Aethera

Innovative RF Drying System Helps Repurpose Lobster Shells

Use rf drying system to repurpose lobster shells

Aethera™ has developed a containerized lobster shell drying system for The Verschuren Centre. This system will allow the centre to derive valuable materials from what is typically considered waste product.

Every day, tons of lobster shells go directly to landfill. The Verschuren Centre has been looking for ways to add sustainable value creation in the seafood processing industry by finding applications for waste product, according to the centre’s CEO, Beth Mason.

“When properly dried, lobster shells can be used to extract bio-polymers, proteins and mineral compounds that can be used in water treatment, agriculture, food products, nutraceuticals, pharmaceutical products and biomedicine.”

Beth Mason, CEO, The Verschuren Centre

Thanks to Aethera’s revolutionary technology, The Verschuren Centre is now able to dry lobster shells in bulk, reducing the environmental impact of the seafood processing industry while adding value along the way.
Lobster shells can easily burn if too much heat is applied during the drying process. This makes it impossible to extract the necessary compounds. To avoid this, Aethera’s team of RF experts designed the system to dry the shells at low heat.

“This system will have the capability to dry several tons of lobster shell per day to the desired moisture content needed for follow-on processes.”

Aethera™ Technologies Ltd.

The system will be powered by Athera’s APG7™-50 solid-state generator.

This is a new application of radio frequency power, which has traditionally been used for thawing, tempering and baking in the food industry and industrial processes in the wood products, paper and textile industries.

For Aethera™, this is another exciting challenge in our mission to help clients achieve high power for process heating and drying applications while improving energy efficiency.

The Verschuren Centre for Sustainability in Energy and the Environment at Cape Breton University was established in 2011 to bring sustainable industry development to Nova Scotia and accelerate clean technology scale-up and adoption.
Click here to read the press release.