Center for Applied Research On the Environment and Sustainability (CARES), School of Science and Engineering, The American University in Cairo, AUC Avenue, P.O. Box 74, New Cairo, 11835, Egypt.
UNESCO Chair in Hydrological Changes and Water Resources Management, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2023 Feb;30(6):15975-15990. doi: 10.1007/s11356-022-23240-0. Epub 2022 Sep 30.
Under the framework of Water-Energy-Food Nexus, this study investigates the integration of solar-powered desalination with aquaculture and agriculture production systems to grow crops. Brackish water desalination is performed using reverse osmosis (RO), the permeate is directed to an aquaculture unit, and the fish effluent is used as irrigation water for crops. The experiment followed a split-plot design with three main variants: a full irrigation schedule for the basil plants with fish effluents as fertilizers, irrigation as fertigation with chemical fertilizers, and a mixed treatment of effluents and chemical fertilizers at 50% application each. Each treatment was further sprayed with or without foliar nutrient application. RO results gave a permeate recovery of 22%, and a salt rejection of 98.7%. In the aquaculture unit, tilapia harvest weight was 0.458 kg with a survival rate of 97.7% and harvest yield of 25 kg/ m of water. Effluent treatment exhibited the highest branching and plant height irrespective of the cut number, reaching 17.7 branches and 62-cm height. The effluent treatment under foliar application recorded the highest fresh and dry weights of basil with 14.7 ton/ha and 4.7 ton/ha, respectively. Effluent irrigation plus foliar application recorded basil yield of 5 kg/m effluent water. The dominant essential oil elements were linalool (55.5-61.6%), tau.-cadinol (5.3-8.3%), eucalyptol (5.4-7.7%), eugenol (2-6.8%), and (Z,E)-.alpha.-farnesene (3-5.2%). The study is among the very few integrated systems and, in particular, the current study is the first-time investigation of an integrated desalination, aquaculture, and agriculture production using renewable energy. Therefore, results suggest that integrating desalination, aquaculture, and agriculture could be a potential solution for the global water, energy, and food challenges.
在水-能源-粮食纽带框架下，本研究探讨了将太阳能驱动的海水淡化与水产养殖和农业生产系统结合起来种植作物。采用反渗透（RO）进行微咸水淡化，渗透物被引导到水产养殖单元，鱼类废水被用作农作物的灌溉水。实验采用裂区设计，有三个主要变量：用鱼类废水作为肥料对罗勒植物进行全灌溉，用化肥进行灌溉施肥，以及用废水和化肥各占 50%的混合处理。每个处理进一步进行叶面营养物喷施或不喷施。RO 的结果得出，渗透物回收率为 22%，盐排斥率为 98.7%。在水产养殖单元中，罗非鱼的收获重量为 0.458 公斤，存活率为 97.7%，收获产量为 25 公斤/立方米水。无论切割次数如何，废水处理的分支和植物高度最高，达到 17.7 个分支和 62 厘米的高度。叶面喷施处理的罗勒新鲜和干重最高，分别为 14.7 吨/公顷和 4.7 吨/公顷。废水灌溉加叶面喷施记录的罗勒产量为 5 公斤/立方米废水。主要的精油元素是芳樟醇（55.5-61.6%）、τ-卡多醇（5.3-8.3%）、桉油醇（5.4-7.7%）、丁香酚（2-6.8%）和（Z，E）-α-法呢烯（3-5.2%）。本研究是为数不多的综合系统之一，特别是本研究首次调查了利用可再生能源进行海水淡化、水产养殖和农业生产的综合系统。因此，结果表明，整合海水淡化、水产养殖和农业可能是应对全球水、能源和粮食挑战的潜在解决方案。
