by Chris Cope (Shetland News) There are plans for a facility in Lerwick which would turn dead fish into fertiliser as well as biodiesel. SEM Energy has successfully applied to vary its licence with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) for the project.
The licence for the company’s existing facility at the Greenhead Base is for storing and processing dead fish, but the variation will allow staff to extract valuable resources from the waste.
It is proposed that around 3,500 tonnes of category two fish mortality waste would be received every year.
Creating sustainable by-products, the solids would be used for fertiliser production, and the resulting fish oil would go towards the production of biodiesel.
A spokesperson for SEM said: “We are engaged with a variety of stakeholders across the islands with the objective of achieving best available practice, and during this process to date, we aren’t aware of this type of process happening elsewhere in Shetland.”
Biodiesel is a form of fuel derived from plants or animals, and it offers carbon savings compared to traditional diesel.
There is said to be a growing demand for biodiesel, and SEM has received interest from industries such as agriculture, marine, power generation and transport.
And the company might not stop at fertiliser and biodiesel, with research ongoing into “additional applications and markets”.
SEM recently sought to recruit a manager for its Lerwick site, overseeing the daily operations of the fish acceptance and processing facility.
Head of project delivery Gary Broadley said the project fits in with the company’s wider portfolio of services, “which are focused on reducing CO2 emissions, repurposing waste and protecting our precious waters”. READ MORE