ARS | Publication request: Use of An Aspirator to Improve Meat & Bone Meal for Non-Edible Applications

Submitted to: American Chemical Society National Meeting
Publication Acceptance Date: April 15, 2004
Publication Date: August 1, 2004
Citation: Garcia, R.A., Flores, R.A., Tunick, M.H. 2004. Use Of An Aspirator To Improve Meat & Bone Meal For Non-Edible Applications [abstract]. 228th American Chemical Society National Meeting. Paper No. Cell091.

Technical Abstract: Meat & bone meal (MBM) is a high protein, low value byproduct of the rendering industry. This heterogeneous mixture consists of particles derived from bone and particles derived from soft tissues. Novel applications are being developed for inedible products from MBM protein, but many require the feedstock to be high in protein, low in ash, and relatively homogeneous. MBM would have improved characteristics for inedible applications if the bone and soft tissue particles could be efficiently separated. An air aspirator is a grain-cleaning device that separates mixtures of particles based on the terminal velocity of each particle. We evaluated how effectively this device can separate the particle types in MBM. The equipment required modification to process the cohesive MBM particles without clogging. Our results show that by adjusting the feed rate and operating pressure, the aspirator can successfully divide MBM into two fractions, one of which is considerably higher in protein, lower in ash and more homogeneous than MBM.