Thermal hydrolysis of poultry byproducts for the production of microbial media

Abstract Rendered meat byproducts are important feedstocks for pet food formulas, esterified biodiesels and other bioproducts. However, feedstocks with high water contents are currently not attractive for rendering due to the need to evaporate the resulting high protein “stick” water. Consequently,...

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Main Authors: Edward T. Drabold, Manish Sakhakarmy, Saravanan R. Shanmugam, Sushil Adhikari, Wellington Arthur, Marko Rudar, Melissa Boersma, Qichen Wang, Brendan T. Higgins
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-02-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-90411-7
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author Edward T. Drabold
Manish Sakhakarmy
Saravanan R. Shanmugam
Sushil Adhikari
Wellington Arthur
Marko Rudar
Melissa Boersma
Qichen Wang
Brendan T. Higgins
author_facet Edward T. Drabold
Manish Sakhakarmy
Saravanan R. Shanmugam
Sushil Adhikari
Wellington Arthur
Marko Rudar
Melissa Boersma
Qichen Wang
Brendan T. Higgins
author_sort Edward T. Drabold
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Rendered meat byproducts are important feedstocks for pet food formulas, esterified biodiesels and other bioproducts. However, feedstocks with high water contents are currently not attractive for rendering due to the need to evaporate the resulting high protein “stick” water. Consequently, many wet meat byproducts, like poultry dissolved air flotation (DAF) solids, are land applied, wasting a potential resource, and causing malodor for nearby communities. Herein, we present a process for rendering wet meat byproducts where the stick water produced from rendering hydrolyzers is sold as value-added microbial media and therefore does not require evaporation. Thermal hydrolysis experiments were performed on a wet (7% solids content) and drier feedstock (25% solids). Amino acids, the most valuable component of microbial media, were marginally higher in stick water produced from the 25% solids feedstock (1.7 g/L) compared to the 7% feedstock (1.5 g/L) despite the much higher solids input. Furthermore, the fatty acid composition of the thermally treated solids was unchanged by reactor solids loading. Mass and energy balances were performed to understand the impact of feedstock solids concentration on heating requirements. This work uses a process engineering approach to develop a new paradigm in rendering technology: upcycling wet meat byproducts into value-added microbial media.
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spelling doaj-art-e042152f172f4d268a7bac07614d56852025-08-20T02:15:00ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-02-0115111310.1038/s41598-025-90411-7Thermal hydrolysis of poultry byproducts for the production of microbial mediaEdward T. Drabold0Manish Sakhakarmy1Saravanan R. Shanmugam2Sushil Adhikari3Wellington Arthur4Marko Rudar5Melissa Boersma6Qichen Wang7Brendan T. Higgins8Department of Biosystems Engineering, Auburn UniversityDepartment of Biosystems Engineering, Auburn UniversityDepartment of Biosystems Engineering, Auburn UniversityDepartment of Biosystems Engineering, Auburn UniversityDepartment of Biosystems Engineering, Auburn UniversityDepartment of Animal Sciences, Auburn UniversityChemistry & Biochemistry, Auburn UniversityDepartment of Biosystems Engineering, Auburn UniversityDepartment of Biosystems Engineering, Auburn UniversityAbstract Rendered meat byproducts are important feedstocks for pet food formulas, esterified biodiesels and other bioproducts. However, feedstocks with high water contents are currently not attractive for rendering due to the need to evaporate the resulting high protein “stick” water. Consequently, many wet meat byproducts, like poultry dissolved air flotation (DAF) solids, are land applied, wasting a potential resource, and causing malodor for nearby communities. Herein, we present a process for rendering wet meat byproducts where the stick water produced from rendering hydrolyzers is sold as value-added microbial media and therefore does not require evaporation. Thermal hydrolysis experiments were performed on a wet (7% solids content) and drier feedstock (25% solids). Amino acids, the most valuable component of microbial media, were marginally higher in stick water produced from the 25% solids feedstock (1.7 g/L) compared to the 7% feedstock (1.5 g/L) despite the much higher solids input. Furthermore, the fatty acid composition of the thermally treated solids was unchanged by reactor solids loading. Mass and energy balances were performed to understand the impact of feedstock solids concentration on heating requirements. This work uses a process engineering approach to develop a new paradigm in rendering technology: upcycling wet meat byproducts into value-added microbial media.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-90411-7Amino acidsDissolved air flotation (DAF) solidsFatty acidsHydrothermal processingProcess modelSoluble protein
spellingShingle Edward T. Drabold
Manish Sakhakarmy
Saravanan R. Shanmugam
Sushil Adhikari
Wellington Arthur
Marko Rudar
Melissa Boersma
Qichen Wang
Brendan T. Higgins
Thermal hydrolysis of poultry byproducts for the production of microbial media
Scientific Reports
Amino acids
Dissolved air flotation (DAF) solids
Fatty acids
Hydrothermal processing
Process model
Soluble protein
title Thermal hydrolysis of poultry byproducts for the production of microbial media
title_full Thermal hydrolysis of poultry byproducts for the production of microbial media
title_fullStr Thermal hydrolysis of poultry byproducts for the production of microbial media
title_full_unstemmed Thermal hydrolysis of poultry byproducts for the production of microbial media
title_short Thermal hydrolysis of poultry byproducts for the production of microbial media
title_sort thermal hydrolysis of poultry byproducts for the production of microbial media
topic Amino acids
Dissolved air flotation (DAF) solids
Fatty acids
Hydrothermal processing
Process model
Soluble protein
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-90411-7
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