Using system dynamics modelling to optimize energy and water efficiency of decoupled aquaponic systems: A South African Perspective
Despite being energy and water proficient, the practice of aquaponics has remained underdeveloped and underutilized in a poor power generating continent like the African continent and a water scarce society like the Republic of South Africa. As the population of humans on the globe continues to grow...
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Elsevier
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Energy Strategy Reviews |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211467X25001695 |
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| author | Adriaan J.G. Roux Michael K.O. Ayomoh Venkata S.S. Yadavalli Ramesh C. Bansal |
| author_facet | Adriaan J.G. Roux Michael K.O. Ayomoh Venkata S.S. Yadavalli Ramesh C. Bansal |
| author_sort | Adriaan J.G. Roux |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Despite being energy and water proficient, the practice of aquaponics has remained underdeveloped and underutilized in a poor power generating continent like the African continent and a water scarce society like the Republic of South Africa. As the population of humans on the globe continues to grow geometrically with climate change also being aided, more proficient and safe means of food security premised on energy and water efficiency is becoming the prerogative of governments across different nations. This research has presented a system dynamics model of a decoupled aquaponics system to investigate the sensitivity of parameters in the design of aquaponics systems in the Republic of South Africa. Two major driving variables considered in this research include energy and water utilization for efficient design. A couple of ventilation flow, heating and energy based models were built into the system dynamics model for the conduct of simulation. The results revealed that the top performing countries in respect of energy and water efficiency include locations with hot humid climates such as Brazil, Nigeria and Malaysia. In South Africa, Durban was the best performing city with a peak energy demand of 18.4 MW and a total yearly energy usage of 4550 MW. Durban had a 7.3 % higher cumulative energy compared to Brazil. Durban had a net water return of 124.8 ×103m3. Given the humid and hot climate in the city of Durban, it is considered to be competitively suitable for aquaponics operations. Other regions in South Africa could still be suitable to operate aquaponics systems however, this might be less energy and water efficient. The outcome of this research can be utilized by local governing authorities to ensure sustainable policy design and implementation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e6432e8073844b27a1798eeb6441adc5 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2211-467X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energy Strategy Reviews |
| spelling | doaj-art-e6432e8073844b27a1798eeb6441adc52025-08-20T03:45:12ZengElsevierEnergy Strategy Reviews2211-467X2025-07-016010180610.1016/j.esr.2025.101806Using system dynamics modelling to optimize energy and water efficiency of decoupled aquaponic systems: A South African PerspectiveAdriaan J.G. Roux0Michael K.O. Ayomoh1Venkata S.S. Yadavalli2Ramesh C. Bansal3Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa; Corresponding author.Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, Pretoria, 0002, South AfricaDepartment of Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, Pretoria, 0002, South AfricaDepartment of Electrical Engineering, University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates; Department of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, Pretoria, 0002, South AfricaDespite being energy and water proficient, the practice of aquaponics has remained underdeveloped and underutilized in a poor power generating continent like the African continent and a water scarce society like the Republic of South Africa. As the population of humans on the globe continues to grow geometrically with climate change also being aided, more proficient and safe means of food security premised on energy and water efficiency is becoming the prerogative of governments across different nations. This research has presented a system dynamics model of a decoupled aquaponics system to investigate the sensitivity of parameters in the design of aquaponics systems in the Republic of South Africa. Two major driving variables considered in this research include energy and water utilization for efficient design. A couple of ventilation flow, heating and energy based models were built into the system dynamics model for the conduct of simulation. The results revealed that the top performing countries in respect of energy and water efficiency include locations with hot humid climates such as Brazil, Nigeria and Malaysia. In South Africa, Durban was the best performing city with a peak energy demand of 18.4 MW and a total yearly energy usage of 4550 MW. Durban had a 7.3 % higher cumulative energy compared to Brazil. Durban had a net water return of 124.8 ×103m3. Given the humid and hot climate in the city of Durban, it is considered to be competitively suitable for aquaponics operations. Other regions in South Africa could still be suitable to operate aquaponics systems however, this might be less energy and water efficient. The outcome of this research can be utilized by local governing authorities to ensure sustainable policy design and implementation.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211467X25001695Energy efficiency modellingWater efficiencySustainable food security system dynamics modellingDecoupled aquaponics systemBiosystems engineering |
| spellingShingle | Adriaan J.G. Roux Michael K.O. Ayomoh Venkata S.S. Yadavalli Ramesh C. Bansal Using system dynamics modelling to optimize energy and water efficiency of decoupled aquaponic systems: A South African Perspective Energy Strategy Reviews Energy efficiency modelling Water efficiency Sustainable food security system dynamics modelling Decoupled aquaponics system Biosystems engineering |
| title | Using system dynamics modelling to optimize energy and water efficiency of decoupled aquaponic systems: A South African Perspective |
| title_full | Using system dynamics modelling to optimize energy and water efficiency of decoupled aquaponic systems: A South African Perspective |
| title_fullStr | Using system dynamics modelling to optimize energy and water efficiency of decoupled aquaponic systems: A South African Perspective |
| title_full_unstemmed | Using system dynamics modelling to optimize energy and water efficiency of decoupled aquaponic systems: A South African Perspective |
| title_short | Using system dynamics modelling to optimize energy and water efficiency of decoupled aquaponic systems: A South African Perspective |
| title_sort | using system dynamics modelling to optimize energy and water efficiency of decoupled aquaponic systems a south african perspective |
| topic | Energy efficiency modelling Water efficiency Sustainable food security system dynamics modelling Decoupled aquaponics system Biosystems engineering |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211467X25001695 |
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