A collaboration between a chemical manufacturing startup, Ripcell, and the University of Aberdeen, has developed a process for extracting valuable chemicals, such as lactic acid, from whisky distillery waste streams.
Supported by funding from the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC) the extracted compounds could be used in range of applications including pharmaceuticals, food and drink, and cosmetics. The process could be worth up to £90 million across global chemical markets.
The whisky waste streams these being: pot ale, and spent lees, are provided by whisky group Chivas Brothers, from 25 of it distilleries in Scotland. Pot ale is used in low value applications such as animal feed, and spent lees are currently discarded. The waste is separated using liquid chromatography to extract the higher value acids. The process was initially developed using pot ale, but has now been adapted to retrieve additional chemicals from spent lees.
Some 10 litres of spent lees are produced for every litre of whisky, and due to the variations in distillery processes, water sources and raw materials, products from different distilleries contain different chemical compounds.
“This project is a brilliant example of how we can add economic value by taking a circular approach to co-products and applying biotechnology,” said Dr Liz Fletcher, Director of Business Engagement at IBioIC.
The partners added that a life cycle analysis of the process indicated that the bio-based chemicals produced have a “significantly lower carbon footprint compared to those produced through traditional petrochemical routes.” It is estimated that on a global scale the new manufacturing method for the target chemicals could reduce industry emissions by 392 million kg of carbon dioxide equivalent each year.
Dr Eve Wildman, founder of Ripcell said: “Around 2.6 billion litres of wastewater are produced from the Scottish whisky industry each year, so the potential of this process is huge. For decades, the majority of these co-products have been used as animal feed, but we have found a new, more valuable option to deal with spent lees that could change the ways in which distilleries manage and process residues.”
Having successfully completed the feasibility study; the team will move to scale-up their process and assess its viability at an industrial scale.
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