Colombian pig farmers raise pigs to increase their income, but today, the process can produce a lot of waste, which can have impacts on the environment and human health.
Researchers from Universidad del Valle (Univalle), together with national and international collaborators, have identified ways to use biotechnology (technology derived from biological systems and living organisms) to convert waste into value-added products such as biogas, algae, biopolymers and biofertilizers in a biorefinery model.
Global pork production was estimated at 109.2 million tons in 2020, according to an FAO report of 2021.
Dr. Janeth Sanabría, a professor at the School of Natural Resources and Environmental Engineering (EIDENAR) and director of the project "Research and Experimental Development of a Sustainable Model in Biofuel Generation and Value Added Products from Agricultural and Agroindustrial Waste, Residual Biomass in the Pig Industry in Valle del Cauca", explained that it is very important to find a use for waste that can generate income for the farmer and reduce the environmental impact.
"The swine industry is one of the industries most affected by the changes in water discharge regulations, and it is also an activity that generates risks due to the use of antibiotics to support the animals," Professor Sanabría said.
The Research
"To begin with, we visited rural areas to examine production processes and waste on pig farms," said Professor Sanabría, adding that pig waste has great potential to be value-added and to use biotechnological alternatives to produce favorable results.
Animal wastes are rich in carbon, nitrogen and other minerals. It is possible to put them in a bioreactor, i.e. a tank where microorganisms can transform one chemical to another and then to another and another.
Erika Y. Ortiz Montoya, a full-time professor of the School of Applied Sciences and Sustainable Industry at the Universidad ICESI, an expert in microalgae cultivation and a collaborator on the project explained that the liquid product could nourish microalgae (plants) that produce biopolymers and other bioproducts.
The goal is to use anaerobic digestion (a process without oxygen) in a bioreactor to process feces, urine, animal or food waste to sludge (for fertilizer), liquid material and methane.
"For the liquid stream we proposed to cultivate microalgae using it as part of the nutrient culture medium," said Prof. Ortiz and added that algae generate a biomass that can also be very interesting in terms of composition and in terms of products from this biomass, fatty acids, bioactive compounds, dyes, carbohydrates for further fermentation or biofuels.
"We already showed that we can do it biologically, it is working in the lab," Prof. Sanabría said and added that the next step would be to implement it at scale.
"The processes are at the forefront in the world and being able to scale what is done in the laboratories to pilot plants represents an opportunity as a product model with a vision of commercialization benefiting pig farms," Professor Ortiz said.
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Photo: A student is building a bioreactor. Credit: Professor Janeth Sanabría
International and National Collaborators
Luc Patiny, a Swiss chemist and Scientific Director of Zakodium knows Professor Sanabría in Switzerland and collaborated with her to do workshops to develop an open hardware bioreactor with students from Colombia and Switzerland.
Patiny explained that at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne there is an association where students have a strong desire to travel to different countries.
"Many students from this association have visited Dr. Janeth's Laboratory for these students, who have acquired important theoretical knowledge, it is fascinating to apply their experience to practical and meaningful projects," Patiny said.
"This project was multidisciplinary and required collaborations with different experts at the university," Sanabría said.
Other entities that collaborated with the project were Universidad Nacional - Sede Palmira and Universidad ICESI, with funding from the Valle del Cauca's national royalties system.
If you are interested in contacting the researcher or learning more about the project, please write to the Communications Office, Faculty of Engineering: comunicaingenieria(at)correounivalle.edu.co.
Cover photo: Professor Janeth Sanabría. Credit: Alexander Bejarano/NCC-FI/Univalle
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