IEA Bioenergy - Task 37: Implementation of anaerobic digestion facilities in the food and beverage industry

AD facilities in the food and beverage industry

The by-products from the food and beverage industry can be very valuable feedstocks for anaerobic digestion. This report focuses on the integration of a biogas plant to the production facilities. Processing residues, wastes, by-products or wastewaters can be used as feedstock. It is important to pursue a cascading utilisation concept which prioritizes re-use and food/feed application of the by-products prior to energy utilisation. Biogas is an attractive option, since food and beverage production are energy intensive, and biogas is a multi-purpose energy carrier. The utilisation of the renewable gas reduces the carbon footprint of the production process.