Carlos Salas-Bringas

Challenges and emerging technical solutions in on-growing salmon farming

Farming of Atlantic salmon has grown rapidly from its start in the early 1970s until today, with production approaching two million tonnes. Sea cages are the dominant production system for the on-growing stage of salmon farming. It represents an effective production system with lower investment and running costs than land-based systems. The development and improvement of the sea cage farming system has been one of the most important factors for the growth of the salmon farming industry. However, during recent years certain problems related to their placement in the open marine environment have proved highly challenging, increasing operating costs and impacting on industry public relations. The problems are mainly due to parasites, diseases and escape of fish. In this article, emerging technical solutions for solving those problems are described.

Time-dependent structural breakdown of microencapsulated phase change materials suspensions

Abstract Microencapsulated phase change materials (MPCM) suspensions are multi-phase heat transfer fluids which exploit the latent heat of phase change materials. The effect of MPCM on the rheological properties of suspensions of microcapsules in glycerol were investigated to explore the suitability of the suspensions as a pumpable heat transfer fluid. Three different rheological models were utilized to characterize the time-dependent structural breakdown of the suspensions, and the second-order structural kinetic model was found to give a better fit to the experimental data than the Weltman and Figoni-Shoemaker models. The MPCM form agglomerates, which are disrupted by shear forces. The breakdown of the agglomerated structures was most pronounced at high shear rates where the microcapsules are subjected to stronger disruptive forces. More agglomerates are present at higher concentrations, which causes a stronger breakdown of the agglomerated structures when the concentration is raised. The time-dependent structural breakdown of MPCM suspensions plays an important role for improving the efficiency of heat transfer liquids based on such materials.GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Rheological and thermal properties of suspensions of microcapsules containing phase change materials

The thermal and rheological properties of suspensions of microencapsulated phase change materials (MPCM) in glycerol were investigated. When the microcapsule concentration is raised, the heat storage capacity of the suspensions becomes higher and a slight decline in the thermal conductivity of the suspensions is observed. The temperature-dependent shear-thinning behaviour of the suspensions was found to be strongly affected by non-encapsulated phase change materials (PCM). Accordingly, the rheological properties of the MPCM suspensions could be described by the Cross model below the PCM melting point while a power law model best described the data above the PCM melting point. The MPCM suspensions are interesting for energy storage and heat transfer applications. However, the non-encapsulated PCM contributes to the agglomeration of the microcapsules, which can lead to higher pumping consumption and clogging of piping systems.