Carbon neutral approach to feed
Animal feed processing has come under intense scrutiny in recent years with heightened concerns about food and environmental safety.
The primary ingredients of feed can be traced back to the oilseed industry where oil is removed from the seed and the remaining oilseed cake or meal
act as the main protein source for animal feed. The cake and meal have historically been treated with formaldehyde and other chemical additives to modify the nutritional value while also acting as an antimicrobial that prevents the spread of viruses and bacteria such as salmonella and E. coli
Over the past several years, a rising number of jurisdictions worldwide have restricted or banned the use of chemicals such as formaldehyde, prompting operators to replace them with a variety of enzyme and heat treatments. In the case of Royal Agrifirm, the Dutch-based co-operative saw an opportunity to create an efficient, safe and reliable method to treat the meal with radio frequency (RF) waves instead of chemicals, while also increasing its nutritional value.
In the January 2025 issue of Oil and Fats International (OFI) Magazine, authors Jean-Marc Reichling, Stan Pala and Sven Van der Heide provide insights into Agrifirm's RF process, and how the company's journey to reduce its overall primary energy consumption led it to Solex Thermal Science.
Of note is how Solex was able to successful integrate its moving bed heat exchange (MBHE) technology at the pre-heating stage of Agrifirm process to reduce energy inputs, with the addition of industrial heat pumps at the cooling stage to "upcycle" energy.
This entry was last updated on 2025-1-29
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