A slightly different but all the same innovative way of producing biofuel from fishwaste comes from researchers in Mississippi. Dr Todd French an assistant professor at Mississippi State University is researching a way to make fuel from the waste of shrimp as a means to find a higher value for the shrimp waste.
Waste disposal for shrimp cost estimates at around US$145,000 per processor, the biofuel production would not only make a saving on this cost but it would also generate additional income from the production of fuel.
Unlike other fishwaste to biofuel production, shrimp waste is slightly different. Chitin is the main ingredient in shrimp processing waste – this carbohydrate is not only found in shrimp but also in crab and lobster shells. The waste is treated with an acid before soaking it in a mixture of bacteria, yeast and fungi. These micro-organisms digest the chitin and convert it into fat, hence producing the biofuel feedstock. The resulting product is mixed at 5-20 percent biofuel to respective percent petroleum.
The Mississippi -Alabama Sea Grant Consortium, a member of the National Sea Grant College Program administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) - is funding the research project.
Tony Piccolo – Aquatic Biofuels Specialist, Rome-Italy
Aquatic Biofuel Specialist
