Anaerobic digestion for waste management and environmental impact control of marine fish farms with renewable energy production

Supervisor: Prof. Francesco Da Borso

One of the greatest challenges that humanity is facing is food; nutrition security is constantly threatened by the increase of world population and the consequent rise in livestock products demand (FAO, 2017); this, according to the most recent estimate by the UN, could increase between 59% and 98% for a population that may reach 9.7 billion in 2050. To satisfy this growing global demand for food, The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that agriculture will need to produce nearly 50% more food, animal feed and biofuels than in 2012.

In its 2020 Global Report on Fisheries and Aquaculture, FAO warned that deteriorating fish stocks and overcatching of fish in their natural habitat have become a lifelong problem, making aquaculture an emerging livestock system all over the world, with the greatest potential to meet the required growth (FAO, 2018).

The rapid growth of aquaculture could cause environmental concerns, mainly linked to the emission of pollutants. Among the many treatments that can be adopted to mitigate this problem, the research within the doctorate focuses on improving the sustainability of this sector by evaluating the anaerobic digestion (AD) of the effluents from intensive marine fish farms to reduce their environmental impact, by producing a renewable energy source (biomethane) and making the system more sustainable.

The research is carried out as part of a project between Italy and Croatia, AdriAquaNet, aimed at improving the environmental sustainability of aquaculture.

The main objectives of the experimental work are the evaluation of aquaculture effluents in relation to their biomethane potential and the identification of the optimal operational parameters for the implementation of the anaerobic process on a larger scale, as well as the abatement rate of the starting organic substance.

Biography and Contacts

Bartolome Owono Owono was born on 21/08/1989 in Akurenam (Ayem Obuc), Equatorial Guinea. In 2013 he obtained a Degree in Animal Sciences at the University of Udine. In March 2018 he obtained a Master's Degree in Nutrition and Animal Resources at the University of Udine. During the year 2018 he was a participant in a Project of Development Cooperation and International Partnership, between the Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Animal Sciences of the University of Udine, the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region and the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, which provided for a technical-economic study and the design of a pilot poultry plant in Equatorial Guinea (AVIGEI) from its acronym in Italian. In the frame of this project, he was able to study the livestock situation and the poultry sector in that country, as well as the factors that limit its expansion. From November 2019, he is attending the Ph.D. school in Agricultural Sciences and Biotechnology at the University of Udine.

Email: bartolome.owonoowono@spes.uniud.it

Phone: +39 3512516821