September 3, 2010

Novera Protein Inc. converts wet mill waste to animal feed

After seven years of research and development, Novera Protein Inc. has launched a newly patented process in the commercial animal feed product industry that converts wet distillers grains (WDGs) and/or syrup into a unique animal feed.

"We have developed a brand new class of protein products for animal agriculture," Tom Haschen, Novera president and CEO said.

The company recently received a patent for its process and is in negotiations with several ethanol facilities to acquire their WDGs and syrup as well as possibly co-locate an animal feed production facility with the ethanol plant.

Haschen said Novera's process can utilise wet brewers grains, WDGs, syrup, or a combination of any of the two. Other protein sources are then added to enable the alteration of the amino acid structure of the final protein. The resulting product is a bypass protein ideal for ruminant animals. Haschen said the product is deemed "bypass" because the protein passed through the animal's rumin and is digested in the lower intestinal track.

The specific make-up of the final product can differ from location to location, depending on the variation of animal diets in each region. "That's one of the beauties of our process, is that we can vary that to suit regional needs," he said. Unlike WDGs, Novera's animal feed is not perishable. Haschen said the final product will be 47% crude protein, compared with an average 26% crude protein in distillers dried grains.