Our chickens
The foundation of our cycle is our Coffee & Cream chickens. They are suitable for both egg and meat production and come from a farm committed to the Brother Rooster Initiative. Our chickens enjoy the finest organic feed and year-round access to a spacious outdoor enclosure for scratching, pecking, and sand bathing. In addition to certified organic eggs, they produce manure and exhaust air, which are recycled in our cycle.
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Waste recycling by insects
Insects are ideal recyclers of leftovers. They are not picky about their food and produce valuable biomass from what they consider waste. At Acheron, the residual streams from microalgae, hydroponics, and animal husbandry are fed to the insects. For example, green waste from hydroponics serves as food for the insects. The insects themselves are then used as a protein-rich food source in aquaponics and animal husbandry. In this way, valuable resources such as water and nutrients are saved or returned to the cycle.
Bioconversion through microalgae
Microalgae, or photosynthetically active cyanobacteria, are a central component of the Acheron cycle. They utilize residual streams from livestock farming, such as exhaust air and process water, as a source of nutrients and carbon, converting them into valuable biomass. This biomass is cultivated in specially designed reactors and contains valuable proteins and fats for aquaculture and livestock farming. Residual streams from algae cultivation are utilized by insects.
Sustainable aquaculture
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Acheron's aquaculture combines microalgae, insects, and hydroponics. It uses robust African tilapia, which utilize microalgae and insects to produce ammonia-containing excreta. Microorganisms convert ammonia into nitrate.
The nutrient-rich wastewater is then used in hydroponics. State-of-the-art computer-aided analytics monitor water and growth parameters to ensure the system's functionality and the fish's well-being.
Hydroponics
Hydroponics is an important element in the Acheron recirculating system. It utilizes nutrient-rich aquaculture wastewater to produce products for human consumption and green waste that can be composted or fed to insects.
The modular, vertical indoor farming system operates substrate-free and conserves resources, requires less water than conventional cultivation methods, and saves conventional fertilizers by using aquaculture water.
