09-Apr-2021 | Market Research Store
Brewing is currently being carried out at homes instead of the industries. The beer-making process results in a lot of leftover. Once the flavor is completely extracted from barley and other grains, the rest of the waste materials is found to be enriched with proteins and fiber, which can be used in the cattle feed or in landfills. In the latest study, the scientists have found a new method of extracting fiber and protein from the grain for developing different biofuels, proteins, etc. The increasing waste generation by the brewing industry has made it necessary for the local breweries to look for alternative methods to convert waste materials into something valuable.
Nevertheless, the spent grain is rich in protein compared to the waste generated during the agricultural process. Thus, the researchers have worked toward finding a unique method to extract essential components from the waste matter for further use. According to lead researcher Yanhong He from Virginia Polytechnic and State University, craft brewing that is popular in the US has led to an uptick in the generation of waste material in which 85% is spent grain. There is 70% fiber and 30% protein in the spent grains which makes it difficult for the humans to digest even though the animals are able to digest it. For turning waste into a functional product, the researchers created a wet milling fractionation method to isolate protein. The best separation was found to be provided by alcalase without any wastage. These proteins can act as the best replacement for fishmeal and could also be used in certain food products to meet the increasing protein source demands of the consumers.
The remaining fibers could be pretreated with sulfuric acid for further break down into sugars such as hemicellulose and cellulose. The broken down sugars could be fed to microbes to produce 2,3-butanediol. The increasing generation of spent grains by breweries has increased the demand for feasible separation processes.