SBIR-STTR Award

The goal of this project is to develop a separator that will improve the nutritional quality of fishmeal and reduce the pollutants in the effluent streams from fish feed used in aquaculture. High nutritional value and the well-balanced protein composition makes fishmeal an important feed ingredient in aquaculture. The digestibility of fishmeal has been improved through the development of more sensible drying technologies. However, the feed value can be further improved by reduction of the ash (bone) content. A high ash content lowers the digestibility of the feed, and the indigestible fraction, in particular phosphorous, creates an effluent discharge problem. Several screening technologies have been developed for reducing the ash content. However, the efficiencies of these processes are limited due to similarities in particle size. The proposed airseparation will sort based on particle size, density, surface roughness and particle shape. The meat particles will have a lower density, more irregular surfaces, and a shape resulting in a higher drag coefficient than bone particles thereby promoting separation efficiency..Applications:A broader raw material base will help in stabilizing prices for aquacultural feeds. A successful development of an air-separator will offer a flexible procedure for aquaculture feed manufacturers in meeting their customers' needs. U.S. produced fishmeal has a higher ash content than fishmeal produced in most other parts of the world. This industry can in particular benefit from this development. Lowering the indigestible fraction in fishmeal will help the U.S. aquaculture industry in meeting environmental discharge limits and increase the industry's competitiveness.

Fishmeal is widely used as feed in the aquaculture industry. High ash content, however, lowers the growth rate of the fish and is a major contributor to water pollution. Phase I of this project demonstrated a technique that efficiently separates the ash from the digestible fraction. The proof of concept carried out in Phase I exceeded the stated objective, which was to remove the bone fraction. In addition, the developed technique also removed the indigestible scale fraction. Patent attorneys have reviewed the successful development and, after a thorough patent search, a patent application was filed. The Phase I effort led to the development of a small scale separator which needs to be further developed before introduction to the market place can occur. The proposed Phase II will involve improved feeder design, better air flow controls, optimization of separator spacing, scale-up and development of operational procedures to obtain maximum benefits from the purification process. Negotiation has been initiated with a leading separation equipment manufacturer for commercializing the technology and marketing it to the seafood industry. A verbal agreement has been reached, and a contract is being negotiated for licensing the seafood applications world-wide. Dantec will retain the rights to the aquaculture market.Applications:The development of a cost-effective method for lowering the indigestible fraction in fishmeal will improve the productivity of fish farming. By this process, high grade fishmeal can be further improved and lower grade fishmeals can be made into acceptable feeds. Commercial fish farming operations and feed mills can procure lower cost fishmeal and upgrade the meal to fit their needs. Fishmeal producers will have a method for manufacturing acceptable fishmeal from fish frames and other raw materials with low initial meat contents. The market potential for the fishmeal processing industry is approximately 1,500 to 2,000 units. However, these units will be very large. The commercial fish farmer market potential is very large and is a growing market.