Fermentation of Prawn Waste by using Effective Microorganism (EM) for Protein Production

Effective microorganisms or EM has been actively used for various reasons but mainly in the waste water treatment, as plant growth initiators and fertilizers. In this study, fermentations of local tiger prawn waste (Panaeus monodon) by EM were conducted at laboratory scale at different fermentation conditions for protein recovery. Fermentations were conducted at various temperature conditions (250C, 370C and 600C) and various level of inoculum and carbohydrate source (5%, 10%, 15% and 20%) and their pH values compared over 72 hours. Results showed that the pH rapidly decreased to pH 5.0 and the fermentation profiles were similar when different types of carbohydrates were used during fermentation. However, temperatures affect fermentations considerably where the pH did not rapidly decrease at 600C. The fermentation products or silage formed is also stable over a period of 60 days. In addition, acid production was dependent on glucose concentration but not on the inoculum level. For protein production, approximately 86% of protein can be recovered after fermentation process. Therefore, it can be suggested that fermentations were successful using EM on palm brown sugar and fermentation done at either 250C or 370C due to its better acid production.