Circular economy, turning decay into magic: heparin extraction from pig viscera

The transformation of industrial waste into valuable resources is an increasingly important concept. At Taiwanâ–™s National Cheng Kung University a multi-disciplinary team has been working towards the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations member states in 2015 and has developed a method of extracting a valuable medical drug called heparin from agricultural waste. The researchers have combined the advantages of chemical engineering and biotechnology to effectively improve the extraction efficiency and purity of heparin and protected it with technology patents. This exciting innovation could solve the problem of waste disposal from pork production while creating a high-medical value resource from that waste and the residue of the production process could be transformed into fertiliser and animal feed. As such, the researchers believe the application of this technology will help improve the economic productivity of pig farmers and promote environmentally sustainable farming. The value of Chiangâ–™s research are the anticoagulant benefits heparin offers to patients, and also providing new techniques that offer a sustainable and stable supply of the drug. He and the team have taken an innovative approach to extracting heparin sodium, which is the heparin precursor, from pig viscera waste by using dual hydrogen peroxide oxidation methodology and microbial monitoring to enhance the purity of the extracted heparin sodium, creating a higher-quality product for medical applications.