Assessing the economic viability of an animal byproduct rendering plant: Case study of a slaughterhouse in Greece

Abstract

Continuous human population growth has led to increased livestock production and hence large quantities of animal byproducts. One of the oldest and most efficient animal byproducts processing techniques is rendering, which facilitates the recovery of resources in the form of fat and protein flour. The purpose of this study is to provide data for the feasibility of rendering as a treatment method. The case of a Greek slaughterhouse is presented, regarding its animal byproduct treatment process through rendering and incineration. Three different waste management scenarios are compared, with rendering proving to have a lower operational cost (€51.80/ton) compared to incineration (€74.10/ton), and rendering followed by incineration (€72.13/ton). The rendering process is then compared with other established animal byproduct treatment methods like composting and anaerobic digestion through the analytic hierarchy process, in terms of environmental, economic, and technological efficiency, with rendering (having a final score of 72%) proving once again superior compared to composting (with a score of 54%), and anaerobic digestion (with a score of 55%).