A pilot scale Seawater Energy and Agriculture System (SEAS) has been recently built in Masdar City as a pioneering example of an integrated food and energy system that can be developed on non-arable desert land and irrigated with full strength seawater. The research and demonstration pilot facility for a biomass and food production system builds on the synergies and interactions between several ecosystems. The overall concept has three main processes: 1) aquaculture (over 1,277 m3 volume of ponds), 2) halo-agriculture of a salt tolerant crop (5,500 m2 field), and 3) halo-agroforestry managed in a silviculture scheme. In total the system holds a water volume of 5,400 m3. The benefits of the integrated system are based on the use of co-products from each process to supplement energy or material inputs for the other processes. Seawater from the ocean is used at the fish and shrimp ponds. The wastewater from aquaculture, which is enriched in nutrients, is used to irrigate the halophyte plants and the water drained from the halophyte field is treated in the mangrove wetland while also feeding the mangrove biomass. The biomass generated in the halo-agriculture and silviculture can be also converted into forms of liquid or gas biofuel. A sound understanding of the SEAS operations and control on outputs by manipulation of the operational conditions, will allow for the optimisation of the system towards maximum biomass productivities (fish, shrimp, halophyte and mangrove) as well as for an efficient management of the system salinity and nutrient levels. Model based decisions will positively impact performance of recycling and reuse efficiency of materials (particularly nutrients) as well as cost effectiveness. The model will be able to assess and quantify the importance of input parameters and their impacts on the overall process outcomes of the SEAS system. There are no existing tools that incorporate and integrate models for all the processes involved in the SEAS system, and therefore an adequate platform is required. Overall, the SEAS project aims to show how the integration of bioenergy processes is sustainable for essential food and energy production.

Integrated seawater aquaculture and agriculture as an avenue for food and energy security in arid regions

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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