Transforming Methane into Fish Feed

Mitigating Emissions by transforming Methane into Fish Feed

Methane is 28 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide and is estimated to have contributed to 0.5 degrees Celsius warming since 1990. In Bangladesh, the waste sector emits over 2,000 tons of methane per day. With low-income countries expected to triple waste production by 2050, reducing the climate change impact of landfills is essential for sustainable economic growth. 

The Stanford Human and Planetary Health Initiative has adapted a technology that feeds waste methane into a methanotrophic bioreactor to produce protein rich-biomass, which can be harvested as single-cell protein. This single-cell protein is then substituted for the protein in fish feed. This innovation reduces methane emissions, lowers fish feed costs, and increases food security.

Fish feed is crucial for aquaculture, a key source of nutrition in many low and middle-income countries. Imported raw materials contribute more than 50% of the total cost of fish feed production in Bangladesh. Locally produced food increases resilience against climate change and global food shortages, especially in impoverished communities.

The Stanford Human and Planetary Health Initiative and Stanford engineers are partnering with Bangladesh Agricultural University, Innovision Consulting, and icddr,b to expand this innovation and boost the production and marketing of affordable, high-protein fish feed.

With start-up funding, the team has built a lab-scale bioreactor that produces single-cell protein from methane. The next phase is to construct a larger reactor to assess technical and financial feasibility, scaling up a model that reduces greenhouse gasses, lowers fish feed costs, creates new economic opportunities, and improves food security and nutrition. 

People

Steve Luby, Chungheon Shin, Craig Criddle, Xinyu Teng, Sahar El Abbadi, Mahbub Rahman, JSM Mahedi, Rubaiyath Sarwar, Lori Giver, Allan LeBlanc, Yelena Stegantseva, Adam Brandt, Evan Sherwin, Kaniz Fatema

Partners and Funders 

icddr,b, Innovision Consulting, Calysta, Inc, Stanford TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy, Stanford Office of International Affairs, Stanford Center for South Asia, Stanford Natural Gas Initiative

Select Publications 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-021-00796-2

^{Image Credit: Sudhakar Bisen}