Sustainable conversion of agricultural waste in Qatar into protein-rich animal feed

Project: Applied Research

Project Details

Abstract

Food security is one of the greatest challenges to Qatar and is the issue of the future. Accordingly, Qatar is currently concentrating on improved food self-sufficiency. Meat and dairy production is ever increasing to meet global demand for animal-derived protein. Livestock farming has long played an important role in sustaining the nutritional requirements of Qatar’s population. Qatar’s rapid industrial and population development over the last two decades has led to the development of an emerging livestock industry within the country. Eventually, the state is expected to see strong growth in animal feed, with several companies recently setting up animal breeding, dairy farms, and poultry production ventures. Protein-rich feed is a fundamental requirement for sustainable livestock production. The global protein ingredients market for animal feed and human food and beverage is $40B and growing at 5-6% per year. Qatari compound feed market is valued at USD 202.7 million in 2017, registering a CAGR of 7.0%, and is expected to continue growing at this pace, during the forecast period. In the context of Qatar transforming itself to be a self-sufficient country in food and feed production, there are significant opportunities for the compound feed manufacturers to establish the manufacturing setup in the country. Traditional sources such as green fodder, and silage obtained from a variety of plants are not considered sustainable as well as not suitable for local cultivation and are imported to the country to meet the protein-rich feed requirement for animal farming. Therefore, new solutions are needed for sustainable protein supply. On the other hand, accelerated farming activities in the country have rendered a drastic increase in agricultural waste. These wastes impair the economic and environmental sustainability of the ecosystem. Agriculture waste is originated from diverse waste stream sources across the farms in Qatar including farms and agro-industries like animal manure, vegetable, and farm waste generated from production to packing activities. To protect and safeguard public health, useful and innovative recycling methods are needed. This situation emerges the need for developing an integrated technology for waste management and to improve sustainability footprints. The protein produced in microbial cells also known as microbial protein (MP) is an option with the potential to address the issue simultaneously. Much of the recent interest in MP has focused on the valorization of side streams by using microorganisms to improve their protein content, which can then be used in animal feed. In this context, the microbial protein produced through methane-fed aerobic fermentation has unique advantages and can be used as animal feed. Methanotrophs are potential protein-rich biomass (>75% of dry weight) and capable of substituting plant protein obtained from conventional agriculture. This project proposes the use of agro-industrial waste (poultry, dairy, livestock manure, and agriculture farm waste) to recover protein-rich microbial biomass, which can be utilized as animal feed. Waste will be collected from the form and characterized for its potential as a raw material to use in anaerobic digestion to produce biogas. Bio-methane in the produced biogas will be subsequently used to ferment selected microbial cultures for the production of protein-rich microbial biomass. The project's first phase will focus on the development of high-protein cell biomass production using lab-based studies, quantifying biomass growth and protein content under various culturing conditions. This will include the use of anaerobic digestion tests and gas fermentation tests to confirm screening results. The fermentation test will be initially carried out using a lab-scale bioreactor. Bioreactor design will be optimized based on in-depth culture conditions such as substrate type, concentration, pH, temperature, leading to the development of a pilot system in the second stage to produce the desired MP. A 200 L anaerobic digester and 50 L gas fermenter will be installed to demonstrate the production and follow-up processing of the microbial protein from biogas at a pilot scale in an outdoor environment. Following the development of a streamlined microbial protein cultivation process, microbial protein will be produced and tested for its quality to be utilized as animal feed. A techno-economic and environmental analysis will be undertaken to evaluate the suitability of this locally produced MP feed from a circular economy-based approach, with the goal of the project to demonstrate the sustainable and safe production of high-quality local livestock feed. The proposed concept will provide economic, environmental, and sustainability benefits and assess the potential of waste bio-refinery and its role in the circular bio-economy.

Submitting Institute Name

Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU)
Sponsor's Award NumberMME03-1101-210007
Proposal IDEX-QNRF-MME-3
StatusActive
Effective start/end date1/01/231/01/26

Collaborative partners

  • Hamad Bin Khalifa University (lead)
  • Al Sulaiteen Agricultural Research, Studies and Training Center (SARSTC)
  • Al Sulaiteen Agricultural & Industrial Complex (SAIC)

Primary Theme

  • Sustainability

Primary Subtheme

  • SU - Sustainable / Circular Economy

Secondary Theme

  • None

Secondary Subtheme

  • None

Keywords

  • Agro-industrial waste,Animal feed,Protein,Circular economy,Sustainable livestock
  • None

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