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Brewery Waste Could Help Make Biofuels

By Jim Cohen | February 25, 2011 | 0 Comments |

We’ve often discussed that the brewing process creates a lot of waste. In fact, 3 to 10 liters of waste effluent is generated per liter of beer produced in breweries. The quantity of brewery wastewater will depend on the production and the specific water usage. This waste is not useful and certainly causes environmental damage.

But wait, Cornell researchers may have a solution!

Cornell scientists led by Largus T. Angenent, associate professor of biological and environmental engineering, recently published an article that appears to have gained new insight into how efficiently the microbes in large bioreactors produce methane from brewery waste.

"This question of linking function with microbial communities is something people have wanted to understand for a very long time," Angenent said. "And in order to link these things you have to have data."

Data is plentiful when you partner with the likes of Anheuser-Busch InBev, which accounts for ~25% of global market share. The large brewery operates 9 domestic beer breweries that treat wastewater in bioreactors. Armed with 400,000 gene sequences Angenent and his team were able to make valuable insights.

"The cool thing we found was that if you're looking at these thousands of species of bacteria, it's a very dynamic system with things dying off and replacing them," said Jeffrey J. Werner, a research associate in the study, said. "There are certain signature populations that are resilient. Even if they get disturbed, they come right back up."

According to the report, Typically inside these million-gallon bioreactor tanks, the microbial populations in the sludge interact and one of them produces methane gas. Anheuser-Busch InBev recoups 20 percent of its heat energy use through the methane produced, saving them millions of dollars every year.

The takeaway from this study is not to create more methane though. Instead, the Cornell researchers want to manipulate the microbial communities so that they produce carboxylates, which are a precursor to the alkanes found in fuels.

The researchers also collaborated with scientists at University of Colorado at Boulder and at Washington University in St. Louis. The work was supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy and National Institutes of Health.

Awesome takeaway for the environment and for the beer community!

Your Choice. Your Beer. Drink Up.
- Beer Universe