The fish are fed with feed pellets, which largely consist of pressed fishmeal. These pellets are transported to salmon farms on special ships. If the pellets are shaken or rubbed together during transport, pellet erosion takes place and fine particles become loose. If these then sink and settle on the seabed, the result is overgrowth of algae and a negative impact on the water. Suppliers therefore try to transport fish feed carefully and gently, in order to protect the feed and at the same time prevent the fine particles from escaping. 

The SICON conveyor belt system is particularly suitable for transporting sensitive materials. The belt remains closed from the feeding point to the discharge point. It can negotiate small-radius bends with ease, rendering transfer stations superfluous.  

When used on ships in the fish feed industry and at the loading station, the conveyor belts need to have a certain resistance to fish oil, since this is contained in the feed. For this purpose, ContiTech has developed a special rubber compound based on an acrylonitrile butadiene rubber compound (NBR). The SICON conveyor belt system is therefore well suited to the requirements of the fish feed industry.

GRAINTEC also employs pneumatic conveying systems for handling Norwegian fish feed offshore (see Industry News for week of 23 September). www.contitech.de

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

A fish feed vessel equipped with SICON conveying system in a Norwegian fjord; during transport the SICON belt (right) closes to form a dust-tight pouch