Biodiesel potential of rendered fat from avian influenza infected poultry in a burial site

Abstract

To test the feasibility of biodiesel production using rendered fat from avian influenza (AI) infected poultry in a burial site, we conducted a laboratory-scale transesterification. Each content of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) was identified to estimate the characteristics of produced biodiesel. Analytical results of the whole FAME profile show that the rendered fat from AI carcass can be a useful source of biodiesel production. The results show 47% of total fat mass can be recovered as biodiesel. Although natural biodegradation in the burial site and soil impurities lowered the yield, the compositional properties of FAMEs confirm that the produced biodiesel presents adequate fuel characteristics, satisfying common biodiesel specifications. These findings provide evidence that our approach can be a viable option to recycle buried carcass sustainably while terminating burial sites.