Characterization of protein recovered from poultry processing
wastewater
 
 

Y.M. Lo and D. Cao
Department of Animal and Food Sciences
Agriculture and Natural Resources 
University of Delaware
531 S. College Ave
Newark, DE 19717
ymlo@udel.edu
(302) 831-1045
 

Protein from carcass debris and blood is one of the major
pollutants in the poultry processing wastewater (PPW) and requires intensive
treatment before being discharged.  Attempts to utilize the protein as
fertilizer or animal feed were unsuccessful due to their low profitability.
However, the value of protein could be leveraged if it could be used as
fermentation nitrogen source.  Ultrafiltration (UF), a membrane-based
process, has been successfully employed for protein purification in dairy
industry.  We hypothesize that UF may be an effective means to recover
protein from PPW.