Energy-efficient dewatering for production of high-quality fishmeal

Background

The project addresses the possibilities for a significant energy reduction and reduced CO2 footprint in the fishmeal process.

The project will focus on testing and verifying drying technologies with the potential for approximate 50 percent energy reduction compared to the current situation.

The project is led by Pelagia in collaboration with Nofima, Swedish Exergy and Fjell Technology Group.

Goal

The goal of the project is to develop new, or test out existing and alternative technologies for more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly production of high-quality fishmeal from pelagic fish.

Based on feasibility studies and the choice of energy-efficient technical solutions with minimal product heat load, pilot and full-scale trials will be carried out at a fishmeal factory.

Produced fishmeal from the new technologies will be assessed for protein quality, chemical and technical properties and together establish basis for upscaling.

What we do

Alternative drying technologies based on superheated steam and vacuum have not been fully implemented in a fishmeal process due to lack of documentation on product quality. It is therefore important to find optimal process conditions and document product quality through pilot studies and analyses.

Nofima will contribute with expertise on drying technology and document protein quality, physiochemical and rheological properties aimed for the production of aquaculture feeds.

The goal is to establish technical solutions and process conditions to produce fishmeal with as good or better quality than Norse LT-94, and with good flowability during powder handling as storage and transportation and technical properties adapted for trouble-free feed production.