New chemical facility in Australia
On 13 April, Cognis Australia Pty. Ltd. unveiled its state-of-the-art facility for production of carotenoid-enriched Artemia (brine shrimp) during a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by state and local government, several TV stations and newspapers. Cognis, in collaboration with Department of Fisheries Western Australia (DoFWA), and Fisheries Research & Development Corporation (FRDC), developed commercial scale production of Artemia using break-through closed-system tank cultivation technology.
When fish or prawns are grown in hatcheries, they go through a larval stage, during which they need Artemia because it is a small, nutrient-dense food source. This high quality supply of Artemia, marketed under Cognis’ brand NutremiaTM, will address the gap in the quality and quantity of this aquaculture feedstock, leading to reliable and sustainable improvements in hatcheries practices. The bright orange colour of NutremiaTM indicates good health, specifically the presence of carotenoids, which contribute to the colour, fertility, and immunity of shrimp and fish.
Symbiotic sustainability.“The sustainability of this project is due to an elegant integration between Cognis’ high-salinity natural algal cultivation lagoons producing mixed carotenoids, and the brine shrimp that thrive on the algae,” comments Boyd King, NutremiaTM Project Manager at Cognis Australia. “The symbiotic existence of the two cultivation processes makes it uniquely positioned to provide a much-needed natural resource to the aquaculture market.”
Perhaps the most important impact on sustainability is that hatcheries now have a reliable, nutrient-dense feedstock for a critical stage of their grow-out practices. This will in turn make hatcheries more efficient.
First of its kind in the world. This is a world-first for large-scale production of Artemia in closed tanks. Innovations in harvesting and post-harvesting techniques were realized, and many biological issues were solved before culture on this scale was possible.
Cognis frozen carotenoid-enriched Artemia biomass is expected to surpass current quality standards for nutrient delivery and palatability. The next step for the project is to ramp up the existing Artemia cyst (egg) production to commercial scale by the end of 2010. The final stage will be to commercially produce a patented Artemia-based attractant to make vegetable feeds more palatable as an aquaculture fish feed.
Cognis is a leading specialty chemicals company with a particular focus on the areas of wellness and sustainability and activities around the world. Utilizing its more than 160 years of experience in specialty chemistry based on natural, renewable raw materials, Cognis markets innovative products and solutions for personal care, home care and modern nutrition, as well as high-performance products for numerous industrial markets.
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