Chinese scientists hail breakthrough that could produce large quantities of animal feed from industrial gas and reduce dependence on soybean imports
- Researchers say the process could be a ‘carbon revolution’ that would benefit the agricultural industry and help reduce harmful emissions
- The product produced by a series of reactions could provide tens of thousands of tonnes of protein that can be used to feed animals
The process uses tail gas containing carbon monoxide and dioxide – a by-product of industrial processes such as oil refining – to created a synthesised cell protein called Clostridium autoethanogenum, according to the research team from Beijing Shoulang Biological Technology and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences’ Feed Research Institute.
According to the team, the gases go through a series of processes including fermentation, oxidation, distillation and dehydration that converts the nitrogen and carbon into organic material.
Scientists have already known that protein could be produced this way, but the Chinese team said the speed and efficiency of their process would make it possible to do so on an industrial scale.
According to the official publication Science and Technology Daily and Agri.cn, a website affiliated with the Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs, they already had the capacity to produce tens of thousands of tonnes a year.
Dai Xiaofeng, head of the feed research institute, said that the achievement would transform the traditional production of natural proteins and “not only provides a sharp weapon for the soybean protein feed industry, but also for the zero-emission of greenhouse gases and greener industrial process”, he told Agri.cn.
“If China’s steel manufacturers, coal power plants, petrochemical companies and coal processors can all apply [this technology], it will be a carbon revolution that can effectively advance the carbon cycle, carbon utilisation and carbon capture processes, with remarkable economic, social and ecological benefits and great strategic significance,” Dai said.