In Brazil, a Plan to Turn Waste Fish Guts Into Biodiesel

Already the largest market in the world for sustainable, cost-competitive ethanol production, Brazil may be setting its sights on another interesting biofuel: biodiesel made from the leftover entrails of the Tilapia farming industry.

Farmed Tilapia is one of the fastest growing fish products globally, and Brazil makes a ton of it. Not only are Tilapia inexpensive and “unfishy” in flavor, when compared to other farmed fish they are quite a bit easier on the environment too — requiring only a vegetable- and cereal-based diet, and in some cases, even eating trash. Their flesh also does not readily collect contaminants such as mercury from the environment making them safer to eat than other fish such as Tuna and Salmon. However, after processing the fish, there are heaps of inedible entrails left over that typically get tossed.

Now an organization in Brazil’s largest Tilapia farming region, Ceara Nucleus Foundation of Industrial Technology (NUTEC), says it is moving forward on a project that will make it a leader in the field of turning the fish entrails into fuel. Although, to be fair, I don’t think there’s much competition for the title of “fish gut to fuel” leader, but more power to them.

According to Jackson Malveira, a coordinator at the Brazilian Biodiesel Reference Laboratory (LARBIO), “When the breeding of tilapia began in net-tanks… the problem arose of finding a destination for fish waste, which did not have any use for producers in the beginning.” If the project turns out to be successful, this could be a great way to close some of the waste loop in a process that has the potential to be environmentally destructive.

The project will also establish a new fish gut processing facility to extract the fish oils from the waste and will be funded partially with Brazilian government grants.

Source: Biofuels Digest

Image Credit: Blue Turban Photography’s Flickr Photostream. Used under a Creative Commons License.

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Tags: Aquaculture, biofuel, brazil, farming, fish, Fish Farming, Guts, Tilapia

About the Author

Nick Chambers Not your traditional car guy.

Tilapia Enthusiast

Honduras has been at this for a while:

http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Honduran_tilapia_out_of_frying_pan__07292007.html

If you go to the grocery store in the USA, the fresh (non-frozen) farm-raised tilapia was likely flown in from Honduras.

Many of these jobs go to some of the most poor in rural farming areas.

Help out Honduras and buy some.
Tilapia Enthusiast

Honduras has been at this for a while:

http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Honduran_tilapia_out_of_frying_pan__07292007.html

If you go to the grocery store in the USA, the fresh (non-frozen) farm-raised tilapia was likely flown in from Honduras.

Many of these jobs go to some of the most poor in rural farming areas.

Help out Honduras and buy some.
douglas prince

I heard both Exxon and General Electric got wind of this story and already have their own “fish guts to oil” projects in place.

Steven Chu has announced a $3 Billion investment with NREL to developed commercial-grade “fish fuel”.

And Bob Lutz at General Motors has announced that GM is scrapping all current alternative fuel vehicle research and will now concentrate on “fishy” projects exclusively. “GM has seen the future of the American motorist,” he stated at a press conference. “We expect the first prototype available in the Fall of 2016, possibly 2017. Then, we may have it available to the general public in 2020. Maybe 2022. And by ‘general public’, I mean Mrs. Floyd Ferguson at 1028 Wicker Street in Elmhurst, Illinois.”

Huzzah…
douglas prince

I heard both Exxon and General Electric got wind of this story and already have their own “fish guts to oil” projects in place.

Steven Chu has announced a $3 Billion investment with NREL to developed commercial-grade “fish fuel”.

And Bob Lutz at General Motors has announced that GM is scrapping all current alternative fuel vehicle research and will now concentrate on “fishy” projects exclusively. “GM has seen the future of the American motorist,” he stated at a press conference. “We expect the first prototype available in the Fall of 2016, possibly 2017. Then, we may have it available to the general public in 2020. Maybe 2022. And by ‘general public’, I mean Mrs. Floyd Ferguson at 1028 Wicker Street in Elmhurst, Illinois.”

Huzzah…