BIO-UV Group has taken a major step forward in Chile’s booming aquaculture market, supplying its innovative triogen® PPOɜ ozone generator to leading global salmon producer Cermaq.
Launched last year (2022), the triogen® PPOɜ product represents an important part of BIO-UV Group’s development strategy focused on the aquaculture industry, in which South America is a major market.
The ozone (O3) technology used in the triogen® PPOɜ (Positive Pressure Ozone) disinfects, increases water quality and improves process efficiency. With a reduced environmental footprint, ozone can oxidise organic and inorganic contaminants, thereby eliminating the development of waterborne diseases – a vital requirement in healthy aquaculture.
BIO-UV Group recently signed a contract with COVEPA SpA, the southern Chile-based provider of a wide range of solutions and products for the aquaculture, agricultural, and livestock industries.
Based on the success of this partnership, BIO-UV Group supplied Cermaq a triogen® PPOɜ–4, capable of producing up to 240g/h of O3.
A fully owned subsidiary of the Mitsubishi Corporation, Cermaq is headquartered in Oslo and has major fish farming operations and regional offices in Canada, Chile, and Norway. Cermaq Chile is managed from Puerto Montt and has fish farms, farming centres, and processing plants, strategically located and producing Atlantic salmon, Coho salmon, and Steelhead trout. The triogen® PPOɜ generator will equip a new salmon farm being developed.
Gregorio Jofré, development and project engineer at COVEPA (pictured), said: “We are delighted to have successfully completed our first project with Cermaq, a leading aquaculture company in Chile. The PPO3 was installed at the RAS Rio Pescado aquaculture farm, which can produce fry, pre-smolt and smolt with an annual production of 250 tons. Cermaq has put its trust in our technology and experience, and we look forward to helping them meet their future disinfection needs.”
Samuel Gaez, manager of the Rio Pescado fish farm said: “We are very satisfied with the work carried out so far by Covepa and its supplier BIO-UV. The equipment is very user-friendly and stands out for its level of technology. In our process, it plays a crucial role in the disinfection stage, and the performance evaluation we’ll be able to carry out over the coming months will be decisive.”
Simon Marshall, Deputy General Manager of BIO-UV Group, said: “We are happy to team up with COVEPA in Chile and thrilled that Cermaq has placed its trust in BIO-UV Group’s sustainable technologies. This is a real vote of confidence in our products and highlights to the South American market our status as a leading disinfection solutions provider.”
Ozone is a simple and effective chemical-free treatment that breaks down the particles in water recirculation systems used in aquaculture and fish farming, explained Simon Marshall. “The process disinfects and oxidises pollutants present in the water, eliminates organic and inorganic contaminants, and increases the concentration of dissolved oxygen in the water. The result is exceptional water quality for fish growth and production quality.”
BIO-UV Group has invested €1 million [euro] in research and development over the past two years, with a strong contribution from its highly skilled ozone engineering team in the UK.
Since its launch, the triogen® PPOɜ range has been expanded to provide capacities of up to 1.2 kg/hour of ozone.
The triogen® PPOɜ generator offers a full suite of local and remote control and automation benefits, modular design, a circular ozone module refurbishment and exchange service, fully interchangeable ozone modules and spares, independently controlled ozone circuits, and built-in redundancy and duty standby.
About BIO-UV Group
For more than 35 years, BIO-UV Group has been designing, manufacturing and marketing water treatment systems using ultraviolet radiation (UV-C), ozone, AOP and salt electrolysis for various applications including: swimming pools, aquaculture, aquariums, industrial process water, wastewater and drinking water. In 2011, it added ships’ ballast water treatment to its range. The company’s products are manufactured in its specialized production sites in Lunel and Muret, France, as well as in Glasgow, Great Britain, which allows it to respond quickly to the specific requirements of its customers all over the world. The company, listed on the stock exchange since July 2018, has a consolidated turnover of 51.5 million euros in 2022 and a current workforce of 160 employees. More than 55% of the group’s sales are exported.