Quantification of material recovery from meat waste incineration – An approach to an updated food waste hierarchy

Abstract

The meat industry generates a significant amount of hazardous waste, containing phosphorus, calcium, and other elements which could be the basis for other products. This work presents the results of research on the thermal utilisation of bone meat waste and the use of the ash thus obtained as a substitute for phosphorus raw materials. Material Flow Analysis was used to quantify and assess the option with the highest material productivity. Such a solution can be in line with an updated pyramid of food waste hierarchy already proposed in the literature, distinguishing surplus food and a new category for recycling of materials, in analysed case food waste, in the circular economy. The research is based on the example of real data from a Polish meat producer. The quantity of waste from primary production and meat manufacturing containing waste bone in Poland was estimated to be 232,000 t/y (24.0% of the total quantity of meat waste). Its thermal utilisation potentially allows 71,118 t/y of hydroxyapatite ash, a substitute for phosphorites, to be obtained. The high quality hydroxyapatite ash could be used for the production of food grade phosphoric acid and also for the production of food grade mono- and dicalcium feed phosphates.