June 29, 2011

New Zealand university turns meat processing waste into plastic

Waikato University research engineers, led by senior lecturer Johan Verbeek, have developed a process which turns bloodmeal, a waste product from meat processing, into an environmentally friendly and potentially highly versatile plastic.

In the process, water and other elements are added to bloodmeal and then put through an extruder, where the material softens and changes its internal chemistry to form a bioplastic material.

Dr Verbeek said producing bio-based polymer from proteins carries problems which still have to be addressed, including the complexity of the production methods, the cost of production, and ultimate price to consumers.

Waikato University's intellectual property commercialisation company Waikato Link has formed a company called Novatein to commercialise Dr Verbeek's research.

New Zealand's meat industry produces about 80,000 tonnes of bovine blood per year.

The new product and process were unveiled as part of Waikato University's seminar series at this year's Fieldays at Mystery Creek.