A cooperation between Pennotec and hoelschertechnic-gorator® GmbH & Co. KG has led to the development of a containerised system for demonstrating the highly efficient de-fleshing of crustacean and mollusc shell.
Gorator® maceration technology can process the hardest of shells – even crab claw – to generate fragments of entirely ‘free-of-flesh’ shell in user-specified size ranges of between 0.5mm and 3mm. Pennotec’s commercial-scale demonstrator system has the capability to process between 2 and 5 tonnes of shell a day depending on shell type.
Recent crab shell maceration trials at Jonas Seafood Ltd., in Cromer, Norfolk, UK has demonstrated the potential for widespread carbon impact savings for the shellfish processing industry.
Jonas Seafoods produces five to eight tonnes of crab waste each week, which currently has to be cool stored before heavy goods vehicle transport for 30 miles to landfill. Shell disposal currently costs the business £40,000 a year, which will only rise in the future as environmental legislation limits disposal options.
Hiring Pennotec’s gorator® maceration and shell de-fleshing primary processing system has also allowed Jonas Seafood to re-evaluate their crab shell a potential new source of revenue – rather than a costly waste. In cooperation with Pennotec’s scientists and engineers Jonas Seafoods is now exploring:
- Shell-derived water cleaning, horticultural and eco-friendly mineral products.
- Recovered crab meat as a locally-sourced alternative to imported animal feed.
Both product lines offer substantial economic and carbon impact savings when compared to the cost and environmental impact of the imported goods that they will potentially replace. To learn more about Pennotec’s gorator® maceration technology and to organise a demonstration trial, contact us here