Aquaculture facility

Abstract

An aquaculture facility according to one embodiment of the present disclosure comprises: a fish pond capable of storing aquaculture water; a supply line for supplying the aquaculture water to the fish pond; a UV sterilization device positioned on the supply line for irradiating the aquaculture water with ultraviolet rays; and an oxygen dissolution device positioned in a site downstream of the UV sterilization device on the supply line, for dissolving oxygen in the aquaculture water that has been irradiated with the ultraviolet rays by the UV sterilization device.

Description

Aquaculture equipment

[0001] The present disclosure relates to aquaculture facilities.

[0002] As a technology related to aquaculture facilities, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for raising fish and shellfish by mechanically dissolving pure oxygen in the same water as the breeding water using an oxygen dissolver, and then injecting this dissolved high-concentration oxygen water into the breeding water. Use of the oxygen dissolver described in Patent Document 1 can improve the breeding efficiency of the aquaculture facilities.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 4-237447

[0004] On the other hand, sterilization of aquaculture water is required to produce aquaculture water that is safe for the aquaculture subjects. For example, UV sterilization can be achieved by irradiating the aquaculture water with ultraviolet rays. However, when ultraviolet rays are irradiated onto aquaculture water with a high concentration of dissolved oxygen, the large amount of oxygen contained in the aquaculture water is converted into ozone. Because ozone has strong oxidizing power, excessive generation of ozone is undesirable for the aquaculture subjects. Therefore, irradiating ultraviolet rays onto aquaculture water with a high concentration of dissolved oxygen may be counterproductive to producing aquaculture water that is safe.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide aquaculture equipment capable of producing highly safe aquaculture water.

[0006] An aquaculture facility according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a fish pond capable of storing aquaculture water, a supply line for supplying the aquaculture water to the fish pond, a UV sterilization device located on the supply line and irradiating the aquaculture water with ultraviolet light, and an oxygen dissolution device located on the supply line downstream of the UV sterilization device and dissolving oxygen in the aquaculture water after it has been irradiated with ultraviolet light by the UV sterilization device.

[0007] According to the above configuration, it is possible to provide aquaculture equipment capable of producing highly safe aquaculture water.

[0008] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an aquaculture facility.

[0009] An aquaculture facility 100 according to an embodiment will be described below. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of the aquaculture facility 100. As shown in Fig. 1, the aquaculture facility 100 according to this embodiment includes a fish cage 11, a supply line 12, a water intake pump 13, a filtration device 14, a buffer tank 15, a transfer pump 16, a UV sterilization device 17, and an oxygen dissolution device 18. These components will be described in order below.

[0010] <Cage> The cage 11 is a portion that houses aquatic organisms to be cultured. In this embodiment, the aquatic organisms are fish. The cage 11 may be installed on land or in water. The shape of the cage 11 is not limited. The cage 11 can store culture water. The culture water may be seawater or freshwater. The culture water is supplied to the cage 11 through a supply line 12. The culture water stored in the cage 11 is discharged to the outside through an outlet 21. The culture water stored in the cage 11 may be replaced continuously or periodically.

[0011] <Supply Line> The supply line 12 is a line that supplies the culture water to the fish pen 11. The supply line 12 is a flow path through which the culture water flows and does not have to be formed by piping. However, in this embodiment, the portion of the supply line 12 that is downstream of the buffer tank 15 and connects the various devices is formed by piping. The culture water is subjected to various treatments while flowing along the supply line 12. The downstream end of the supply line 12 is located inside the fish pen 11, and a filtration device 14 is located at the upstream end of the supply line 12.

[0012] <Water Intake Pump> The water intake pump 13 is a pump that takes in water to be used as aquaculture water into the supply line 12. The water intake pump 13 of this embodiment takes in water from a water source such as the sea, a river, or a pond, and supplies it to the supply line 12 via the water intake line 22. However, the water intake pump 13 may also supply aquaculture water taken in from the fish pen 11 to the water intake line 22. In other words, the aquaculture water may be circulated. The water intake pump 13 of this embodiment is a submersible pump. The water intake pump 13 is of a non-self-priming type. However, the water intake pump 13 may also be a self-priming land-based pump. A self-priming pump is a pump that, once primed, can automatically expel air and draw in water from the next time.

[0013] <Filtration Device> The filtration device 14 is a device that filters the culture water. The filtration device 14 in this embodiment is located at the upstream end of the supply line 12, i.e., at the inlet of the supply line 12. Water taken in by the water intake pump 13 is supplied to the upper part of the filtration device 14 as culture water. The filtration device 14 includes a filtration filter 23, and the culture water supplied to the filtration device 14 passes through the filtration filter 23 by its own weight and is filtered. The culture water that has passed through the filtration filter 23 falls into the buffer tank 15.

[0014] As described above, in the filtration device 14 of this embodiment, the culture water passes through the filter by its own weight, so there is no need to increase the pressure of the culture water supplied to the filtration device 14. Therefore, according to this embodiment, a pump with a small discharge head can be used as the water intake pump 13. Note that although the filtration device 14 of this embodiment is installed on land, it may also be installed underwater.

[0015] <Buffer Tank> The buffer tank 15 is a tank that temporarily stores the culture water. The buffer tank 15 is located downstream of the filtration device 14 on the supply line 12 and upstream of the transfer pump 16. The buffer tank 15 is located below the filtration device 14, and can receive the culture water that has passed through the filtration filter 23. The buffer tank 15 is open to the atmosphere.

[0016] <Conveyor Pump> The conveyor pump 16 is a pump that conveys the culture water. In this embodiment, the conveyor pump 16 is located in the supply line 12. Therefore, the culture water in the supply line 12 can be conveyed efficiently. The conveyor pump 16 is a non-self-priming pump, and is located in a portion of the supply line 12 downstream of the buffer tank 15 and upstream of the UV sterilization device 17. A non-self-priming pump has a higher discharge pressure relative to the suction pressure than a self-priming pump. Therefore, the conveyor pump 16 can forcefully push the culture water toward the UV sterilization device 17, and convey the culture water to the fish pen 11.

[0017] Furthermore, the transfer pump 16 in this embodiment is located downstream of the buffer tank 15. In other words, the buffer tank 15 is located between the water intake pump 13 and the transfer pump 16. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is not necessary to match the amount of water taken in by the water intake pump 13 with the amount of culture water delivered by the transfer pump 16, and this improves the degree of freedom in controlling the water intake pump 13 and the transfer pump 16.

[0018] As described above, since the buffer tank 15 in this embodiment is open to the atmosphere, the culture water upstream of the conveying pump 16 drops to a pressure close to atmospheric pressure. Therefore, in this embodiment, a pump with a large discharge head is used as the conveying pump 16. Specifically, the discharge head of the conveying pump 16 is larger than the discharge head of the water intake pump 13. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the culture water in the supply line 12 can be appropriately conveyed to the fish pen 11. As an example, the discharge head of the water intake pump 13 is 5 m, and the discharge head of the conveying pump 16 is 30 m.

[0019] <UV Sterilization Device> The UV sterilization device 17 is a device that irradiates the culture water with ultraviolet rays. In this embodiment, the UV sterilization device 17 is located downstream of the conveying pump 16 on the supply line 12 and upstream of the oxygen dissolving device 18. The UV sterilization device 17 irradiates the culture water with ultraviolet rays to perform UV sterilization, thereby producing culture water that is highly safe for the cultured objects.

[0020] Furthermore, since the filtration device 14 is located upstream of the UV sterilization device 17 on the supply line 12, the culture water can be efficiently purified (sterilized) by the UV sterilization device 17. Although the UV sterilization device 17 in this embodiment is installed on land, it may also be installed underwater.

[0021] <Oxygen Dissolver> The oxygen dissolver 18 is a device that dissolves oxygen in the aquaculture water. The oxygen dissolver 18 receives oxygen from an oxygen supply facility. The oxygen dissolver 18 is, for example, a PSA (Pressure Swing Adsorption) oxygen gas generator. The oxygen dissolver 18 can dissolve oxygen in the aquaculture water by supplying oxygen to the aquaculture water, thereby producing aquaculture water with a high dissolved oxygen concentration. The oxygen dissolver 18 may, for example, dissolve oxygen in the supply water by pushing the supply water like a fountain using a screw or the like, or by supplying small bubbles or microbubbles to the supply water, or by passing finely atomized supply water through a space of high-pressure oxygen. The oxygen dissolver 18 can efficiently produce water with a high dissolved oxygen concentration. Note that the specific configuration of the oxygen dissolver 18 is not limited. For example, the oxygen dissolver 18 may mechanically dissolve oxygen in the supply water by diffusing the supply water inside the oxygen dissolver 18 to increase its surface area and then bringing the supply water into contact with oxygen in that state. If aquaculture is carried out using the aquaculture water produced by the oxygen dissolving device 18, the aquaculture density can be improved.

[0022] The oxygen dissolver 18 is located downstream of the UV sterilizer 17 on the supply line 12. Therefore, the oxygen dissolver 18 dissolves oxygen in the culture water after the UV sterilizer 17 has irradiated it with ultraviolet rays. In other words, the UV sterilizer 17 irradiates the culture water with ultraviolet rays before the oxygen dissolver 18 dissolves oxygen in it.

[0023] Here, ozone is generated when oxygen is irradiated with ultraviolet light, and ozone has strong oxidizing properties. Therefore, culture water containing excessive ozone may have adverse effects on the cultured objects. Therefore, in this embodiment, the oxygen dissolving device 18 is disposed downstream of the UV sterilization device 17 in the supply line 12. With this configuration, the culture water irradiated with ultraviolet light by the UV sterilization device 17 is culture water before oxygen is dissolved, and does not contain a large amount of oxygen. Therefore, even if the UV sterilization device 17 irradiates the culture water with ultraviolet light, a large amount of ozone is not generated, and the safety of the culture water can be ensured.

[0024] (Summary) The first item disclosed in this specification is an aquaculture facility including a fish pen capable of storing aquaculture water, a supply line for supplying the aquaculture water to the fish pen, a UV sterilization device located on the supply line for irradiating the aquaculture water with ultraviolet light, and an oxygen dissolution device located on the supply line downstream of the UV sterilization device for dissolving oxygen in the aquaculture water after it has been irradiated with ultraviolet light by the UV sterilization device.

[0025] With this configuration, the oxygen dissolving device is located downstream of the UV sterilization device, so the amount of oxygen contained in the culture water irradiated with ultraviolet rays by the UV sterilization device is not large, which makes it possible to suppress the amount of ozone generated.

[0026] A second item disclosed in this specification is the aquaculture facility according to the first item, further comprising a filtration device located in a portion of the supply line upstream of the UV sterilization device.

[0027] This configuration allows for efficient purification of the culture water.

[0028] A third item disclosed in this specification is the aquaculture equipment described in the first item, further comprising a water intake pump that takes in water to be used as aquaculture water into the supply line, and a transfer pump located in the supply line.

[0029] This configuration allows the culture water to be efficiently transported along the supply line.

[0030] A fourth item disclosed in this specification is the aquaculture equipment according to the third item, wherein the transfer pump is located in a portion of the supply line upstream of the UV sterilization device.

[0031] According to this configuration, the conveying pump can push the culture water toward the UV sterilization device, and the culture water can be conveyed to the fish pen.

[0032] A fifth item disclosed in this specification is the aquaculture equipment according to the third item, further comprising a buffer tank located in a portion of the supply line upstream of the transfer pump, for temporarily storing the aquaculture water.

[0033] With this configuration, there is no need to match the amount of water taken in by the water intake pump with the amount of aquaculture water transported by the transport pump, which improves the degree of freedom in controlling the water intake pump and the transport pump.

[0034] A sixth item disclosed in this specification is the aquaculture equipment according to any one of the third to fifth items, wherein the discharge head of the conveying pump is greater than the discharge head of the water intake pump.

[0035] With this configuration, the culture water in the supply line can be transported appropriately to the fish pen.

[0036] A seventh item disclosed in this specification is the aquaculture facility according to the fifth or sixth item, further comprising a filtration device that is located in a portion of the supply line upstream of the buffer tank, includes a filtration filter through which the aquaculture water can pass by its own weight, and drops the aquaculture water that has passed through the filtration filter into the buffer tank.

[0037] According to this configuration, there is no need to increase the pressure of the culture water supplied to the filtration device, so a pump with a small discharge head can be used as the water intake pump.

[0038] 11 fish cage 12 supply line 13 water intake pump 14 filtration device 15 buffer tank 16 transfer pump 17 UV sterilizer 18 oxygen dissolving device 21 outlet 22 water intake line 23 filtration filter 100 aquaculture equipment

Claims

1. An aquaculture facility comprising: a fish cage capable of storing aquaculture water; a supply line for supplying the aquaculture water to the fish cage; a UV sterilization device located on the supply line for irradiating the aquaculture water with ultraviolet light; and an oxygen dissolution device located on the supply line downstream of the UV sterilization device for dissolving oxygen in the aquaculture water after it has been irradiated with ultraviolet light by the UV sterilization device.

2. The aquaculture facility of claim 1, further comprising a filtration device located in a portion of the supply line upstream of the UV sterilization device.

3. The aquaculture facility according to claim 1, further comprising: a water intake pump for taking in water to be the aquaculture water into the supply line; and a conveying pump located in the supply line.

4. The aquaculture facility according to claim 3, wherein the conveying pump is located in a portion of the supply line upstream of the UV sterilization device.

5. The aquaculture facility according to claim 3, further comprising a buffer tank located in a portion of the supply line upstream of the transfer pump for temporarily storing the aquaculture water.

6. The aquaculture facility according to claim 3, wherein the discharge head of the conveying pump is greater than the discharge head of the water intake pump.

7. The aquaculture facility according to claim 5, further comprising a filtration device located upstream of the buffer tank on the supply line, including a filtration filter through which the aquaculture water can pass by its own weight, and through which the aquaculture water that has passed through the filtration filter falls into the buffer tank.

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