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Sigurjón Arason
Chief Engineer
sigurjon.arason@matis.is
Process control of pelagic fish crude oil / Process control of pelagic fish crude oil
The aim of this preliminary project was to analyze different currents in fishmeal and fish oil processing of pelagic species. Emphasis was placed on analyzing the fatty acid composition of liquids at different points in the liquid separator. It is believed that the product of the project can lead to improved production of pelagic fish body oil, as it will be possible to produce fish oil with different proportions of polyunsaturated fatty acids (such as EPA and DHA). By extracting the fish oil from different liquid streams, fish oil can be obtained with different properties and thus increase the value of fish oil products produced in fishmeal and fish oil factories. Significant variability in the fatty acid composition was measured in the samples, both by fish species and at the sampling site. The samples all had in common that monounsaturated fatty acids were in the majority independent of fish species and sampling site. Polyunsaturated and saturated fatty acids followed. There was evidence that the longer polyunsaturated fatty acids degrade as the process progresses. With improved processing processes, it would be possible to start producing high-quality fish oil products for human consumption. It is therefore necessary to go into a much more detailed analysis of the whole process, but the results of this project indicate that there is still a long way to go.
The objective of the project was to identify different streams during production of fishmeal and oil from pelagic fish. Emphasis was placed on analyzing the fatty acid composition of streams collected at different processing steps. It is believed that the results can lead to improved production of pelagic fish oil, since it will be possible to produce fish oil with various proportions of polyunsaturated fatty acids (such as EPA and DHA). Considerable variability was observed between the collected samples, both by species as well as where in the process the samples were collected. Monounsaturated fatty acids were majority in all the samples, regardless of fish species and sampling location. Moreover, the results indicated that the longer polyunsaturated fatty acids can break down as the process goes further. With improved processing control, it is possible to produce high quality oil products intended for human consumption. A comprehensive analysis on the entire process is however necessary.
Report closed until 01.11.2020