PR 00123: verschil tussen versies

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In the Province of Zeeland ragworms (''Nereis virens'') are farmed on large scale (6 ha) in open rectangular (flow through systems) ponds.  In April the ponds are stocked with ragworm larvae from the hatchery. From a certain size/ age on the juveniles bury themselves in the sediment layer in the pond and are fed with feed pellets. Dependent on the market (bait for fishing or maturation feed for shrimp farming)   market size ragworms are harvested after 7 – 20 months.   
In the Province of Zeeland ragworms (''Alitta  virens'') are farmed on large scale (6 ha) in open rectangular (flow through systems) ponds. Every April these ponds are stocked with ragworm larvae from a hatchery. The juveniles bury themselves in the sediment layer in the pond and are fed with feed pellets. Dependent on the market (bait for fishing or maturation feed for shrimp farming) market size ragworms are harvested after 7 – 20 months.   


The waste water which is produced by ragworm farming has great potential for growing micro-algae and subsequently bivalves. However, little is known about the composition in terms of dissolved nutrients and particles  of the waste streams, under different conditions (density of ragworms, seasonal variations, amount and type of feeding, etc.).  
The process water produced by ragworm farming has great potential for growing micro-algae and subsequently bivalves. However, little is known about the composition in terms of dissolved nutrients and particles of the waste streams, under different conditions (density of ragworms, seasonal variations, amount and type of feeding, etc.).


During the winterperiod however, ragworms are not fed, so no experiments in the actual farm were possible. Therefore labscale experiments were set up in Spring 2017 to determine the effect of feeding regime and ragworm density on the amount of nutrients in the waste water, sediment, and ragworms themselves. Also the potential for production of the micro algae  ''Skeleletonema costatum'' was investigated in controlled small scale experiments. Having done these studies on labscale, the question arose of how compatible these results are with reality. Therefore experiments need to be designed to investigate the nutrient compositions in the actual ragworm farm and the way to optimize this for micro algae production.{{Project config}}
In the past year, laboratory and field settings experiments were conducted to investigate the nutrient balance and possibilities to culture microalgae ''Skeletonema costatum'' on ragworm waste water. Several measurements on the composition in terms of dissolved nutrients and particles of the waste streams, under different conditions (density of ragworms, seasonal variations, amount and type of feeding, etc.) have been carried out.
 
To get a better insight in the implication of the use of ragworm waste water for algae production on a large scale, a production model might be a  useful tool. In the model, the gathered data of the experiments and field situation, together with other available data are combined. Production of algae is coupled with the composition of process water  and the dependency on seasonality, feeding rate, density, etc. The goal of the production model is to run different scenarios and evaluate the feasibility of different setups of the large scale coupling of rag worm process water and micro algae production.
 
'''Research type:''' literature study, experiments (ragworm farm location ) and design a model.
 
'''Research level:''' final thesis (BSc./MSc. level)
 
'''Prerequisite:''' good understanding of biology/chemistry; good analytical and Excel skills; communicative; computer skills
 
'''Partners''': several Small and Medium (Aquaculture) Enterprises, Flemish  knowledge partners, Province of Zeeland
 
'''Researcher involved:''' research group aquaculture (Michel Trommelen and Jouke Heringa)
 
'''Period:''' 2nd semester 2017-2018
 
'''Status:''' Open{{Project config}}
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|Supercontext=Aquaculture in Delta Areas
|Supercontext=Aquaculture in Delta Areas

Versie van 16 nov 2017 11:03

In the Province of Zeeland ragworms (Alitta  virens) are farmed on large scale (6 ha) in open rectangular (flow through systems) ponds. Every April these ponds are stocked with ragworm larvae from a hatchery. The juveniles bury themselves in the sediment layer in the pond and are fed with feed pellets. Dependent on the market (bait for fishing or maturation feed for shrimp farming) market size ragworms are harvested after 7 – 20 months.

The process water produced by ragworm farming has great potential for growing micro-algae and subsequently bivalves. However, little is known about the composition in terms of dissolved nutrients and particles of the waste streams, under different conditions (density of ragworms, seasonal variations, amount and type of feeding, etc.).

In the past year, laboratory and field settings experiments were conducted to investigate the nutrient balance and possibilities to culture microalgae Skeletonema costatum on ragworm waste water. Several measurements on the composition in terms of dissolved nutrients and particles of the waste streams, under different conditions (density of ragworms, seasonal variations, amount and type of feeding, etc.) have been carried out.

To get a better insight in the implication of the use of ragworm waste water for algae production on a large scale, a production model might be a  useful tool. In the model, the gathered data of the experiments and field situation, together with other available data are combined. Production of algae is coupled with the composition of process water  and the dependency on seasonality, feeding rate, density, etc. The goal of the production model is to run different scenarios and evaluate the feasibility of different setups of the large scale coupling of rag worm process water and micro algae production.

Research type: literature study, experiments (ragworm farm location ) and design a model.

Research level: final thesis (BSc./MSc. level)

Prerequisite: good understanding of biology/chemistry; good analytical and Excel skills; communicative; computer skills

Partners: several Small and Medium (Aquaculture) Enterprises, Flemish  knowledge partners, Province of Zeeland

Researcher involved: research group aquaculture (Michel Trommelen and Jouke Heringa)

Period: 2nd semester 2017-2018

Status: Open