China's 22 seconds animal feed making process

Experts have found a way to create a new protein for animal feed from industrial gas in just 22 seconds.

Chinese scientists have found a way to make animal feed from CO on an industrial scale - a breakthrough that could help the country reduce its dependence on imported soybeans, SCMP reported on October 31.

China imports large amounts of soybeans each year, most of which are used for animal feed. (Photo: EPA-EFE)

The new method uses emissions containing CO and CO2 , a by-product of industrial processes such as oil refining, to create a synthetic cellular protein called Clostridium autoethanogenum , according to the team at Beijing Biotechnology Co. Shoulang and the Animal Feed Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS). The exhaust gas undergoes a series of treatment processes including fermentation, oxidation, distillation and dehydration, which convert nitrogen and carbon into organic matter.

Previously, scientists knew proteins could be produced in this way. However, the Chinese team says that the speed and efficiency of the process they developed make the method viable on an industrial scale. Currently, they have the capacity to produce tens of thousands of tons a year.

The new achievement will change the traditional way of natural protein production, providing a "sharp weapon" for the soy protein feed industry, while serving the goal of zero greenhouse gas emissions and helping farmers industrial processes become greener, according to Dai Xiaofeng, director of the Animal Feed Research Institute.

"If steel manufacturers, coal power plants, petrochemical companies and coal treatment plants in China can adopt this technology, it will be a carbon revolution that improves the carbon cycle, the process of carbon extraction and capture, brings outstanding economic, social, ecological and strategic benefits," Dai said.

China is currently unable to produce enough food to feed its rapidly growing livestock industry, so it imports more than 100 million tons of soybeans a year, accounting for about 80% of total consumption. Producing 10 million tons of the cellular protein Clostridium autoethanogenum a year using the new technology would be equivalent to importing 28 million tons of soybeans, according to Xue Min, an expert at CAAS and a member of the research team.

The natural synthesis of proteins usually takes place in plants or in plant-specific microorganisms, requiring natural photosynthesis and many complex biological processes. But the process is slow and inefficient, resulting in low protein content. However, the team says that the new method can overcome these limitations and produce a substance with high protein content in just 22 seconds.