Another glass of pig's blood ... er, water?

25/05/2023

Veos from Zwevezele in West Flanders is a global leader in the production of high-quality animal proteins for the food industry. Now the company has also developed a technique to distil potable water from pig's blood. A world first.

Veos' core business is processing animal blood and collagen into protein powder used in food for humans and animals. That blood is stored in large tanks. Until now, these were cleaned daily with massive amounts of groundwater pumped up nearby. A not very environmentally friendly way of doing things, of course. Veos decided to change tack. That intention resulted in the investment of 2 million euros in a large purification plant to filter water from animal blood to clean the tanks from now on. This will save the company as much as 40 percent on groundwater.

Now, how does this innovative process work? Briefly, it comes down to this: the blood is first thickened and then vacuum dried. The water vapour thereby released from the blood is allowed to condense back into water. As much as 150,000 litres a day! That water is finally purified to clean the tanks, but it is also perfectly drinkable.

And the mayor, provincial governor and co-CEO of Veos saw and tasted that it was good.