BSE meat and bone meal:
Quercus proposal will save the Portuguese Government 45 million euros every year
Quercus presented today a proposal for the treatment of waste related to the combat to the BSE, that when applied will allow the Portuguese Government to save 45 million euros every year.
This solution, based on the experience of a case study in Coruche, by a Portuguese company, consists, mainly, in the treatment of these residues through anaerobic digestion, a biological process that allows the degradation of organic matter by microorganisms in the absence of oxygen.
If working with sterilized meal this process requires the introduction of bacteria specially selected to treat this particular type of waste.
This process can be applied to BSE meat and bone meal, but also to the shredded raw animal by-products before the sterilization process takes place.
The residues are placed in a closed recipient (anaerobic digester) where the microorganisms will «eat» the organic matter, that is then, mostly, transformed into gas.
This gas (called biogas) is mainly methane, and therefore can be used to produce energy through an electric generator. The energy produced can be used in the process and sold as green energy (renewable energy).
This is an innovative solution in Portugal, but may become a reference when it comes to BSE residues treatment, even in other European countries, due to its environmental, energetic and economic advantages, when compared with solutions like incineration or landfill.
According to the results from this process of anaerobic digestion of BSE meat and bone meals, that is taken place in an animal by-products treatment unity in Coruche, this solution presents clear advantages when compared to incineration or landfill:
1 – It’s a solution that has no financial burden to the State, whereas incineration or landfill (including sterilization) costs around 45 millions euros each year.
2 – When it comes to energy efficiency, it is a much more efficient solution, producing 5 energy units for every unit spent (500% outcome), while incineration uses 3 energy units to produce 2 (66% outcome).
3 – It’s a much more interesting solution when it comes to environment, because:
- Produces less atmospheric pollution then incineration or landfill
- There are no unpleasant «odours» or waste water as usually happens with landfill.
4 – It’s an easier and faster solution to implement than incineration, since it doesn’t require an environmental impact assessment and can be installed in places where the residues are being produced, making the license process easier.
5 – It’s a flexible solution that works with a ton of residues a day, whereas incineration and landfill need much higher amounts of residues to be viable.
Considering these information, Quercus believes that the Portuguese government should study this solution as urgently as possible, use the anaerobic digesters that already exist and install new ones in slaughter-houses and in animal by-products processing units.
It’s urgent to consider and implement this solution in order to prevent the spending of 50 million euros, every year, by the Portuguese government. This amount is being spent to manage 270 tons of these residues, including transport, storing, shredding, sterilizing and landfilling or incineration.
For more information: Resíduos Agrícolas - BSE
Coruche, 9th of October 2002
Quercus – Associação Nacional de Conservação da Natureza
Quercus – National Association for Nature Conservation
Contacts: +351 217 788 473, Rui Berkemeier (+ 351 934 256 581)