MEAT+POULTRY - November 2024 - 32

CONFERENCE RECAP
Useful waste
Bluera, Gran Santiago, Región
Metropolitana de Santiago, Chile, is
an environmental startup dedicated to
advancing the circular economy and
waste-to-energy conversion through
proprietary technologies. The company
partners with governments, municipalities
and industries to implement sustainable
waste management solutions that drive
environmental and economic impact.
Jean Benoit, chief innovation officer at
Bluera SpA and Christobal Hurtado,
business manager, presented the
company's Bluebox concept. The
Bluebox converts waste to energy onsite
through patent pending anoxic thermo
dissociation. The process is a " low
pressure hyperfast pyrolysis [rapidly
heating biomass to very high temperatures
in the absence of oxygen] " facility
working in partial vacuum conditions,
without the presence of air and oxygen,
leading to non fossil fuels production.
The example of a poultry processing
configuration would have the Bluebox
onsite at the plant. Garbage, tissues,
paper, cardboard, polystyrene, bags,
plastic films, gloves, boots, masks,
greases, etc., would be shredded,
while residues, feathers, dead birds,
remains of pulp and discarded meat,
viscera, blood, bones, sludge, etc., go
through the process of high temperature
torrefaction (a thermal treatment
process that involves heating biomass
in an oxygen-deprived environment to
temperatures of up to 300°C) yielding
water and a dry powder of the biomass.
The materials after those processes
enter the anoxic thermo dissociation unit
(Bluebox) and come out in the forms of
useable steam, heating, cooling and
electricity.
32 MEAT+POULTRY | 11.24 | www.meatpoultry.com
" Horizon 1 is where we want to be, " Shaw said. " That's where
something that you've developed is now starting to take hold, and
people are interested, and you're actually getting systems in plant
and tested. "
Much of the technology covered at IFAN falls into this type
of tiered system in which it is not necessarily ready to purchase
off the shelf for meat and poultry applications currently but is
close enough that the industry will likely see it in the near and
middle future.
GAPS AND OPPORTUNITIES
The first session of presenters at IFAN included industry
professionals that shared their perspectives on the gaps and
opportunities that exist in the food processing arena.
Juanfra DeVillena, PhD, senior vice president of quality
assurance and food safety at Oakwood, Ga.-based WayneSanderson
Farms presented his perspective with a wish list in
the poultry industry. After covering technologies the poultry
processing industry currently has at its disposal, he went on to
talk about the things he'd like to see adopted. Scanners for the
litter in chicken houses to detect Campylobacter or Salmonella
and automated bird hanging were just two of the opportunities
he identified. He also mentioned that an in-plant system capable
of detecting an undercooked bird immediately out of the oven as
another opportunity.
" Cameras or whatever you want to call it right after the ovens,
that would tell me that piece right there is undercooked and I'm
going to kick it out, eject it, " DeVillena said. " I don't care what
you do with it, but if we can solve that we will be solving the
third-largest reason for our recalls. "
Brian McFarlane, Windsor, Colo.-based McFarlane
Enterprises USA, and red meat processing industry veteran spoke
to the technical challenges facing automation in the red meat
processing industry. At the top of the list, as with almost every
processing plant regardless of species, were food and worker
safety, but other difficulties include size variation of carcasses,
facility age and structure, and technology needs, as well as costs/
margins and optimizing yields.
CUTTING AND TRIMMING
Session two at IFAN appealed to meat processors interested
in implementing robotics within the processing plant. While
incorporating robots into processing lines in the form of split
saws and in packaging is not new, the presenters at IFAN spoke
about applications for robots to be used to debone and trim.
Kazuhiro Hattori, PhD, division manager of R&D for
Mayekawa Mfg. Co., Ibaraki, Japan, with plants and offices
across the globe, showcased Mayekawa's CELLDAS concept.
The CELLDAS presentation focused mainly on the fully robotic
deboning of pork primals.
CELLDAS is a system consisting of a recognition unit and
multiple cells. Each cell contains one or more multiple axis
(depending on designated process) robotic arms. Each cell is
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MEAT+POULTRY - November 2024

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