Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Fish farming in the United States is facing challenges due to the limited supply and high cost of fishmeal, which is a key ingredient in fish feed. This project aims to create a high-quality, affordable, and sustainable alternative to fishmeal by using brewer's spent grain, a byproduct of the beer-making process that is often thrown away. We will develop a process to separate and concentrate the protein from the spent grain to create a high-protein feed ingredient (HPF). We will then test the effectiveness of HPF as a replacement for fishmeal in fish diets through feeding trials. Additionally, we will analyze the costs and benefits of this new technology and share their findings with the industry to encourage its adoption. By the end of the project, we will have an economically feasible and environmentally friendly method to convert brewer's spent grain into a high-protein powder that fish farmers can use instead of fishmeal. This will benefit both the fish farming and brewing industries in the United States. The fish farming industry will have access to a high-quality, sustainable protein source for their fish feed, while the brewing industry can potentially earn money from their spent grain, which is currently considered waste.
Animal Health Component
50%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
20%
Applied
70%
Developmental
10%
Goals / Objectives
The overall goalof this integrated research and extension proposal is to produce a high quality, sustainable, affordable fishmeal alternative by harnessing the untapped potential of spent grain and to bring the awareness of the technology for industrial adoption. The specific objectives are:1)Develop a fractionation process to separate and concentrate protein from spent grain, aiming to produce a high-protein feedstuff (HPF);2)Assess the efficacy of HPF as a fishmeal replacer in fish feed through fish feeding trials; and 3)Conduct economic analyses and outreach activities to foster technology adoption.
Project Methods
Under Objective 1, we will develop a chemical/enzymatic fractionation process to separate and concentrate spent grain's protein for producing HPFs, and comprehensively evaluate chemical and nutritional profiles of the produced HPFs, and conduct process scale-up. After the completion of Obj. 1, we will have a robust process to produce highly nutritious HPF from spent grain and enough HPF for fish feeding trials under Obj. 2.Under Objective 2, we will determine the digestibility of HPF in vivo using the referenced method, followed by fish feeding trials to examine the replacement level of fishmeal by HPF in fish diets. Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) will be used as the representative fish in the feeding trials. Rainbow trout is a species of salmonid. Salmonids are the most cultured family of carnivorous fishes. Commercial feed formulations for salmonids currently incorporate 30-45% fishmeal and the salmonid industry is consuming one third of the total amount of fishmeal used in aquaculture feeds.Under Objective 3, we will first conduct rigorous techno-economic analysis to quantify the production cost of HPF from spent grain. Subsequently, we'll use enterprise budgeting strategies to outline costs for fish production utilizing HPF. With the economic metrics in hand, we will conduct a wide range of outreach activities to reach out aquacultural farmers, feed mills, and breweries for technology adoption.