Research Projects

Project summary

Policy objective: PO 2 - A greener, low-carbon transitioning towards a net zero carbon economy and resilient Europe by promoting clean and fair energy transition, green and blue investment, the circular economy, climate change mitigation and adaptation and risk prevention and management

Specific objective: SO 6 - Promoting the transition to a circular and resource efficient economy

Typology: Standard project

CIRCULAR RAINBOW project has been conceived to propose technologically innovative solutions, still little or under-exploited in the program area, to support the trout farming sector. The topic of self-resources supply, including energy, has become more relevant than ever, and a transition from traditional open-flow system production models towards a closed ones becomes strategic. In CIRCULAR RAINBOW by using the RAS (Recirculating Aquaculture System) it will be possible to optimize the fresh-water management. Moreover, the recovery of sludge produced in RAS systems allows us to obtain fermentable organic material, which will be exploited in anaerobic digestion systems for the production of biogas. CIRCULAR RAINBOW also proposes an innovative use of sludge from RAS implants as co-substrates for new production models, using insect larvae (Hermetia illucens) for their bio-conversion into new biomass, useful for other agro-industrial chains. In this ways, the project aims to demonstrate the feasibility of a transition of the program area towards new livestock practices and novel opportunity, contributing to the development of a circular economy in a flow of matter that is an integral part of the blue economy.

Objectives

CIRCULAR RAINBOW aims to promote the transition of trout farming towards circular models through actions that allow: 

• reducing the dependence of trout farming on fresh-water resources; 
• reducing the environmental impact of trout farming by recovering resources: energy from sludge, nitrogen, phosphorus or producing new biomass from waste; 
• helping to improve the efficiency and management of the RAS systems through its digitalization; 
• implementing the skills of fish farmers and operators through dedicated training to support the trout farming system development.
   

Output

The project introduces two technological solutions adopted in the context of circular economy and productive symbiosis in cross-border aquaculture:

1) Digital RAS: An advanced RAS system, with online interface, allows real-time remote monitoring of the farming environment and fish welfare and suggests corrective or optimizing actions, increasing the efficiency of aquaculture. This model, with a focus on digitalization and sustainability, will be tested in pilot plants in Italy and Slovenia, demonstrating the effectiveness of the transition from linear production practices to circular models integrated with cutting-edge technologies.

2) Proposals for conversion and bioconversion of waste - RAS wastewater sludge - into resources to produce biogas or as a co-substrate to produce new biomasses such as black soldier fly larvae. Furthermore, the residues generated by these processes (digestate and frass) are assessed for potential use in agriculture.

Info: https://www.ita-slo.eu/en/circularrainbow

PARTNER

• Università degli studi di Udine
• Univerza v Ljubljani
• Bluefarm srl
• Kmetijsko gozdarska zbornica Slovenije kmetijsko gozdarski zavod Kranj (KGZS-Zavod KR))

Associated Partners

• CREA (Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l'analisi dell'economia agraria) - Politiche e Bioeconomia
• Posoški razvojni center