Integrated Fish Oil Production from Tuna Processing Waste Using the LimoFish Process

The LimoFish process was applied to the by-products of the canned tuna industry under mild and safe extraction and solvent recovery conditions. The process affords a valued fish oil (“TunaOil”) rich in health beneficial polyunsaturated and monounstaturated fatty acids in triglyceride form (and tocopherol from fish processing by-products (viscera, skin and head) so far primarily used to produce fishmeal. The oil yields vary between remarkably high yield of 13% for TunaOil extracted from the head, and 1–2% for oils sourced from viscera. Employed together, the LimoFish and anaerobic co-digestion processes close the material cycle for the world’s most commercially valuable fish, converting abundant biological resources into valued bioproducts (fish oil, biomethane and fertilizers). Limonene readily recovered after TunaOil extraction is reused in subsequent extraction runs.