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Biodiesel On The Wing: A 'Green' Process For Biodiesel From Feather Meal

Date:
July 23, 2009
Source:
American Chemical Society
Summary:
Scientists are reporting development of a new and environmentally friendly process for producing biodiesel fuel from "chicken feather meal," made from the 11 billion pounds of poultry industry waste that accumulate annually in the United States alone.
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Scientists in Nevada are reporting development of a new and environmentally friendly process for producing biodiesel fuel from "chicken feather meal," made from the 11 billion pounds of poultry industry waste that accumulate annually in the United States alone. 

In the study Mano Misra, Susanta Mohapatra, Narasimharao Kondamudi, and Jason Strull note that chicken feather meal consists of processed chicken feathers, blood, and innards that have been processed at high temperatures with steam. Currently feather meal is used as animal feed and fertilizer because of its high protein and nitrogen content. With as much as 12 percent fat content, feather meal has potential as an alternative, nonfood feedstock for the production of biofuel, the report says.

The researchers describe a new process for extracting fat from chicken feather meal using boiling water and processing it into biodiesel. Given the amount of feather meal generated by the poultry industry each year, they estimate this process could create 153 million gallons of biodiesel annually in the U.S. and 593 million gallons worldwide. In addition, they note that removal of fat content from feather meal results in both a higher-grade animal feed and a better nitrogen source for fertilizer applications.


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Materials provided by American Chemical Society. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Narasimharao Kondamudi, Jason Strull, Mano Misra and Susanta K. Mohapatra. A Green Process for Producing Biodiesel from Feather Meal. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2009, 57 (14), pp 6163%u20136166 DOI: 10.1021/jf900140e

Cite This Page:

American Chemical Society. "Biodiesel On The Wing: A 'Green' Process For Biodiesel From Feather Meal." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 23 July 2009. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090722110903.htm>.
American Chemical Society. (2009, July 23). Biodiesel On The Wing: A 'Green' Process For Biodiesel From Feather Meal. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 2, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090722110903.htm
American Chemical Society. "Biodiesel On The Wing: A 'Green' Process For Biodiesel From Feather Meal." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090722110903.htm (accessed December 2, 2024).

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