Ecoferm
ECOFERM! is the first closed loop farm in the Netherlands. Central to the ECOFERM! concept is the principle of closed cycles. The ‘waste’ products from veal farming (manure, ammonia, water, vapour, CO2 and residual heat from animals) are used for the production of: duckweed, algae, biogas, electricity and clean water. The duckweed is fed back to the calves. The water left over when duckweed plants have extracted nutrients is put through transparent tubes to grow algae. This "algae water" is then given to the calves, who prefer it over regular water. More details in the video below.
Duckweed inside/outside growing
Ecoferm has an interesting way to grow duckweed. They have a large greenhouse for year-round indoor duckweed cultivation. In the summer when it gets very hot in the greenhouse, they drain some of the water to large open ponds outside. The water in these ponds is thus warmer than it otherwise would be without the greenhouse, thereby enhancing duckweed growth.
Videos
Related Wiki Pages
- Integrated Food and Waste Management System
- Biofilter (also part of the Ecoferm set-up - for neutralizing smells)
- Ecoferm is an example of a Liquid Farm
Links
- https://www.slideshare.net/JanDeWilt/ecoferm-montpellier-15062015
- http://www.biobasedeconomy.nl/2016/03/11/resultaten-ecoferm-kringloopboerderij-bekend/
- https://twitter.com/jandewilt (Ag engineer, PhD; Specialties: agriculture and agribusiness, industrial ecology, biobased economy, animal integrity, marine production systems)
