© BioFishency
BioFishency's R&D team, in collaboration with the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, recently performed multiple tests to determine the effects of BioFishency ELX in the removal of 2-Methylisoborneol (MIB) and geosmin, the primary sources of unsavoury off-flavours, during a purging stage, while continuously feeding the fish.
According to the company, the results of the tests at their RAS facility “yielded unprecedented results, proving, for the first time ever in the water treatment solution industry, the unique capabilities of BioFishency ELX, to efficiently decompose MIB and geosmin in fish while feeding until satiation.”
An advanced electro-chemical water treatment (ECWT) system for cost-efficient ammonia removal and water disinfection, BioFishency ELX outpowers the inefficiencies of biological RAS, all in a fully controlled environment, while eliminating off-flavours, to deliver a healthier year-round harvest of fish. Ideal for both cold and warm water species, and powered by a built-in disinfection, multi-stage solution in a single cycle, BioFishency ELX directly transforms ammonia to nitrogen gas. Highly sustainable, the system supports a small carbon footprint, requires considerably less space and energy, and operates immediately upon electrical supply, resulting in significant CAPEX and OPEX savings, and an improved ROI.
BioFishency co-founder and CTO, Igal Magen, explained in a press release: “Off-flavours have a substantial impact on the quality of fish and their market value, as consumers are very sensitive to off-flavours, and will not purchase fish with an undesirable taste or odour.
“Hands down, we have proven the unrivalled capabilities of BioFishency ELX in fully eliminating the MIB and geosmin species, largely responsible for the off-flavours in fish. Our ability to do this in purging units while feeding the fish, is a true revolution in our industry, and a testament to BioFishency’s disruptive technology, which supersedes the traditional biological RAS purging process.”
The traditional purging process helps to effectively remove off-flavours, by maintaining the fish in clean and aerated water, typically for a 14-day period. During this time, the fish are under full or partial starvation, digesting and expelling compounds that contribute to the off-flavours.
As Magen explains: “With the conventional process of purging under starvation that demands vast quantities of water exchange, growers lose ~5 percent in fish weight, thereby decreasing their market value, while consuming large amounts of used and discharged water, which has a negative effect on the environment.
“The live testing of running BioFishency ELX’s purging while feeding, presents a valuable economic and sustainable solution for RAS farmers. Further, it enables aquaculture investors to optimise RAS operations, and drive sustainability and profitability forward.”
Comprehensive laboratory and live testing over a three-week period performed on trout under the auspices of Prof Ori Lahav and Dr Raz Ben-Asher from the Technion’s Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, confirmed that MIB and geosmin can be fully eliminated with BioFishency ELX in less than 10 days. During the testing, the fish were exposed to water spiked with high levels of MIB and geosmin, after which the BioFishency ELX system was introduced during the purging while feeding the fish.
According to Lahav: “Within five days, all of the MIB in the water had been removed, while in seven days, the system efficiently oxidised the geosmin. In just seven days, the MIB was not detected in the fish flesh, and within 10 days, the geosmin was fully removed from the skin and muscles.”
“These are extraordinary results, never before seen in our many years of research in the field. We are eagerly awaiting additional testing of the BioFishency ELX system on salmon, in the dedicated laboratories managed by the globally-acclaimed Yonathan Zohar, Professor and chair of the department of marine biotechnology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC).”
