. Secondly, the resultant effects from fish cultivation and plants growth on the water qualities and nitrification effi�ciency of the aquaponics unit. The aquaponics unit was operated for a month and the values of pH, tem�perature, and ammonia level were measured to be within the range of 6.4–7.2, 27.1–31.7 �C, and 1 mg�L�1 , respectively. Survival rate for fish was about 75% with specific growth rate (SGR) of 3.75% per day and food conversion ratio of about 1.15. A slight nutrient deficiency was evident and plants showed a healthy growth with height gain as high as 5 cm was achieved. Despite raining season, our data shows that the energy produced via 20 W solar panel enabled the unit to run at night without depending on local electricity for nearly two hours. Clearly, a larger solar panel is needed for longer operation. Nevertheless, the study has proven the potential of operating a low cost aquaponics setup using renew�able energy for a sustainable food production method. Elsevier 2022 Article PeerReviewed text en http://eprints.uthm.edu.my/7712/1/J14565_53d73e41064735352a428c58ee5497e7.pdf Zainal Alam, Muhd Nazrul Hisham and Kamaruddin, Mohd Johari and Adzila, Sharifah and Nordin, Normayati and Othman, Raudhah (2022) Solar-powered aquaponics prototype as sustainable approach for food production. Materials Today: Proceedings, 65. pp. 2953-2959. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2022.02.530
institution Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia
building UTHM Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia
content_source UTHM Institutional Repository
url_provider http://eprints.uthm.edu.my/
language English
topic T Technology (General)
spellingShingle T Technology (General)
Zainal Alam, Muhd Nazrul Hisham
Kamaruddin, Mohd Johari
Adzila, Sharifah
Nordin, Normayati
Othman, Raudhah
Solar-powered aquaponics prototype as sustainable approach for food production
description This paper presents the establishment of a solar-powered aquaponics prototype as a sustainable, cost effective and environmentally sound approach for food production. In this study, a prototype bench top aquaponics rig with an integrated 20 W solar panel were fabricated for the cultivation of red Hybrid Tilapia (Oreochromis spp.) and leaf mustard (Brassica juncea). The size of the fish tank is about 29.5L and serves as the base for the setup. Additionally, the hydroponic grower compartment (0.45 m (L) � 0.32 m (W) � 0.13 m (H)) was stacked on top of the fish tank and was filled with LECA media bed for the plant growth. Two important operating parameters were studied. First, the amount of energy produced by the solar panel and the energy consumption by the water pump used in the setup. Secondly, the resultant effects from fish cultivation and plants growth on the water qualities and nitrification effi�ciency of the aquaponics unit. The aquaponics unit was operated for a month and the values of pH, tem�perature, and ammonia level were measured to be within the range of 6.4–7.2, 27.1–31.7 �C, and 1 mg�L�1 , respectively. Survival rate for fish was about 75% with specific growth rate (SGR) of 3.75% per day and food conversion ratio of about 1.15. A slight nutrient deficiency was evident and plants showed a healthy growth with height gain as high as 5 cm was achieved. Despite raining season, our data shows that the energy produced via 20 W solar panel enabled the unit to run at night without depending on local electricity for nearly two hours. Clearly, a larger solar panel is needed for longer operation. Nevertheless, the study has proven the potential of operating a low cost aquaponics setup using renew�able energy for a sustainable food production method.
format Article
author Zainal Alam, Muhd Nazrul Hisham
Kamaruddin, Mohd Johari
Adzila, Sharifah
Nordin, Normayati
Othman, Raudhah
author_facet Zainal Alam, Muhd Nazrul Hisham
Kamaruddin, Mohd Johari
Adzila, Sharifah
Nordin, Normayati
Othman, Raudhah
author_sort Zainal Alam, Muhd Nazrul Hisham
title Solar-powered aquaponics prototype as sustainable approach for food production
title_short Solar-powered aquaponics prototype as sustainable approach for food production
title_full Solar-powered aquaponics prototype as sustainable approach for food production
title_fullStr Solar-powered aquaponics prototype as sustainable approach for food production
title_full_unstemmed Solar-powered aquaponics prototype as sustainable approach for food production
title_sort solar-powered aquaponics prototype as sustainable approach for food production
publisher Elsevier
publishDate 2022
url http://eprints.uthm.edu.my/7712/1/J14565_53d73e41064735352a428c58ee5497e7.pdf
http://eprints.uthm.edu.my/7712/
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2022.02.530
_version_ 1744650656862437376
score 13.211869

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