The first facility to produce both food and fuel irrigated by seawater in a dessert ecosystem began operations in the United Arab Emirates. The two-hectare, Abu Dhabi-based site is operated by the Masdar Institute and is funded by the Sustainable Bioenergy Research Consortium (SBRC), an aviation group funding efforts to reduce the industry’s carbon emissions and create alternative fuel sources. Founding SBRC members include Etihad Airways, Boeing, Honeywell UOP, Takreer, Safran, and General Electric.

 

“We live in a resource-constrained world where the access to energy, water and food are interlinked,” said Dr. Behjat Al Yousuf, Interim Provost of Masdar Institute, and a founding member of SBRC in a Masdar Institute announcement of the project. “Public-private collaboration to support cutting-edge research is needed to ensure that rising populations and industry can flourish sustainably, while, at the same time, also protect our finite resources. This project has the potential to turn resource scarcity on its head.”

 

Currently, the UAE imports 90% of its food, and if left unchecked, the cost of this practice is forecast to increase by 300% over the next ten years. However, this challenge is also an opportunity for investment innovation.

 

To mitigate these costs and meet the challenges of food demand in the region, the facility is using coastal seawater for aquaculture operations raising fish and shrimp for human consumption. The nutrient-rich wastewater from the aquaculture operations is then used to fertilize fields of salt-tolerant halophyte, which will be used as feedstock for biofuel production. Widely unknown, halophyte is able to thrive in arid desert conditions and does not require fresh water. In the final stage of production, the facility will then divert wastewater into a cultivated mangrove forest to further extract nutrients and store carbon before the filtered and treated water is discharged back into the ocean.

 

Not only does the project foster food production in an arid landscape, but it also reduces carbon emissions and mitigates the widespread environmental challenge encountered in aquaculture operations of nutrient-rich discharge contaminating waterways and the ocean.

 

“By doing research on integrated food and energy systems, we can begin to explore how the cultivation of biomass contributes to feeding the planet, preserving fresh water supplies and delivering cleaner, more sustainable fuels,” said Dr. Al Yousuf. “This research is very relevant for the UAE and all freshwater- and arable land-constrained countries.”

 

If the integrated food and biofuel production, and wastewater management systems used in this pilot project prove viable, further scaling of the project is planned with the eventual target of scaling up to a 200 hectare site already selected along the Abu Dhabi Western Region coast.

 

"As the planet's population approaches 9 billion people, we must advance technologies that enable sustainable and manageable food production,” Dr. Kevin Fitzsimmons, professor of environmental science at the University of Arizona and a global expert on aquaculture systems told Zawya. “The innovative facility in Abu Dhabi is a showcase of how cross-sector cooperation can lead to breakthrough research with the potential to deliver both food and aviation fuel – and do so in a sustainable, scalable way."