AminoLab Co., a Korean biotech company, has completed the country’s first processing facility designed to upcycle slaughter animal blood into amino acid feed supplement, fertilizer, cosmetic and pharmaceutical ingredients.

AminoLab founded in 2013 is a waste upcycling company that has developed a unique enzyme decomposition processing technology.

The new facility on a 5,126 square meter site in Sejong is equipped with advanced automation equipment, eco-friendly R&D machinery, and large-scale warehouses to produce up to 900 tons of feed supplements and 420 tons of fertilizer nutrients per year, the company said on Wednesday.

A total of 10 billion won ($7.85 million) was invested in the eco-friendly food-grade ambient facility with almost no pollution rising from odor, dust, or wastewater during the processing of slaughter animal blood.

The company said it was already granted a claim for waste disposal expenses to slaughterhouses as a waste comprehensive recycling company licensed from Sejong City, a business model to enable stability in supply of slaughter animal blood and profitability.

Slaughter animal blood is not properly consumed even though it is a good source of edible proteins. Only 10 percent of the generated amount is recycled worldwide. It takes several hundred tons of water and chemicals to treat 1 ton of wastewater from slaughterhouses.

AminoLab said it will respond to domestic demand with mass production of amino acid supplements for animals that are more effective than plasma protein, while actively exploring environmentally sensitive markets with great growth potential, such as North America and Europe.

Because plasma protein feed is relied entirely on imports, it is subject to price volatility and supply challenges amid rising raw material prices from protracted war between Russia and Ukraine, both major feed suppliers. Field tests show the company’s amino acid supplements used at fish, chicken and pig farms led to higher immunity, lower mortality, and weigh gains.

By Yang Yeon-ho and Minu Kim

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