New Center of Excellence targets RAS industry development

Expanding its aquaculture research and technology services, Pentair Plc recently opened the doors to the new Pentair Aquatic Eco-Systems World Aquaculture Technology Engineering Center (PAESWATER) in Apopka, Florida.

            PAESWATER will provide opportunities for recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) technology and production research, education, and demonstration.  Pentair customers, business partners, and universities will now be able to collaborate using Pentair water reuse technologies and expertise and will also be able to monitor the progress of these trials online.

            Pentair headquartered in Manchester, England has offices and service centers in Minnesota, North Carolina and Massachusetts, among other locations in the country. The globally diversified industrial technology maker’s subsidiary Pentair Aquatic Eco-Systems targets the water quality, purification and treatment markets, including the aquaculture recirculation market.

            “We call this farming reimagined,” said Karl Frykman, President of Pentair’s Water Quality Systems. “This center showcases our expertise and technologies in water reuse systems and solutions, including our energy efficient pumps and filtration systems.”

Urban aquaponics

            PAESWATER was designed to develop new technologies as well as showcase aquaculture systems for different environments around the world.

            “These systems can be put just about anywhere, as demonstrated by our work in the Middle East and our partnership with Urban Organics in a former brewery in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota,” said Pentair VP of Environmental Systems, Bob Miller.

            The Urban Organics aquaponics farm currently produces fish and certified organic vegetables and herbs sold at local co-ops and grocery stores. The Pentair-designed closed-loop system allows fish and plant culture technologies to operate independently and for the flow of water and nutrients through the system to be tightly controlled—allowing Urban Organics to vary production according to market demand, company executives said.

            Established designed aquaculture systems like the Urban Organics platform will be demonstrated at the new center in Florida, while future designs will be researched and tested as well.

— Erich Luening