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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 Hy...

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Main Authors:	Zainal Alam, Muhd. Nazrul Hisham, Kamaruddin, Mohd. Johari, Adzila, Sharifah, Nordin, Normayati, Othman, Raudhah
Format:	Conference or Workshop Item
Published:	2022
Subjects:	Q Science (General) TP Chemical technology
Online Access:	http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/101297/ http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2022.02.530
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spelling	my.utm.1012972023-06-08T08:50:12Z http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/101297/ Solar-powered aquaponics prototype as sustainable approach for food production Zainal Alam, Muhd. Nazrul Hisham Kamaruddin, Mohd. Johari Adzila, Sharifah Nordin, Normayati Othman, Raudhah Q Science (General) TP Chemical technology 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 efficiency of the aquaponics unit. The aquaponics unit was operated for a month and the values of pH, temperature, 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 renewable energy for a sustainable food production method. 2022 Conference or Workshop Item PeerReviewed 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. In: 2nd International Conference on Sustainable Environmental Technology (ISET2021), 9 November 2021 - 10 November 2021, Virtual, Online. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2022.02.530
institution	Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
building	UTM Library
collection	Institutional Repository
continent	Asia
country	Malaysia
content_provider	Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
content_source	UTM Institutional Repository
url_provider	http://eprints.utm.my/
topic	Q Science (General) TP Chemical technology
spellingShingle	Q Science (General) TP Chemical technology 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 efficiency of the aquaponics unit. The aquaponics unit was operated for a month and the values of pH, temperature, 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 renewable energy for a sustainable food production method.
format	Conference or Workshop Item
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
publishDate	2022
url	http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/101297/ http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2022.02.530
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score	13.211869

Solar-powered aquaponics prototype as sustainable approach for food production

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