Fuel Tech Publishes White Paper on Positive Effects of Its Dissolved Gas Infusion Technology in an Aquaculture Setting

Fuel Tech, Inc. (NASDAQ: FTEK), a technology company providing advanced engineering for the optimization of combustion systems, emissions control, and water treatment in utility and industrial applications, today released a white paper detailing a successful collaborative trial in which the Company’s DGI Dissolved Gas Infusion technology was utilized at a domestic shrimp farming facility. The paper, titled Demonstration of the Fuel Tech, Inc. Dissolved Gas Infusion (DGI) Technology for the Royal Caridea Aquaculture Raceway, suggests that the use of DGI to reliably dose and maintain dissolved oxygen levels can dramatically increase total production compared with traditional aeration methods.

The Company believes that this report evidences the multiple potential benefits of its DGI technology for aquaculture applications, while validating the inherent flexibility of DGI for a wide range of water and wastewater processes, environmental remediation, and industrial uses.

Shrimp farm technology provider Royal Caridea worked closely with Fuel Tech on a trial to determine the effects of growing Pacific whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus Vannamei) in a raceway system using the Company’s patented DGI gas infusion system.

Shrimp farming is helping to meet growing consumer demand, and higher densities of the crustaceans are possible in the raceway than what occurs in the wild. The comparative trial took place in back-to-back growth cycles on a raceway with high species stocking and low-salinity water at Royal Caridea’s aquaculture farm in Arizona.

In land-based raceways, a continuous stream of water must provide the required level of water quality for the crustaceans to develop, and aeration is necessary to meet the required parameters.

In the first growth cycle, traditional bubble aeration using the venturi principle was used until the oxygen demand of the water could no longer be met. This required that the shrimp be partially harvested to ensure acceptable dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations were maintained for those remaining.

In the second growth cycle, Fuel Tech’s DGI technology was used to provide DO concentrations at 150% of atmospheric saturation. This successfully unlocked the potential for more shrimp to reach maturity within the raceway, along with likely health improvements for the shrimp.

The two, three-month trials are the subject of a new white paper from Fuel Tech, which shows how its DGI process, originally developed for the water and wastewater treatment market, offers multiple benefits in shrimp production. Fuel Tech is pleased to report that excellent survival and growth was achieved during the DGI trial.