Valorisation of meat industry waste using pyrolysis

Abstract

The meat sector is one of the main sources of organic waste in the food processing industry. Various materials such as bones, fats, teeth, hair, skins, bacon fringes, and tallow are examples of the waste that remains. This type of waste has the potential to contaminate the environment and endanger human health. The ability to convert waste into energy could lead to new alternative fuels and specific adsorbent materials, suggesting enhanced resource management and sustainability. Several thermal treatments for destroying these wastes through combustion, incineration, gasification, or pyrolysis could serve as interesting alternatives. This study employed an innovative waste recovery strategy to explore the potential of using diverse meat waste components, specifically fat and bone, to produce sustainable energy fuels for the metallurgy and cement industries etc. Specifically, this research focused on employing pyrolysis as a thermal process to elevate the energy value of meat waste. Processes of pyrolysis are the thermal decomposition of waste, typically at 400–800 °C, in the absence of oxygen, that produces a carbon-rich solid residue (biochar), liquid (bio-oil), and gaseous products (syngas, which are not condensable gases) with high energy value. Furthermore, the quality and distribution of the pyrolysis products mostly depend on a few experimental parameters: reaction temperature, heating rate, residence time, reactor type, and raw material used. The fundamental objectives of this study were to establish the optimal pretreatment approach and pyrolysis conditions and then investigate their effect on yields, qualities of pyrolysis products and its utilisation