Collaborative Research: Investigation of decoupled algal-biofloc aquaponics technology for deployment in food deserts

合作研究：解耦藻类生物絮团鱼菜共生技术在粮食荒漠中的部署研究

• 批准号: 2147832
• 负责人: Brendan Higgins
• 金额: $ 57.57万
• 依托单位: Auburn University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-06-01 至 2025-05-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2147832&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Investigation; decoupled; algal

There is heightened interest in the idea of deploying aquaponics technology (the fusion of aquaculture with hydroponic vegetable production) in food deserts. At its best, aquaponics allows local people to produce their own fresh fish and produce in a sustainable manner: the wastewater from the fish is used to provide water and fertilizer to the plants. However, there are significant technological and social barriers that have hindered adoption of aquaponics by marginalized populations living in food deserts. Barriers include 1) systems that are prone to instability without advanced technical knowledge, 2) fish and produce quality that do not meet consumer quality demands (e.g. muddy fish flavor), and 3) food safety issues given that pathogens in the fish wastewater can contaminate the vegetables. Failure to address these three issues will continue to place aquaponics systems (and the corresponding nutritional and environmental benefits) out of reach of marginalized populations. The objective of this project is to improve understanding of how aquaponics design decisions affect stability, pathogen dynamics, and product quality. The central hypothesis of this project is that algal biofloc and decoupled systems will exceed the performance metrics of bacteria-centric biofloc and coupled systems (85% of current systems) in terms of 1) system stability and ease of operation, 2) nutritional and flavor profiles, and 3) pathogen management when placed in the hands of novice users. This project will allow rigorous testing of integrating algal- biofloc and decoupled plant production into small-scale aquaponics systems, both independently and in combination. The test systems will be operated by high school students in East Alabama (after hands-on training) in a synergistic school-university partnership. The university team has extensive experience conducting research on aquaponics systems and algal-bacterial treatment of waste, and engages frequently in educational and outreach programs with novice users. The three specific research aims are to: (Aim 1) Test the integration of algae and decoupling into biofloc aquaponics to improve stability and ease of operation for novice users (high school students). The hypothesis is that integration of green algae into the biofloc and deployment into a decoupled aquaponics system will improve system stability (nitrification capacity) and reliability (plant and fish survival). (Aim 2) Determine the contribution of algal biofloc to improved nutritional quality and flavor profile of aquaponics products. The hypothesis is that integrating Chlorella algae into the biofloc will increase the omega-3 fatty acid profile of fish, antioxidant content of vegetables, and improve the fish flavor profile by displacing opportunistic bacteria and cyanobacteria species that generate muddy flavors. (Aim 3) Quantify the impacts of algal biofloc and decoupling on indicator pathogens in aquaponics. The hypothesis is that the presence of algal taxa like Chlorella in the biofloc and use of decoupled systems will reduce the presence of indicator pathogens. While students and teachers will run the different aquaponics systems, Auburn University and the Bashan Institute of Science will conduct advanced chemical, microbiological, and genomic analyses of the systems. Students, after formal parental informed consent, will evaluate system ease-of-use and flavor of products through surveys. Improved understanding of microbial dynamics in aquaponics can translate broadly to other areas of aquaculture, nutrient recovery, and waste management. Improved understanding of how design choices impact user experience may translate to research on other scalable food production technologies. The project is designed to lead to enhancement of education of high school student participants who live in low-income communities with limited food access. Approximately 225 students will engage in hands-on learning by operating the aquaponics systems, allowing them to learn and apply knowledge of agriculture, biology, chemistry, nutrition, and engineering. Potentially, these students can impact the future of sustainable food production: the skills that they learn should extend to a wide range of career and education pathways. It is expected that reaching them in their formative years will result in measurable changes in self- perceptions regarding STEM topics, which will be assessed through survey instruments.This project is jointly funded by the CBET/ENG Environmental Sustainability program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

人们对在食物沙漠中部署水培技术（将水产养殖与水培蔬菜生产融合在一起）的想法越来越感兴趣。在最好的情况下，鱼菜共生让当地人能够以可持续的方式生产自己的鲜鱼：鱼的废水被用来为植物提供水和肥料。然而，存在着重大的技术和社会障碍，阻碍了生活在食物沙漠中的边缘化人口采用鱼菜共生。障碍包括1)没有先进技术知识的系统容易不稳定，2)鱼和农产品的质量不能满足消费者的质量要求（例如泥鱼味），以及3)鉴于鱼废水中的病原体可能污染蔬菜，食品安全问题。如果不能解决这三个问题，鱼菜共生系统（以及相应的营养和环境效益）将继续使边缘化人群无法接触到。该项目的目的是提高对鱼菜共生设计决策如何影响稳定性、病原体动态和产品质量的理解。该项目的中心假设是，藻类生物絮团和解耦系统在以下方面的性能指标将超过以细菌为中心的生物絮团和耦合系统（占现有系统的85%）：1)系统稳定性和易于操作，2)营养和风味特征，以及3)新手用户手中的病原体管理。该项目将允许对将藻类生物絮团和分离的植物生产整合到小规模的水培系统中进行严格的测试，无论是独立的还是组合的。测试系统将由东阿拉巴马州的高中生（经过实践培训）在协同学校-大学合作伙伴关系中操作。大学团队在水培系统和藻类细菌处理废物方面有着丰富的研究经验，并经常与新手用户进行教育和推广计划。本研究的三个具体目的是：（Aim 1）测试藻类与解耦在生物絮团鱼菜共生系统中的整合，以提高新手（高中生）操作的稳定性和易用性。假设将绿藻整合到生物群落中，并部署到解耦的鱼共生系统中，将提高系统的稳定性（硝化能力）和可靠性（植物和鱼类的生存）。（目的2）确定藻类生物群落对改善鱼菜共生产品营养品质和风味的贡献。其假设是，将小球藻整合到生物群落中，将增加鱼类的omega-3脂肪酸含量，蔬菜的抗氧化剂含量，并通过取代产生浑浊味道的机会性细菌和蓝藻来改善鱼类的风味。（目标3）量化水培中藻类生物絮团和去耦对指示病原体的影响。其假设是，生物群落中小球藻等藻类类群的存在和解耦系统的使用将减少指示病原体的存在。学生和老师将运行不同的鱼菜共生系统，奥本大学和巴山科学研究所将对这些系统进行先进的化学、微生物和基因组分析。学生在获得父母的正式知情同意后，将通过调查来评估系统的易用性和产品的风味。提高对鱼菜共生中微生物动力学的理解可以广泛地转化为水产养殖、养分回收和废物管理的其他领域。对设计选择如何影响用户体验的更好理解可能会转化为对其他可扩展食品生产技术的研究。该项目旨在提高生活在粮食供应有限的低收入社区的高中生的教育水平。大约225名学生将通过操作鱼菜共生系统进行动手学习，使他们能够学习和应用农业、生物学、化学、营养学和工程学知识。这些学生可能会影响可持续粮食生产的未来：他们学到的技能应该扩展到广泛的职业和教育途径。预计在他们的成长阶段接触他们将导致对STEM主题的自我认知发生可测量的变化，这将通过调查工具进行评估。该项目由CBET/ENG环境可持续性计划和促进竞争研究的既定计划（EPSCoR）共同资助。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。