Process design for utilizing spent grain as a potential energy source for craft breweries
(2020) KETM05 20201Chemical Engineering (M.Sc.Eng.)
- Abstract
- Craft breweries in Sweden are steadily increasing and they face a major challenge with the byproduct that is generated in the brewing process. The by-product is called wet spent grain (WSG) and the biggest challenge lays in its’ high moisture content which will make it spoil within a few days. Craft breweries are being conscious of sustainable practices when producing beer and the
aim of this thesis is hence to design a viable process to better utilize the WSG or turn it into a useful product.
The research problem of this study is to explore ways to utilize the wet spent grain in a sustainable manner.
The research has been conducted through a literature study, focused on gaining relevant knowledge on the chemical composition of WSG.... (More) - Craft breweries in Sweden are steadily increasing and they face a major challenge with the byproduct that is generated in the brewing process. The by-product is called wet spent grain (WSG) and the biggest challenge lays in its’ high moisture content which will make it spoil within a few days. Craft breweries are being conscious of sustainable practices when producing beer and the
aim of this thesis is hence to design a viable process to better utilize the WSG or turn it into a useful product.
The research problem of this study is to explore ways to utilize the wet spent grain in a sustainable manner.
The research has been conducted through a literature study, focused on gaining relevant knowledge on the chemical composition of WSG. Based on the acquired knowledge a suitable solution was explored and further research within this field was conducted.
Based on the conducted research, this study confirms one major finding. Wet spent grain (WSG) can be used as a potential energy source for craft breweries. The study, however, concludes that the researched solution for this specific brewery is not financially viable from an investment point of view at this time. (Less) - Popular Abstract
- The recently increased popularity in craft beers and the amount of craft breweries has steadily increased in Sweden the last few years. From the rather simple brewing process a major by-product is produced, wet spent grain. The wet spent grain accounts for almost 85% of the total waste from breweries and has a very high moisture content of up to 80%. The breweries therefor face major challenges with how to best take care of the wet spent grain, due to its very high moisture content its shelf life is short and can simply not be stored for more than a few days or transported long stretches. Because of this most craft breweries donate the wet spent grain as a feedstock to local farmers. If this is not possible, they simply have to pay for it... (More)
- The recently increased popularity in craft beers and the amount of craft breweries has steadily increased in Sweden the last few years. From the rather simple brewing process a major by-product is produced, wet spent grain. The wet spent grain accounts for almost 85% of the total waste from breweries and has a very high moisture content of up to 80%. The breweries therefor face major challenges with how to best take care of the wet spent grain, due to its very high moisture content its shelf life is short and can simply not be stored for more than a few days or transported long stretches. Because of this most craft breweries donate the wet spent grain as a feedstock to local farmers. If this is not possible, they simply have to pay for it to be removed and used as landfill, a decidedly ecologically unfriendly and costly option. As of today, craft breweries pay up to 16.000€ annually for their waste to be removed.
In this project, a design of a viable process to better utilize the wet spent grain or turn it into a useful product at the brewery is investigated in association with Good Guys AB. For all solutions drying will have to be the first step, depending on the scale of production and the expected results different techniques and equipment can be used.
Some possibilities found during the research is the use of wet spent grain as a flour for baking, after drying and milling or used as a fertilizer when growing shiitake mushrooms. Two brewery specific solutions are to incorporate some of the wet spent grain into their pizza dough or to burn the spent grain and produce the steam required for the entire brewing process. Even though the final solution with steam production carries the biggest initial capital cost the investment still looks favorable for the craft brewery, both the cost for steam production and the cost associated with removing the wet spent grain is eliminated. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9025325
- author
- Nordholm, Henric LU
- supervisor
-
- Ola Wallberg LU
- organization
- course
- KETM05 20201
- year
- 2020
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Chemical engineering, Kemiteknik
- language
- English
- id
- 9025325
- date added to LUP
- 2020-07-31 14:42:39
- date last changed
- 2020-07-31 14:42:39
@misc{9025325,
abstract = {{Craft breweries in Sweden are steadily increasing and they face a major challenge with the byproduct that is generated in the brewing process. The by-product is called wet spent grain (WSG) and the biggest challenge lays in its’ high moisture content which will make it spoil within a few days. Craft breweries are being conscious of sustainable practices when producing beer and the
aim of this thesis is hence to design a viable process to better utilize the WSG or turn it into a useful product.
The research problem of this study is to explore ways to utilize the wet spent grain in a sustainable manner.
The research has been conducted through a literature study, focused on gaining relevant knowledge on the chemical composition of WSG. Based on the acquired knowledge a suitable solution was explored and further research within this field was conducted.
Based on the conducted research, this study confirms one major finding. Wet spent grain (WSG) can be used as a potential energy source for craft breweries. The study, however, concludes that the researched solution for this specific brewery is not financially viable from an investment point of view at this time.}},
author = {{Nordholm, Henric}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Process design for utilizing spent grain as a potential energy source for craft breweries}},
year = {{2020}},
}