In Glomfjord, Salten Marine Resources (SMR) is pioneering sustainable aquaculture as the world's first establisher of a centralized hub for drying fish sludge. By collecting and processing 3000 tpa (tonnes per annum) dewatered sludge from four salmon smolt farms, fish sludge is transformed into stabilised, hygienized powder.

Handling sludge of varying quality and moisture levels from multiple sources posed a significant technical challenge. The patented Thermo Mechanical Dryer (TMD) is an extremely compact dryer, especially effective on materials that have glue-phase behavior such as fish sludge.

The dryer has proven consistent drying performance, low maintenance cost and limited need for supervision during operation.

The hub operates reliably, setting a new standard for centralized sludge treatment in aquaculture demonstrating substantial CO₂ emission savings, meeting applicable emission permits and opening new revenue streams for fish farmers.

Customer value derived

• Leveraging economies of scale - by taking in, and drying, fish sludge of varing quality and DM content from various smolt facilities in the region
• Emissions minimized. The reject discharge from the plant to sea is well within the applicable emission permit.
• Product quality and stability. Produces fully hygienized and stabilised product, ideal for use in soil improvers.
• Direct climate impact: CO₂ emissions reduced by 120 tons per year due to significantly lower sludge transport volumes.
• Low operating costs - low maintenance cost and limited need for supervision during operation.