BioRefinex Process Allows For Sanitized Re-Use Of Waste
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A new ground-breaking technology may make it possible for beef producers to put BSE-infected cow carcasses to work, as fertilizer or biogas that is safe, organic, and free of infectious proteins. The process is called BioRefinex, and it was developed by Biosphere Technologies to manage the removal of BSE-tainted carcasses – at both the producer and the landfill or incinerator level – and to recycle the waste into a usable product.
Through a combination of high-temperature pressure and saturated steam called thermal hydrolysis, the process kills infectious proteins and micro-organisms in both animal carcasses and other types of organic waste, proteins like prions, which are believed to be the cause of BSE (Mad Cow Disease). The waste products are transformed into a brown, “molasses-like” substance that can then be used as disease-free, organic fertilizer or biogas. Other organic materials can also be used to make fertilizer or biogas through this process, including commercial waste and household wet waste. Biosphere Technologies is building a plant near Lacombe, Alberta, that will cost an estimate $35 million to build, and will process inedible animal by-products, including hair and wool, from cattle, pork, poultry, bison, horse and elk. The resulting fertilizer contains fatty acids, minerals, and amino acids – a mixture that, according to a company representative, is perfect for soil remediation.
This alternative use for beef carcasses could be good news for the beef industry, which faces costly restrictions around the management and disposal of Specified Risk Materials (SRM) – the brain, tonsils, spinal cord and other tissue where BSE tends to concentrate. With the ability to recycle these materials, including infected carcasses, and possibly even derive a cost advantage, the technology stands to be very popular among meat processors and farmers who have experienced mortalities related to disease.
Biosphere Technologies is a privately-funded company that does receive government subsidies and is located in Alberta, Canada. Their patented BioRefinex process recently received accolades from The Roslin Institute, a renowned Scottish research organization, which calls the process “an environmentally beneficial alternative for carcass and organic waste disposal compared to incineration, landfilling or processing with alkaline chemicals which create serious disposal challenges.”
