Dr Burcu Gunes
The number of Irish Craft Breweries and Distilleries increasing day by day corresponding to the increasing global demand. However alcoholic beverage industry generates 8 – 15 L of high organic content wastewater (pot ale) per liter of malt whiskey. Its disposal to the water bodies and landfill areas is a serious threat to the aquatic life and agriculture. This paper highlights the hidden waste to energy potential for distilleries and breweries by introducing a pre-treatment step prior to anaerobic digestion to enhance the generated biogas quality and the quantity which provides a more sustainable energy source for the alcohol manufacturing, lowers carbon emission as well as reducing pollutant release to the environment. In addition this paper introduces the mathematical modelling and optimisation of anaerobic digestion of pot ale and spent grain to the literature.
