FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 31, 2014
Menon Renewable Products, Inc.
Independent Fish Feed Formulation Trials Demonstrate MrFeed™ Has Comparable Growth and Survivability to Standard Feeds
MrFeed™ Shows Strong Potential to be a Sustainable Mercury-free Source of Protein and Amino Acids in Fish Feed
SAN DIEGO, January 31, 2014 – Menon Renewable Products, Inc., a sustainable biomass conversion company that converts low-value organic feedstocks to high value products using its CelTherm™ process, today announced that MrFeed™, Menon’s renewable feed product, demonstrated comparable growth and survivability to standard feeds in independent fish trials. The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) trialed formulations with MrFeed™, against standard formulations at Kampachi Farms, LLC, Hawaii. The work was funded by National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Kampachi Farms – an independent commercial fish farm with operations in both Hawaii and Mexico – conducted the trials of the USDA’s formulations and provided test results to both the USDA and NOAA. These results will also be made publicly available under the NOAA grant.
In the 56-day trial, the diets containing MrFeed™ showed weight gains comparable to standard diets. Survivability of fish fed the formulations containing MrFeed™ was comparable to survivability of the fish on standard diets.
“Having seen the results of multiple trials with MrFeed™ in Rainbow Trout and Amberjack (kampachi) from work performed by the USDA and Kampachi Farms in 2013, MrFeed™ has demonstrated strong potential to be a sustainable source of protein and amino acids for aquaculture feeds,” stated Suresh Menon, Ph.D, President of Menon Renewable Products, Inc. “Given the strong results demonstrated with MrFeed™, our team will continue working with the USDA and Kampachi Farms to take advantage of MrFeed’s™ unique properties.”
Dr. Menon further stated, “With continued USDA input we can further advance our product to improve both its nutritional and economic values. MrFeed™ has the potential for representing the next generation of sustainable feed ingredients. MrFeed™ is a mercury-free product that is capable of being produced from abundant sustainable natural resources to help our environment.”
Menon CelTherm™ Platform Technology
Menon’s CelTherm™ conversion technology has been validated to produce primary feed ingredients through independent fish feed formulation trials under the direction of the Agricultural Research Service of the USDA, and with funding by NOAA. The CelTherm™ process produces additional high value byproducts that have been government-validated as meeting specifications required for Renewable Hydrocarbon Fuels (“rHFuels™), specifically, jet, diesel and biodiesel fuel. In addition to Menon’s financial resources, the company has received funding for producing and testing rHFuels™ and MrFeed™ by the U.S. Government’s Defense Advance Research Project Agency (DARPA), the Office of Naval Research, the State of California, and the USDA. Menon has received notification from the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy – Department of Energy, after extensive evaluation, that Menon’s technology “has merit.” U.S. Government-sponsored and independent commercial studies have been conducted on over 100 different types of feedstock over a six-year period.
For the last three years Menon has developed and refined performance and operations on a wide variety of readily available, low value organic materials using the CelTherm™ technology in commercial size tanks as large as 40,000 liters. This commercial tank enables the production of large quantities of high protein feed for animal trials using the feedstock most readily available near the processing site to reduce shipping costs.
Menon plans to retrofit industrial tanks up to 2.8 million liters at existing ethanol facilities to implement the CelTherm™ process. The CelTherm™ process achieves conversion of feedstock to high value products in 4-7 days, or can be operated in a continuous production mode for up to 30 days. With production already proven in commercial size tanks, Menon has obtained approval from several ethanol facility owners to retrofit their existing facilities to the CelTherm™ process for the production of MrFeed™, a much higher value product than ethanol.
About Menon Renewable Products, Inc.
Menon Renewable Products is a sustainable biomass conversion company that converts low-value organic feedstocks to high value products using its CelTherm™ process. Two such products, MrFeed™ and rHFuels™ have been validated through independent testing and government-sponsored studies on more than 100 types of feedstocks over six years.
About the NOAA Grant
This research was funded by NOAA through Grant Number NA12NMF4520043, entitled “Alternative Dietary Protein Sources and Alternative High-Value Species for Expansion of Domestic U.S. Marine Fish Aquaculture”.
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