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Alkaline Hydrolysis

Alkaline Hydrolysis

BioSAFE Life Sciences’ process uses alkaline hydrolysis at elevated temperature and pressure to convert the proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids of all cells and tissues, as well as infectious microorganisms, to a sterile aqueous solution of small peptides, amino acids, sugars, soaps, and electrolytes. The alkali itself is consumed in the process by generating the salts of the hydrolysis products. The only byproducts of the alkaline hydrolysis process are the mineral constituents of the bones and teeth of vertebrates. These are soft enough after the organic matter has been degraded to be easily crushed (even by bare hands) and recovered as calcium phosphate powder (sterile bone meal). The alkaline hydrolysis process will:
  • Convert animal, human, and microbial tissues into a sterile, neutral, aqueous solution suitable for disposal to a sanitary sewer.
  • Sterilize and digests in one operation, reducing waste volume and weight by up to 97% and completely destroying all known pathogens.
  • Eliminate radioactivity contaminated tissues and neutralizes toxic fixing agents, cytotoxic agents, and many other toxic compounds.
  • Release NO materials to the atmosphere.
  • Operate at a fraction of the cost of an incinerator.

Alkaline Hydrolysis

Although some slight process variability may exist due to moisture level and makeup of material being consumed, in general, our validatable and repeatable alkaline hydrolysis process works as follows: 

  1. To begin the process, the vessel must be loaded with tissue and sealed by the operator. The operator then presses the touchscreen and the cycle begins. After the operator has initiated the cycle, the digestion cycle runs completely unattended.
  2. During operation, a measured amount of alkali is pumped from a supply tank and process water is added. Both are added based on tissue weight measured by the built-in load cells. Once alkali and water are added, the recirculation pump is turned on and the vessel contents are heated via a steam jacket and/or steam heating coils. The digestion solution is continuously recirculated during the pre-programmed exposure time. The tissues rapidly dissolve and are hydrolyzed into smaller and smaller molecules. When this cycle is complete, a cooling cycle brings the temperature of the hydrolysate to an appropriate temperature for discharge. The unit is then drained and the remaining inorganic materials are rinsed.
  3. Digestion time is 3-4 hours for processing a fully loaded unit heated to 300˚F (~150˚C) maximum temperature, plus 2-4 hours for heat-up, cool down, rinsing, and draining. A total process of loading animals, filling, heating, cooking, cooling, rinsing, and draining can take 5-8 hours depending on a number of variables. Your process time is greatly influenced by the steam pressure provided, type of animal tissue, amount of animal tissue, size of whole animal carcasses, and the amount of alkali used in processing. The temperature, exposure time, water to tissue ratio, and recommended alkali to tissue ratios for particular loads, selected after extensive laboratory testing,

After the cycle is complete, the operator unseals the vessel and removes the basket with any remaining solids, empties the basket, and returns it to the vessel. The removed solids are ready for disposal as normal refuse or recycling as described above.