The Fats and Proteins Research Foundation (FPRF) “Emerging Issues and Opportunities Seminar” is proving to be more popular every year. This year was no exception as industry representatives packed the meeting room in October. The event was held just prior to the National Renderers Association (NRA) 68th Annual Convention in Naples, FL.
An array of subjects were addressed, but perhaps the most attention focused on biodiesel. Nohemi Zerbi, program manager, Office of Fuels Development, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), discussed the government’s biodiesel program. She emphasized that funding for the program is limited but more could be made available with the industry’s assistance.
“This program needs your help to increase the interest of Congress to increase funding,” Zerbi stated. She added that the rendering industry must also lobby for inclusion of rendered fats and yellow grease in legislation and production.
“What we are aiming at in the office, is that eventually we will be looking at a mixture of these feed stocks [vegetable and animal fats] to achieve a customer-specified biodiesel,” Zerbi continued. She said that over the years, the price of biodiesel has been dropping and animal fats and yellow grease are her feedstocks of choice to help continue that downward trend.
Zerbi went on to address the two major obstacles rendered products face in biodiesel production: 1) cold flow and increased nitrogen oxide emissions; and 2) California, the largest potential market, which requires fuel to meet all California Air Resources Board requirements. She also discussed the development of four college-level courses on biodiesel, an annual research and development meeting scheduled for February 2002, and regional biodiesel workshops that DOE sponsored this fall.
Wilhelm Hammer, Biodiesel International, Austria, shared with attendees the various biodiesel production facilities and standards from around the world. He stated that Germany has the strongest biodiesel standard in the world and emphasized, “quality is key.”
Hammer also highlighted the various biodiesel plants his company has constructed, such as a German plant that went on-line two weeks prior and a U.S. facility under consideration. He provided tips for investing in biodiesel production technology, which included the capability to process high free fatty acid feedstock easily and cost effectively.
Nurham Ergun, Energea, Austria, presented new biodiesel production technology that will be on-line for the first time within a few months. The company has spent eight years perfecting a new two-stage continuous variable flow tranesterification process with a plant capacity of 40 million gallons per year.
Ergun addressed the sulfur level issue, which is currently 550 parts per million (ppm) but must be significantly reduced within seven years to 15 ppm as directed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It was discussed that the sulfur levels of fats and oils needs attention when converting to methal esters.
“It’s going to be a challenge to push the sulfur levels of all liquid fuels down over the next seven years,” said Gary Pearl, FPRF president.
The meeting focus then shifted to research projects and other technologies. Lars Reimann, Woodson-Tenent Laboratories, discussed current methodologies for animal tissue specificity. He covered various regulatory issues, such as the mammalian to ruminant feed ban in the United States, and other concerns that make tissue specificity important: the determination of species tissues in meat products in place of prion detection; for religious issues (presence of pork or beef); for high-value protein products (lamb, duck, and fish meals); and for brand protection and labeling issues.
Reimann said that some methodologies determine presence and absence while others determine levels. He highlighted the various tissue specification methods, such as DNA-, antibody-, and microscopy-based, and emphasized that no single test can address the issue of regulatory compliance.
“Theoretically, no current battery of tests can conclusively confirm failure to comply with regulations,” Reimann stated. “This is a key factor to keep in mind.”
Dr. Dominique Bureau, University of Guelph, Canada, presented research performed by Dr. Shouqi in China on fish bioenergetics and nutrition. He stated that one concern among fish farmers in China is the high cost of feed for the low-priced fish. Bureau had high praise for Dr. Shouqi’s project and research facility and emphasized that the challenge is to lower the cost of feed while meeting the nutritional requirements.
Dr. Davis Clements, Renewable Products Development Opportunities, Inc., explained how to discover potential new markets for proteins, minerals, lipids, and wastewater. He highly encouraged attendees to examine the thousands of patents available on the Internet at www.uspto.gov.
“Over the last seven years, there have been over 10,000 patents just on steric acid,” Clements stated. He said to select potential uses that replace, substitute, and further develop other products.
“Opportunities come from the most unlikely places,” he concluded.
Dr. William Marmer, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Research Service, discussed opportunities for fats and oils in bioprocessing and Dr. Jason Shih, North Carolina State University, addressed a three-year research project on inactivation of prion proteins with an enzyme treatment.
“Our goal was to treat ground material first, then process as usual,” Shih said.
Next was a presentation by Colm O’Carroll, Epsilon Chemicals, Ltd., Canada, on a new technology for dissolved air flotation treatment. Currently, the company only has approval for use in Canada but O’Carroll stated that this new technology is working well for Canadian renderers.
Mark Purdy, a United Kingdom (UK) dairy farmer, brought to everyone’s attention a new theory on the cause of bovine spongiform encephalopathy. He made several points for thought, such as the fact that 40,000 cows developed BSE in the UK that were born after the 1988 feed ban was put in place.
Purdy believes BSE is caused by a combination of environmental and chemical circumstances. He explained that the organophosphate called Phosmet used to eradicate the warble fly in the UK was used in a higher concentrate than anywhere else in the world – 20 percent compared to five percent in such countries as the United States. He said his years of research leads him to believe that Phosmet, combined with a high level of manganese and oxidizing agents, is responsible for BSE, not animal proteins.
Dr. Fred Troutt, University of Illinois, recapped a research project that just concluded which met its objective: that the rendering process inactivates specific foodborne pathogens. Samples from 17 midwestern plants were taken over a period of time and seasons and at various points in the rendering process and tested for four specific foodborne organisms. Troutt’s project determined that raw material is a “foodborne pathogen soup,” but that the rendering process inactivated those pathogens.
“Overall, in my opinion, rendering is the process of choice to inactivate microorganisms,” Troutt concluded.
The day following the seminar was set aside for meetings of the FPRF Research Committee, general membership, and board of directors. Retiring directors Mike Langenhorst, Anamax Corporation, Dennis Mullane, Taylor By-Products, and Kevin Custer, American Proteins, were recognized for their years of service to the organization.
“These gentlemen have certainly given of their time and effort over the last six years in various capacities,” commented David Kaluzny II, FPRF chairman.
Pearl reported that FPRF membership has remained steady and currently has 84 members, including nine of the 14 largest companies in the meat packing industry. Various individuals were recognized, including Mullane and Debby Capela of Taylor By-Products for their work on FPRF’s redesigned Web site, and Fred Bisplinghoff for his involvement on the research committee since 1961. Five new research projects focusing on nutrition, chemical opportunities, and non-food/feed uses for rendered products were approved before the meeting was adjourned.
FPRF’s spring meeting is scheduled for April 23-24, 2002, in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
December 2001 Render