EXAMINATION OF ENERGY RECOVERY OF BREWERS' SPENT GRAIN II. - BIOLOGICAL PROCESS

Gã¡Bor Géczi,Csaba Ágoston,Sã¡Ndor Beszédes,Catarina Azevedo Borges,Krisztina Pusztai,ÃKos Ulmer

doi:10.15414/jmbfs.2015/16.5.3.268-270

Abstract

Production rate of technologies applied in the food industry can only be economical if energy consumption is specifically reduced simultaneously with increasing the capacities and/or utilization of alternative energy sources gains higher ratio during production. A high proportion of waste forms is produced in food processing technologies. Fiscal and environmental cost of waste handling i.e. transportation, recovery and disposal is often significant. Brewing industry’s most important by-product is the brewers' spent grains (BSG) formed during mashing. Utilization of this product is theoretically solved, it is most frequently sold as animal fodder, however utilization in the energy sector can and should be considered and has promising possibilities. Seeking economic and environmental benefits, this paper analyses the possibilities of energy recovery from brewers’ spent grains through aerobic digestion and anaerobic fermentation.

Highlights

The largest scale byproduct of beer brewing is brewers' spent grains which is a residue of mashing (Bourges et al, 2015; Mussatto et al, 2006)
Storage is an issue in this state due to fermentation processes and forming odors
Brewers' spent grains are most commonly utilized as animal fodder as well as for manufacturing of complementary food for human consumption

Summary

INTRODUCTION

The largest scale byproduct of beer brewing is brewers' spent grains which is a residue of mashing (Bourges et al, 2015; Mussatto et al, 2006). Brewers' spent grains are most commonly utilized as animal fodder as well as for manufacturing of complementary food for human consumption Apart from this, it might be sold as organic manure after composting; based on the above told, the breweries’ waste-recycling can be considered as solved (Aliyu and Bala, 2011; White et al, 2008). For covering of heat- and electric energy demand of sugar beet processing, the facility had been using exclusively natural gas before 2007, as primary energy resource. By means of anaerobic fermentation, mixed with other organic substances, brewer’s spent grains might be converted into biogas, which – just like the examples already presented – would cover the energy demands at the very place where they arise, in an environmentally conscious way (Xiros et al 2008; Xiros and Christakopoulos, 2009). Our experimental results related to modeling the biological processes are presented below

MATERIAL AND METHODS

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

CONCLUSION