Large-Scale Conversion of Livestock Blood into Amino Acid Liquid Fertilizer and Dry Protein Feedstuff: A Case Study

Abstract

Livestock blood, typically considered a waste byproduct of the slaughter industry, has the potential to be a valuable resource in the environmental and agricultural industries owing to its high protein content. This study reports the mechanisms involved in developing a continuous process capable of processing 5 tons/day of livestock blood into high purity amino acid liquid fertilizer and dried protein feedstuff simultaneously. Large-scale processing units were fabricated for the ultrasonic pretreatment and solubilization of proteins, enzymatic degradation of dissolved proteins for amino acid conversion, solid-liquid separation using a membrane filter press to produce high purity amino acid liquid fertilizer, and microwave drying of the solid component to produce dry protein feedstuff. The main processing units were integrated into a continuous, efficient system. The final amino acid liquid fertilizer and dry protein feedstuff contained >20% amino acids and approximately 78% protein, respectively. An economic feasibility analysis of the integrated system based on an annual processing capacity of 3000 tons of livestock blood yielded a total annual profit of 17.4 million euros (5812 euros/ton). This study presents an efficient and profitable approach to repurposing the waste generated by slaughterhouses toward agriculture and feed production.