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MSD Animal Health reveals new oxygen injection technology

MSD Animal Health has launched a new oxygen injection technology designed to provide stable fish passage through dam facilities.

Hyper InfusiO₂n solutions is designed to inject oxygen directly into the water, making it immediately available for fish respiration and simultaneously remove other dissolved gasses at about a one-to-one rate. It also promises to stay dissolved for longer, particularly in turbulent environments such as fish ladders. Hyper InfusiO₂n solutions may be used to supplement or replace attraction flows near passage entrances, reducing the need to divert water out of hydropower turbines which could otherwise be used to generate renewable energy.

“Our Hyper InfusiO₂n solutions can achieve unprecedented levels of oxygen concentration – up to 442 per cent – without significantly altering total gas pressure, providing an additional tool to improve fish attraction and passage,”said Chris Beasley, aqua innovation lead for Merck Animal Health. “In one pilot application, fish passage increased more than 1200 per cent over a four-year period following installation. The high oxygen transfer efficiency and durability of our Hyper InfusiO₂n solutions also decreases operating costs and promotes long-term hydropower sustainability.”

Beasley added that MSD Animal Health, also known in North America as Merck Animal Health, is partnering with hydropower and energy companies to ensure the sustainability of fish and energy.

The company’s Hyper InfusiO₂n solutions are available in a range of modular, scalable applications that can be customized to a variety of fish passage designs.