Factors contributing to the poor bulk behavior of meat and bone meal and methods for improving these behaviors

Meat and bone meal (MBM), a product of the rendering industry, is a potential feedstock for numerous bio-based applications. Design of processing equipment for MBM is difficult due to MBM’s bulk behaviors; it flows less easily than many other granular materials, and it tends to foul the surfaces of processing equipment. This study examines the major factors contributing to MBM’s poor bulk behavior, including moisture content, fat content, particle size distribution and temperature, and the relative importance of these factors. Potential methods for improving MBM’s bulk properties, including use of an anti-caking agent, dehydration, fat extraction, milling and refrigeration are also studied. The effects of these factors were determined by a standard laboratory measurement, the Hausner ratio, as well as by the rate of surface-fouling and dust generation using a pilot-scale aspirator. In contrast to past studies with other granular materials, moisture content was shown to have an insignificant effect on MBM’s bulk behavior. The results, however, show that MBM fat content is a major determinant of the bulk behavior of the MBM. Reduction of fat content resulted in major changes in MBM’s bulk behavior, by all measures used. Less dramatic changes were achieved through refrigeration to solidify the fat and/or treatment with an anti-caking agent.