under the brand name Metaprin. The production technology differs from that used in other similar projects arounf the world, and is in many ways, superior to that used for Gaprin production several decades ago.
“We do not use external recycling of cell culture fluid and we work with air, not oxygen, which delivers energy savings and this is one of the main components of the production costs of bioprotein,” said Nikolay Kutafin, development director at Methanica. “The company has also abandoned airlift mixing, which inhibits the cells of microorganisms. Besides that, the production site does not have a cooling circuit in the fer- menter, and there is no post-fermentation gas, which makes it possible to produce a tonne of protein using no more than two thousand cubic metres of gas,” he added. The company also uses several different strains of bacteria, each of which performs an important role. “All the internal laminar-vortex motion of the cell culture fluid is carried out thanks to the use of a specially developed mixing aeration head,” Kutafin ex- plained. There is a shortage of protein ranging between 1.5 million to 2 million tonnes per year in Russia. Metaprin is designed primarily to replace fishmeal in the diets of poultry, pigs, and cattle. “Fishmeal is the main competitor of Metap- rin. However, Metaprin is superior in terms of protein, amino
acids, vitamins and microelements. It has sustainable quality. Its production and composition characteristics do not de- pend on weather conditions and the time of year and its use is more convenient for livestock workers,” Kutafin said.
In Russia, fishmeal is of uneven quality, even within a single consignment, and sometimes it appears to be adulterated. “Metaprin is added to feed at levels ranging from 2.5% to 30% of the total product mass. One tonne of metaprin can balance the protein content of 20 tonnes of feed,” Kutafin said, adding that meat products obtained from animals fed with this type of bioprotein are absolutely safe for humans, which has been confirmed in multiple studies, including in the European Union. The company is working on an experi- mental 100 m3
plant for protein biosynthesis, with production
capacity up to 4000 tonnes of protein per year. “We envisage a modular approach to plant construction. It allows us to quickly ramp up production by putting new 100 m3
ferment-
ers into operation,” Kutafin said. Some big investment groups in Russia have already expressed an interest in the new tech- nology, mulling plans to build a plant with a designed pro- duction performance of 50,000 tonnes per year. The country is also among the world’s leaders in terms of oil, gas, and coal production, which opens opportunities for protein
▶ ALL ABOUT FEED | Volume 28, No. 7, 2020 11
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36
