Protein Concentrate Production from Thin Stillage

Decarbonising distilled spirits: An assessment of the potential associated with anaerobic digestion of by-products at nine operational distilleries

This work aims to assess the potential biogas resource of by-products from the production of distilled spirits at 9 operational distilleries in 7 countries. An additional objective was the calculation of the energy resource and Scope 1 greenhouse gas (GHG) emission savings from the use of 21 by-products from the distilleries as a feedstock for anaerobic digestion (AD). To present a holistic perspective on the integration of AD with distilleries, an overview of additional criteria to be considered was provided. The biochemical methane potential (BMP) of the by-products associated with a selection of distilled spirits was experimentally determined. The BMP ranged from 161 L methane per kg volatile solid (LCH₄/kgVS) to 589 LCH₄/kgVS with an average value of 332 LCH₄/kgVS. Biogas could reduce distillery fossil fuel demand by 49% when produced from un-processed by-products, by 66% when produced from a mixture of separated by-products, by 16% when produced from concentrated by-products and by 13% when produced from liquid by-products. The average Scope 1 GHG emission saving when using un-processed by-products was 52%, a mix of separated by-products allowed for a reduction of 66%, liquid by-products achieved an average reduction of 14%, and the use of concentrated by-products reduced GHG emissions by 17% on average. When evaluating which distilleries are "of most interest" for the integration of AD, other criteria to be considered include: by-product properties, the size of the AD facility required, the quantity of digestate produced, and the location of the distilleries in terms of both land availability to construct the AD facility and the proximity to land on which to spread digestate.

Treatment of thin stillage by Aspergillus oryzae and its effect on alcoholic fermentation in syrup liquid

The microbial degradation of thin stillage for environment-friendly treatment has been studied extensively in recent years, and useful compounds in the treated-thin stillage are expected to be utilized in the subsequent fermentation. In this study, an Aspergillus oryzae H18, suitable for growing in thin stillage, was isolated from soil and served to degrade the organic matter in thin stillage, with the increase in pH (from 3·75 to 4·8) and decrease in chemical oxygen demand (COD, 81·3% removal rate). The effect of thin stillage as backset water after degradation of the strain H18 on alcohol production in syrup liquid was investigated. Compared with zero addition of thin stillage, the alcohol yield in mixed syrup liquid increased by 8·6% when the concentration of treated-thin stillage was 20%. After the addition of nutrients at proper concentration (0·5% urea, 1% molasses, 0·25% NaCl, 0·2% NaH₂ PO₄ , 0·3% MgSO₄ and 0·25% CaCl₂ ) in thin stillage, the alcohol yield in yeast fermentation was increased by 32·7% when mixed syrup liquid (with 40% thin stillage treated by H18) was employed, in comparison to control group without thin stillage addition. Meanwhile, the fermentation time was shortened, and alcohol production rate was enhanced.

Composition and Properties of Aquafaba: Water Recovered from Commercially Canned Chickpeas

Chickpea and other pulses are commonly sold as canned products packed in a thick solution or a brine. This solution has recently been shown to produce stable foams and emulsions, and can act as a thickener. Recently interest in this product has been enhanced through the internet where it is proposed that this solution, now called aquafaba by a growing community, can be used a replacement for egg and milk protein. As aquafaba is both new and being developed by an internet based community little is known of its composition or properties. Aquafaba was recovered from 10 commercial canned chickpea products and correlations among aquafaba composition, density, viscosity and foaming properties were investigated. Proton NMR was used to characterize aquafaba composition before and after ultrafiltration through membranes with different molecular weight cut offs (MWCOs of 3, 10, or 50 kDa). A protocol for electrophoresis, and peptide mass fingerprinting is also presented. Those methods provided valuable information regarding components responsible for aquafaba functional properties. This information will allow the development of practices to produce standard commercial aquafaba products and may help consumers select products of superior or consistent utility.

Improvement in biohythane production using organic solid waste and distillery effluent

Biohythane is a two-stage anaerobic fermentation process consisting of biohydrogen production followed by biomethanation. This serves as an environment friendly and economically sustainable approach for the improved valorization of organic wastes. The characteristics of organic wastes depend on their respective sources. The choice of an appropriate combination of complementary organic wastes can vastly improve the bioenergy generation besides achieving the significant cost reduction. The present study assess the suitability and economic viability of using the groundnut deoiled cake (GDOC), mustard deoiled cake (MDOC), distillers' dried grain with solubles (DDGS) and algal biomass (AB) as a co-substrate for the biohythane process. Results showed that maximum gaseous energy of 23.93, 16.63, 23.44 and 16.21kcal/L were produced using GDOC, MDOC, DDGS and AB in the two stage biohythane production, respectively. Both GDOC and DDGS were found to be better co-substrates as compared to MDOC and AB. The maximum cumulative hydrogen and methane production of 150 and 64mmol/L were achieved using GDOC. 98% reduction in substrate input cost (SIC) was achieved using the co-supplementation procedure.