Biogas production and Phosphorus-recovery from animal by-products with thermal pressure hydrolysis (TPH)

As a result of growing meat consumption and production the slaughtering and rendering industry has an increasing output of non-consumable animal by-products. According to Commission Regulation (EU) No 142/2011 the established treatment and disposal technologies are too energy intensive and do not fulfill sustainability criteria. Therefore, new ways of treatment for raw slaughterhouse waste products and pre-treated materials from rendering plants have been established. An effective approach is the sustainable energy production from animal by-products with Thermal Pressure Hydrolysis combined with anaerobic digestion. The pre-treatment guarantees a complete sterilization even of highly infectious contaminated materials. In addition, the recovery of phosphorous from slaughterhouse waste can be a sustainable solution for the challenges of global phosphorous management, too.