Periodic Reporting for period 3 - AgriChemWhey (An integrated biorefinery for the conversion of dairy side streams to high value bio-based chemicals)
Reporting period: 2021-01-01 to 2027-04-30
The European dairy industry processes millions of tonnes of whey annually to produce whey proteins for human and animal nutrition, lactose, and whey powders. Whey permeate and Delactosed whey permeate are major side-streams of dairy processing and represent a key challenge for the dairy industry due to a lack of reliability in current disposal routes. The AgriChemWhey project aimed to integrate industrial circularity by taking these low value by-products from the dairy processing industry and convert them into several added value products for growing global markets including lactic acid, polylactic acid, minerals for human nutrition and bio-based fertilizer. The new technology used for the AgriChemWhey process provided both the dairy industry and wider society with an opportunity for greater resource efficiency.
The overall AgriChemWhey objective was to build a first-of-a-kind industrial-scale and economically successful biorefinery with integrated symbiotic industrial and agricultural value chains to valorise dairy waste, and thus specifically to:
• Optimise and scale-up process biorefinery technologies
• Establish a new dairy processing by-products to high value-added products value chain
• Establish industrial symbiosis with local partners to valorise side streams arising from the biorefinery process
• Ensure techno-economic viability and successful long-term commercial operation of the biorefinery
• Develop a blueprint for replication of the AgriChemWhey model in other regions across Europe
AgriChemWhey represented a significant step change in current whey processing techniques and industrial symbiosis that demonstrated the potential creation of new value chains. It showed how potential innovations could underpin the growth of a more sustainable European dairy industry through innovation and knowledge exchange, and serve as a model for sustainable growth in dairy output in the EU and globally. It also showed the potential for replication of these types of innovations in other regions across Europe, contributing towards the development of the European bio-economy to promote rural growth, competitiveness and job creation and aligning with European sustainability targets.
The overall AgriChemWhey objective was to build a first-of-a-kind industrial-scale and economically successful biorefinery with integrated symbiotic industrial and agricultural value chains to valorise dairy waste, and thus specifically to:
• Optimise and scale-up process biorefinery technologies
• Establish a new dairy processing by-products to high value-added products value chain
• Establish industrial symbiosis with local partners to valorise side streams arising from the biorefinery process
• Ensure techno-economic viability and successful long-term commercial operation of the biorefinery
• Develop a blueprint for replication of the AgriChemWhey model in other regions across Europe
AgriChemWhey represented a significant step change in current whey processing techniques and industrial symbiosis that demonstrated the potential creation of new value chains. It showed how potential innovations could underpin the growth of a more sustainable European dairy industry through innovation and knowledge exchange, and serve as a model for sustainable growth in dairy output in the EU and globally. It also showed the potential for replication of these types of innovations in other regions across Europe, contributing towards the development of the European bio-economy to promote rural growth, competitiveness and job creation and aligning with European sustainability targets.
Since the beginning of the AgriChemWhey project numerous milestones have been achieved, especially in relation to process integration, optimisation and scale-up. The highlights and achievements include all aspects of the project and are presented below:
• Successful installation and commissioning of the pilot plant using whey permeate and delactosed permeate waste streams as the carbon feedstocks of interest.
• Construction, installation and setup of an analytical laboratory with complex instrumentation suitable for detailed physicochemical analysis of various sample types.
• A fermentation specific laboratory was installed to allow for sterile and non-sterile fermentation experimentation to be carried out.
• Construction, installation and setup of a microbiology laboratory lab suitable for intricate practical work tasks such as bacterial propagation, chemically defined media preparation and bacterial enumeration.
• Validation of the upstream demineralisation process using multiple whey permeate streams.
• Cutting-edge optimisation of the upstream demineralisation process was completed to achieve the highest demineralisation rates for various feedstock types. This included assessment of a new technology for the upstream treatment of whey permeate by ultrasonification followed by a cleanup by microfiltration and concentration by nanofiltration.
• Comprehensive datasets generated for the fermentative performance of several production strains on dairy whey waste material.
• Cost-benefit analysis completed to determine the most cost-effective and efficient fermentation process design suitable for industrial scale operations.
• Pilot scale validation of the fermentation process using both WP and DLP as a substrate successfully completed with multiple replicates.
• Setup and integration of the downstream purification process to purify the lactic acid fermentation broth to generate a high quality demineralised dilute lactic acid product.
• Laboratory and pilot-scale production of high quality L-lactic acid.
• Pilot-scale production of high quality polymer grade LA and the subsequent production of 4kg of polylactide derived from our dairy waste stream valorisation platform.
• Detailed technical simulations and modelling of the chemical process to upscale this novel 2nd generation dairy waste stream valorisation platform to commercial scale operations.
• Research carried out on the lacto-gypsum side stream to validate its use as a slurry additive to reduce both ammonia and methane emissions from stored slurry and its potential as an amendment for organic manure for gaseous emissions abatement. The results also showed that its use has the potential to increase Hydrogen-Sulphide (H2S) gas production from cattle slurry. Lastly, an experimental design was developed for field experiments to evaluate lacto-gypsum as an amendment to
restore soil health.
• The properties of PLA and composites produced from ACW lactic acid were evaluated. The results show that the addition of Calcium Phosphate (ACW side-stream) to PLA resulted in an increased water contact angle, indicating that the surfaces became more hydrophobic. Additionally, ACW-PLA composites formulated with various concentrations of CaP demonstrated improved mechanical properties; however, further optimisation is needed.
• Detailed engineering works have been completed on the 20,000mt LA production capacity industrial scale plant.
• Integrated life cycle assessment modelling for both pilot-scale and industrial scale ongoing to calculate the potential environmental impact of this valorisation platform in terms of emissions, resource consumption and industrial symbiosis.
• Active collaboration of AgriChemWhey with the Bioeconomy sector to represent and promote the project at different conferences, events and workshops.
• Significant technical progress on the development of an alternative bio-based food preservative.
• Successful installation and commissioning of the pilot plant using whey permeate and delactosed permeate waste streams as the carbon feedstocks of interest.
• Construction, installation and setup of an analytical laboratory with complex instrumentation suitable for detailed physicochemical analysis of various sample types.
• A fermentation specific laboratory was installed to allow for sterile and non-sterile fermentation experimentation to be carried out.
• Construction, installation and setup of a microbiology laboratory lab suitable for intricate practical work tasks such as bacterial propagation, chemically defined media preparation and bacterial enumeration.
• Validation of the upstream demineralisation process using multiple whey permeate streams.
• Cutting-edge optimisation of the upstream demineralisation process was completed to achieve the highest demineralisation rates for various feedstock types. This included assessment of a new technology for the upstream treatment of whey permeate by ultrasonification followed by a cleanup by microfiltration and concentration by nanofiltration.
• Comprehensive datasets generated for the fermentative performance of several production strains on dairy whey waste material.
• Cost-benefit analysis completed to determine the most cost-effective and efficient fermentation process design suitable for industrial scale operations.
• Pilot scale validation of the fermentation process using both WP and DLP as a substrate successfully completed with multiple replicates.
• Setup and integration of the downstream purification process to purify the lactic acid fermentation broth to generate a high quality demineralised dilute lactic acid product.
• Laboratory and pilot-scale production of high quality L-lactic acid.
• Pilot-scale production of high quality polymer grade LA and the subsequent production of 4kg of polylactide derived from our dairy waste stream valorisation platform.
• Detailed technical simulations and modelling of the chemical process to upscale this novel 2nd generation dairy waste stream valorisation platform to commercial scale operations.
• Research carried out on the lacto-gypsum side stream to validate its use as a slurry additive to reduce both ammonia and methane emissions from stored slurry and its potential as an amendment for organic manure for gaseous emissions abatement. The results also showed that its use has the potential to increase Hydrogen-Sulphide (H2S) gas production from cattle slurry. Lastly, an experimental design was developed for field experiments to evaluate lacto-gypsum as an amendment to
restore soil health.
• The properties of PLA and composites produced from ACW lactic acid were evaluated. The results show that the addition of Calcium Phosphate (ACW side-stream) to PLA resulted in an increased water contact angle, indicating that the surfaces became more hydrophobic. Additionally, ACW-PLA composites formulated with various concentrations of CaP demonstrated improved mechanical properties; however, further optimisation is needed.
• Detailed engineering works have been completed on the 20,000mt LA production capacity industrial scale plant.
• Integrated life cycle assessment modelling for both pilot-scale and industrial scale ongoing to calculate the potential environmental impact of this valorisation platform in terms of emissions, resource consumption and industrial symbiosis.
• Active collaboration of AgriChemWhey with the Bioeconomy sector to represent and promote the project at different conferences, events and workshops.
• Significant technical progress on the development of an alternative bio-based food preservative.
This project has shown the potential to convert undervalued dairy side-streams into high value bio-based products and the by-products through a partnership involving entities across several EU countries and several industries, as part of a circular bio-economy approach to the dairy industry.