Massé et al. [100] investigated the effect of alkaline
pre-treatment on the solubilisation and size reduction of pork fat
particles in abattoir waste. While sCOD was not impacted by addition
of 50–400 meq NaOH/L, the authors measured a 73 ± 7%
reduction in particle size at concentrations ranging from 150 to
300 mEq/L. Although the fat particles were then smaller, they were
still hydrophobic and would float on the surface of a digester,
unavailable for immediate consumption. However, this reduction
in particle size and subsequently increased surface area should
increase the rate of degradation due to exoenzymes produced by
the sludge, or could be utilised to improve the efficiency of subsequent
pre-treatment methods, such as enzymatic pre-treatment