Plasma for aquaponics

• Published in: Trends in biotechnology (Regular ed.) 2023-01, Vol.41 (1), p.46-62
• Main Authors: Sasi, Syamlal, Prasad, Karthika, Weerasinghe, Janith, Bazaka, Olha, Ivanova, Elena P., Levchenko, Igor, Bazaka, Kateryna
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Algae; Animals; Aquaculture; Aquaponics; Chemical oxygen demand; Chemical reactions; Chemistry; Closed loops; Cost control; Creeks & streams; Disease management; Effluents; Feedback control; Fishes; Food; Food production; Hydroponics; Microorganisms; Nitrogen; Nutrients; Pathogens; Pesticides; Plasma; Pollutants; Productivity; Sustainability; sustainable food production; Technology; VOCs; Volatile organic compounds; Water; Water chemistry; Water quality; Water scarcity
• ISSN: 0167-7799; 1879-3096
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2022.08.001

Global environmental, social, and economic challenges call for innovative solutions to food production. Current food production systems require advances beyond traditional paradigms, acknowledging the complexity arising from sustainability and a present lack of awareness about technologies that may help limit, for example, loss of nutrients from soil. Aquaponics, a closed-loop system that combines aquaculture with hydroponics, is a step towards the more efficient management of scarce water, land, and nutrient resources. However, its large-scale use is currently limited by several significant challenges of maintaining desirable water chemistry and pH, managing infections in fish and plants, and increasing productivity efficiently, economically, and sustainably. This paper investigates the opportunities presented by plasma technologies in meeting these challenges, potentially opening new pathways for sustainability in food production. Population growth increases the pressure on agricultural systems, depleting resources and causing pollution.Aquaponics systems combine aquaculture with hydroponics in a single closed-loop system, where plant waste sustains the growth of fish food (e.g., larvae and worms), and fish waste provides nutrients to plants, thus reducing their physical, environmental, and economic footprint.Scale-up of aquaponics systems is hindered by the need to maintain a fine balance between conditions that sustain optimal productivity in intensive fish, plant, and nitrifying bacteria populations while mitigating pathogenic infections.The use of plasmas in aquaponic systems may help to resolve several key challenges such as disease and water-quality management, including removal of pathogens and pollutants, enhancement of plant growth, and extension of the freshness and safety of perishable plant and fish products.