The technology will reduce China’s reliance on soybean imports. It is the world’s largest importer of soybeans, buying about 100 million tonnes per year.
The Feed Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) says it has worked with Beijing Shoulang Biological Technology to speed up a gas fermentation process to create a single cell protein that could be fed to animals, according to a report on Sunday on a website run by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
The team has started operating a facility in northern Hebei province to turn steel-making tail gas into 5,000 tonnes of protein a year, according to state media People’s Daily.
The protein produced has been approved by the agriculture ministry for feeding to animals, the report said. No details were provided on the cost of production.
At least 10 other start-ups around the world are also using synthetic biology to create animal feed, using waste gases as a feedstock for bacteria or other protein-rich microorganmisms.
In Britain, Deep Branch plans to use carbon dioxide from a power station to make protein for fish and poultry.
Calysta in United States is a partner with Cargill for a 200,000-tonne single cell protein plant in Tennessee.
