Design Process and Implementation of a Closed-Circuit System for Bivalve Molluscs Depuration

The main risk associated with consuming molluscs is the diseases we can acquire due to the contamination of the waters where they lived in. In Ecuador, this is an alarming issue since independent families or communes capture the molluscs from their natural habitat and take them for commercialization in certain popular open markets and touristic places without performing a cleaning and disinfection process. Therefore, it was considered that a depuration system for molluscs on a small scale setting would be desirable for public health reasons. The first step towards this objective was to design the depuration system for a laboratory setting, test its feasibility for future socializing of its benefits. The system must meet the highest requirements of the FAO and the Ecuadorian INEN 2729 standard in order to offer a product with the highest quality that would be certified for its commercialization. In this work, we show the steps we followed, through a formal engineering design procedure, to obtain such system. In the end, a closed-circuit depuration system was obtained with three stations for different types of mollusc species. The results obtained within the pertinent period showed it had good feasibility for the subsequent microbiological tests. All of this adds value to the commercialization of these molluscs by delivering food free of contaminants, so the system can be replicated to socialize it with the communes that are dedicated to the activity of collecting these species, thus opening the way for the possibility of exporting these products to international markets, which would signify an increase in the income of these people.