Margeir Gissurarson & Sigurjón Arason, MATIS IGC 2018 IRENA - Geothermal Direct Utilization: Food Security Food security and nutrition is one of the biggest concerns for developing countries, including Small Islands Developing States and landlocked countries, which are endowed with geothermal energy resources. In regions such as East Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, East Asia, and the South Pacific geothermal energy could be used to heat greenhouses and sterilise the soil to increase farmer productivity and off-season availability. It can also serve for drying, which helps preserve a wide range of foods. This could contribute to higher nutritional value and reduced food waste and result in substantial reduction in the drying space as well as time requirements. The experience of Iceland can be replicated in many other countries and demonstrates that the possibility to address various challenges, including food security and nutrition, through which domestic geothermal resources may turn problems into potential drivers for economic development.

1. Geothermal direct use,
with a focus on agriculture and agro-industry sectors.
Margeir Gissurarson
Sigurjón Arason
Iceland Geothermal Conference
Geothermal Direct Utilisation and Food Security
24. April 2018 – Reykajvik, Iceland

2. Uses of Geothermal
Energy in Food and
Agriculture
Authors:
Minh Van Nguyen,
Arason, S.,
Gissurarson, M.,
Pálsson, P. G.
http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4233e.pdf

3. Locations of the main geothermal operations around
the world

4. Comparison of worldwide direct-use of geothermal
energy in TJ/yr
Lund and Boyd 2015

5. Geothermal electricity
Freeze drying - Steam ejector
Evaporation, Refrigeration by ammonia absorption
Production of fishmeal
Drying farm products. Canning of food
Evaporation and crystallization – sugar, salts etc.
Fresh water by distillation, Evaporation of saline solution
Drying; seaweed, grass, vegetables, grains etc.
Drying of stock fish
Space heating - Greenhouses
Swimming pools. Fermentation
Hatching of fish. Fish farming
Examples of direct uses at different temperatures.
200°C
100°C
20°C
SaturatesteamWater

7. Cascading from a geothermal power plant

8. Tomatoes loaded on drying racks in Greece

9. Pilot-scale cotton dryer using geothermal energy in Greece

10. Cabinet dryer for drying chilies and garlic
1. Window
2. Return air duct
3. Exhaust opening
4. Valve
5. Inlet
6. Centrifugal fan
7. Air duct
8. Heat exchanger using hot water
9. Hot water tap
10. Insulated walls
11. Grills
12. Shelf for putting grill
13. Door

11. Fruit dryer using geothermal energy in Los Azufres, Mexico
60 – 75°C

12. Convective geothermal rice dryer

13. Batch grain dryer using geothermal energy

14. Changing from fossil fuel to geothermal energy
Heating with geo
hot water 95°C

15. The developing indoor drying of fish in Iceland
➢ The first companies in this field were founded 40 years ago
and now there are twelve companies with around 100 big
dryers.
➢ In the fishing industry, geothermal energy has mainly been
applied to indoor drying of cod heads, small fish, stock fish,
salted fish, seaweed and other products.

16. Tunnel dryer using geothermal energy for fish drying

17. 1 Conveyor
2 Blower
3 Heater
4. Adjustable valves
5. Air inlet
6. Air outlet
7. Feeding conveyor
8. Product
1
2
3
4
5 6
7
1
8
8 6
555
66
7
4
Continues conveyor dryer
for primary drying of fish cuts

18. Secondary air drying unit
Air heater
Fan air inlet
Duct
Container Container Container Container

22. Dried fish byproducts
Source: Hagstofa Íslands
0,0
10,0
20,0
30,0
40,0
50,0
60,0
0
2.000
4.000
6.000
8.000
10.000
12.000
14.000
16.000
18.000
1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Tons
USD millions
Export of dried fish byproducts from Iceland 1984-2008
Tons
USD
Tons Millions $
2011 11.842 47
2012 13.033 69
Dried fish heads and cuts

23. Tomato cultivation in a
greenhouse in Iceland
© Haraldur Jónasson
Cucumber cultivation in
a greenhouse in Iceland

24. ORF Genetics Ltd. is a global leader in the manufacturing of
plant-made recombihnant proteins in Greenhouse.
BIOEFFECT® is Icelandic
skin care brand, based on
10 years of biotechnology
research by ORF Genetics.
ORF Genetics offers
stem cell researchers
high-grade, animal
free and endotoxin
free growth factors
under the ISOkine™
brand.
Endotoxin-free Growth
Factor – Paradigm Shift

25. Raceway pond for cultivation of spirulina using
geothermal energy in Nigrita, Greece
© Nikos Andritsos

26. Water flow and temperature
Cooling water 35ºC
Power Station HS ORKA
Installed capacity of 100 MW
Stolt Sea Farm
Cold water wells
Hot water outflow - lost energy
Natural distribution of Senegalese sole
Senegalese sole
SSF=Stolt Sea Farm

27. Evaporator

28. Thorverk Iceland

29. 29
Feeding in process Chopping
Milling Sieving
Geothermal
energy

30. Waste energy (45-65°C)
Thorverk
NordSalt
Evaporation Crystallization HarvestingWashing
Waste energy (45-65°C)
Packaging
Quality evaluation

31. A geothermal freeze-drying system, no vacuum
pump and ice-trap.
Steam
high pressure
Steam and
hot water
Steam ejector

33. Process flow of fish meal process
Soluble
Raw material
Raw fish
tank
Meal tanks
Press
Cooker
Centrifuge
Oil Centrifuge
Meal cooler
MillScreener
Press cake
Press
liquid
Evaporator
Oil
tank
Strainer
Tank
Mixer
Stickwater
Concentrate
Sludge
Conveyer
Dryer
Meal
Oil
Weighing Decanter
Geo-steam
Geo steam
Geo steam

34. Prices for different types of energy for heating,
ISK for drying one kilogram of dried cod head
Based on 1 USD = 108 ISK, 2017

35. CO2 emissions from electric and heating power
plants, from different energy sources.
(CO2emissiong/kWh)
(Björnsson, 2008)

36. Geothermal utilization in Iceland 2014.
Space heating
42,5%
Greenhouses
1,4%
Fish farming
4,9%
Process
heating 1,3%
Snow melting
4,2%
Swimming
pools 3,5%
Fish, seaweed
drying 0,9%
Elctricity generation
41,4%
Chart Title
(Ragnarsson, 2015)

37. ✓ Increasing interest in “green” and “renewable” energy sources
✓ Geothermal direct-use is in main cases replacing fossil fuels
and thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions
✓ Geothermal can make a major contribution to the world energy
needs
✓ Geothermal heat pumps are the fastest growing direct use of
geothermal energy –available anywhere for heating and
cooling
✓ Low temperature combined heat and power plants using the
binary cycle for power and cascading for space heating is
gaining popularity
✓ However, “geothermal” is not well known and the benefits
generally unknown –it needs to be promoted better
Conclusions

38. Present
▪ market pull
▪ long term
▪ chain oriented
Fact of Global food system
The value Chain

39. Keyword: Collaboration!
▪ Collaboration between research
institutes, seafood industry, service
industry and universities
▪ Multidisciplinary projects
▪ Tradition for M.Sc. Projects
Ph.D projects becoming common
▪ The industry sees benefits in
collaborative research
Fisheries
Iceland
The Added Value for
Seafood, research
program (AVS)

40. Matís
• Matís is a research and science community
based on strong research infrastructure and
collaboration, to maximize impact of
investment in research and innovation
• We provide our partners with support for
increased value creation, food safety and
public health.
• We play a leading role in holistic approach to
sustainable use of the bioeconomy,
specifically the blue-bioeconomy and have
participated in policy making for the Icelandic
government and foreign constituents.

41. Co-operation
Our specialists work with:
Food processing plants, fishing plants, fishing companies, slaughterhouses,
dairies, farmers, regulatory agencies, research institutions, universities
all over the country and all around the world

42. A few of Matís’ business partners
INNOVATION TO MARKET
Fisheries Training Programme
WORLD SEAFOOD
CONGRESS 2017

43. Thank you
Takk fyrir