NOxAQUA: smart tech at the service of aquaculture

Interview to Gabriela Almeida by Valor Magazine

Nitrogen Sensing Solutions is committed to the efficient management of natural resources, particularly water, through smart technology. What are the ultimate goals of using this technology?

The use of smart technology will allow aquaculture producers to remotely monitor water quality and detect in good time, or even predict, the occurrence of peaks in the concentration of nitrogen compounds, which come from fish urine and the degradation of organic matter. These compounds are highly undesirable because, in the best-case scenario, they stress aquatic animals, slowing down their growth; in the worst-case scenario, they lead to the death of an entire production, causing large-scale losses. Smart monitoring enables aquaculture producers to take measures to combat the consequences of concentration spikes, avoiding catastrophic consequences such as those that occurred earlier this year at one of the facilities of one of the largest salmon production companies, Atlantic Sapphire, where a sudden increase in nitrogen compound levels led to the sudden death of 227,000 salmon. The day after the incident, the company's shares fell by 18 per cent.

What is this technology and how does it work?

This technology is different from other solutions on the market, as it is based on biosensors that detect and analyse nitrates, nitrites and ammonia, in other words, it uses biological components that selectively recognise each of the nitrogen compounds, even in complex samples. In practice, a chip modified with these biological components is inserted into the slot of a small reader and the results are obtained in a few minutes. The data can be viewed on a mobile phone or in the control centre.

And what are their advantages?

One of the main advantages is that they are more selective, meaning that the results obtained are much less susceptible to errors caused by interferents in the samples. In addition, they are very quick and easy to use, working in situ, thus avoiding the collection and transport of samples to central laboratories. On balance, they offer an excellent cost-benefit ratio.

To what extent can this device help control nitrogen levels in water?

We live in the Age of Knowledge, where access to data is ‘worth gold’. Although not new, this concept is equally valid for aquaculture producers. If, along with other parameters, a producer has the ability to continuously monitor the concentration values of these three compounds, they will achieve better water management, saving energy resources, optimising the growth rate of species and avoiding disastrous incidents.

How important is this project for aquaculture?

Aquaculture has proved to be a very important alternative to traditional fishing activities and is already responsible for more than 50 per cent of the world's production of aquatic animals for human consumption (fish, molluscs, crustaceans, among others). According to the FAO, aquaculture is a strategic agricultural sector that is booming. The efficient production of aquatic organisms depends immensely on the quality of the water in the culture system, which is why the last 10 years have seen remarkable technological progress in this area. However, the performance of currently existing devices for detecting and quantifying ammonia, nitrite and nitrates does not meet the requirements demanded by aquaculture producers. NOxAqua was created precisely to solve this problem.

Read article in portuguese here.