In December, JBS received the Kurt Politzer Prize for Technology 2013, promoted by the Brazilian Chemical Industry Association - ABIQUIM - for its Wet Blue Shavings Recycling project in Campo Grande/MS.
The prize is offered to projects outstanding for their creativity in research and innovation in the chemical sector, with market potential and focus in sustainability.
The JBS Couros project in Campo Grande allows the recycling of wet blue shavings, through a hydrolysis process that separates the protein from the chrome.
The protein, in powder or liquid form, is currently sold as raw material to chemical companies and used in the formulation of new products to the leather industry. New researches are being conducted on different industrial applications for the protein, such as fertilizers and input for cosmetics production.
The extracted chrome can be reused in the tanning and retanning processes, or sold to other industries.
"Technological Innovation gives the opportunity to transform a material that was before considered a residue and sent to landfills, in an input for the manufacturing of many other products, generating revenue and minimizing environmental impacts" said Luciano Silveira - Campo Grande Industrial Manager - during the prize ceremony.
