Data from: Alkaline hydrolysis of poultry carcasses and health risk assessment of exposure to target volatile organic compounds

This dataset was used in the generation of the paper titled: Alkaline hydrolysis of poultry carcasses and health risk assessment of exposure to target volatile organic compounds, published in the Journal of the ASABE, 2024, 67(2), 373-384.

Animal carcass management is an essential part of a livestock production system. Alkaline hydrolysis is a relatively new disposal method used to digest and break down animal tissues. Despite the effectiveness of inactivating pathogens, alkaline hydrolysis has not been widely accepted as a disposal method because of high capital and operating costs, especially when done at high temperatures and pressure. The objectives of this research were 1) to test the efficacy of alkaline hydrolysis treatment of poultry carcasses at ambient temperature and pressure, and 2) to identify odor-causing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from the carcasses during the process and to calculate the health risks of exposure to these VOCs. 1M, 2M, and 4M potassium hydroxide solutions were used to hydrolysate chicken carcasses, and the headspace was sampled using 85 µm Carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane (CAR/PDMS) solid phase microextraction (SPME) fibers. The pH of the hydrolysates stayed above 13.1 during the study, which was a promising result in eliminating pathogens of concern. Concentrations of target VOCs fluctuated over 10 weeks, and concentrations of trimethyl amine, acetic acid, and propionic acid exceeded their recommended exposure limits. It was found that more than 17% of the workers exposed to the headspace gases 3h a day are at a high risk of developing serious chronic health problems. The results of this study indicated that alkaline hydrolysis of chicken carcasses at ambient conditions is feasible, but the exposure to headspace gases should be limited to less than 1h.

All data was generated from lab-based experiments by co-authors.