Seafood chilling equipment company MMC First Process has developed a self-powered, mobile silage plant that can be placed on a car or boat and driven to a location that needs to process.

The silage plant has dual-purpose, either for emergencies or as a regular plant.

The inspiration came after the spring algae invasion in northern Norway, Development Engineer Roy Glomset told IntraFish's sister publication TekFisk. Glomset pioneered the idea for a removable container filled with mill, pumps and a silage tank.

In the wake of the algae bloom, several people have come up with ideas to prevent future outbreaks, like a cage concept with submersible tablecloth in the floating collar or fully submersible cages. Sensors and models have also emerged as a possible solution.

MMC First Process' solution was revealed at AquaNor in Trondheim last month.

240 metric tons of silage a day

The mills can take 12-13 metric tons of fish per hour, producing 8-10 metric tons of silage.

The fish goes into a grinder on one side of the container. The meal is then pumped over to a tank, roughly 10 cubic meters in size. Formic acid is added automatically depending on how much ground fish is in the tank.

The plant is built so that fish can be ground and pumped directly to the waiting car or boat for processing on land.

"It can, of course, be used not only for emergency preparedness, but for those in need of silage plants in general," Glomset said. "Stable silage can be stored for months."

Aquaculture

Mobile salmon silage plant turns mortalities into money