Human Practices
Looking at the Human Practices part of our project. To start on our idea, the team
had an interview with the head leader of the culinary laboratory at Sup’Biotech, Mr Romain
El-Andaloussi.
Mr. El-Andaloussi gave us some insights on sugar-based wastes that are not well
revalorized. We first talked about bread that could be wasted in bakeries in France. But then
we figured out that bread is well recycled in other industries such as in the agro-food for
livestocks.
Moreover, in our school there is a student association making beer which one of our team members (Alexandre Trubert) is part of. And that was where the idea of revalorizing the brewer's spent grain came into our mind. While studying the beer brewing process, it came to light that about 20% of the output is waste, around 85% of it being brewers' spent grain, which results from the filtration of cereals after the fermentation process, and most of it is unused and incinerated [1]. Mr Romain El-Andaloussi agreed, and the StarchLight project came to life. But let us explain in detail the timeline of the history beyond StarchLight through interviews, meetings, visits and events.
INTEGRATED HUMAN PRACTICES
1°) Interview bakery
During this very first interview, we had the opportunity to exchange with a bakery present in our city. The baker, Mr Noé Legois, told us that in the bread industry the waste is really well managed.
Do you have unused bread stocks at the end of the day? Do you have solutions to limit waste? If yes, which ones?
“Most of the time there is close to no bread leftovers. But it does happen, rarely, at a small quantity. But in that case we will redistribute the bread with the staff.”
Do you have any solutions to limit waste?
“That I know of, there are three main ways of avoiding waste. First, the bread is baked as late as possible because the dough can always be reused. Moreover, reused dough allows us to save yeast since the older the dough the more yeast is in there. So, we can use a little bit of older dough in newer batches the next day to replace some of the commercial yeast. Another nice way of avoiding leftovers is to sell some products in which we can incorporate overbaked bread. The leftover bread can be rebaked at the end of the day and used in such recipes.”
How do you manage this overflow?
“In the case where we do end up with bread leftover, a common way of dealing with it is to sell it to farmers. I believe they give it to chickens. But it is quite rare.”
Given this information, the StarchLight team decided to look for other sugar-based waste industries. We thought about the brewer's spent grain produced in breweries. But to consolidate our idea, two interviews of breweries were made to be sure that our substrate of glucose is not well revalorized.
2°) First Brewery (for competitive reasons, they wished to remain anonymous)
The first brewery interview was with someone who wishes to remain anonymous, director of a brewery. This parisian microbrewery created in 2012 has an area of 1 200 m2 and 9 employees are working there everyday.
How many liters of beer are you producing each year ?
“Approximately 7 000 hL per year.”
Our team has a question about the brewers’ spent grain that we would like to revalorize. Can you estimate your production of the brewers’ spent grain per week or per year ?
“Around 6 tons per week, so 300 tons per year I would say”
And do you have any solution to up-scale these huge amounts of by-products ?
“Methanation. We use a service provider called Molino to make biogas.”
Do you have any idea of the energy consumption of your infrastructure ?
“I don’t have any idea, but we have three different types of fermenter, one at 40hL, 80hL, and 120hL. The bigger the fermenter is, the larger the consumption of energy is.”
Would you be interested by using a prototype implemented in your brewery that will generate electricity from your brewers’ spent grain ?
“The main issue here is the place, since we are a brewery in a big capital our area of expansion is limited. And our rentability is at the lowest nowadays since COVID-19. I prefer to keep the free place left to buy another fermenter and increase my productivity instead of implementing a device.”
How we integrated this interview:
This interview raised new questions for the team. For this case study, the brewers' spent grain is methanate to make biogas. But, as you may know, methanation is indigestible for soils and waters. On one hand, methanation allows the production of renewable gas and provides farmers with significant additional income. However, on the other hand, it presents a real threat of soil pollution and emission of gasses with a very high greenhouse effect. Regarding the current climate crisis, methanation is not a sustainable solution from the treatment of by-products such as spent grain.
Depending on the size of our prototype, we should better implement our device in
larger breweries that are mostly in the countryside or in the periphery and not in the parisian
capital. Since the rent is really expensive in Paris, our prototype would have to be very
efficient to drastically reduce the electricity bill of breweries to be cost-effective.
For a future implementation, the StarchLight team must accurately characterize the
productivity of our system in order to be attractive for brewerie’s owner. Making a ratio a
place needed and production of electricity in kW seems to be the next step here.
Furthermore, we understand that one of the main barriers that stops companies and industries from implementing real change in their ways is the difficulties of putting them in place. By creating a solution that would be usable on site and in quite a simple manner, we hope to encourage businesses to take real action against climate change.
Afterwards, we even had the opportunity to visit a brewery called “Bap Bap” in Paris. This meeting on site allowed us to see a brewery by its whole, to learn about the beer brewing process, to see what the brewers' spent grain looks like and even to take 1 kg of it for the lab !
After our project was well designed and the prototype of our device started to shape, the StarchLight team decided to do a second interview with another brewery named “Les bières du Donjon”.
3°) Interview of Mr. Romain Flesch - “Les bières du Donjon”
During this meeting with Mr Flesch the creator of the
microbrewery, we asked random questions to know the size of
the company, the number of people working there etc. The
Human Practices team also asked questions about the brewers'
spent grain but mostly about the interest for the implementation
of our device in his brewery.
Here is a quick transcript of our question/answer exchange:
How many liters of beer are you producing per year ?
“For the year 2021, we estimated our production at around 60 000 liters, but in the future we would like to produce around 200 000 liters”
For 200 000 liters of beers produced each year, what is the average amount of brewers’ spent grain generated ?
“It will represent around 50-60 tons of brewers' spent grain”
And do you have any solution to revalorize this amount of by-products ?
“Since our brewery is in the countryside, some of them are given to local farmers as food for their cows. Brewers’ spent grain is a very rich protein ingredient. But, it is composed of too many proteins for an animal and farmers have to mix them with something else.”
Are you adding industrial enzymes before the filtration step of the beer brewing process in order to optimize the extraction of glucose ?
“No, not at all. In my opinion a brewery that is producing less than 2 millions liters per year, will not put any industrial enzymes in their mix. Because you need a big qualified team with a laboratory. And it’s too expensive at a small scale, the cost benefit is not enough.”
Now talking about our prototype, in the future, we would like to implement it in breweries. So do you have any idea of the energy consumption of your infrastructure ?
“Oh honestly I don’t know, I would say a lot, but our activities are very seasonal and depend on the demand. And since most of our energy consumption is for cooling the fermenter, we will spend more during summer when it’s 40°C degrees outside. But the two main steps in breweries that need a lot of energy are heating and cooling.”
And if the team is able to make their final prototype, will you be interested to try our prototype in your brewery?”
“Yes for sure, because for now I give for free the brewers' spent grain otherwise I have a
huge stock of by-products to stock in my warehouse. Moreover, the brewers' spent grain will
start to rot quickly if you don’t dry it. And of course more consumption of energy needed for
drying.”
“There is plenty of space in my warehouse for as many prototypes as you want ! Breweries
located in the French capital have no such place.”
“So you’re welcome to come into my brewery to test anything you want with our brewers’
spent grain.”
Thank you very much for this interview and we wish you well.
How we integrated this interview:
The main difference between the first and the second interview of breweries is that
for “les bières du Donjon” they are located in the countryside so that this brewery has plenty
of places to implement a device. Then for a future business plan of our product we should
focus on targeting breweries that are not limited in terms of area of their infrastructure.
Moreover Mr. Flesch told us that for now he gives the brewers' spent grain for free to local
farmers so he loses part of a potential profit that could reduce his electricity bill. A potential
market should be dug for our future implementation.
4°) Interview for treatment of the brewers' spent grain
The next step was to learn more about the brewers' spent grain and to know if additional treatments are required. But also, to be sure that there is no other eco-friendly solution to up-scale spent grain. To do so, our human practices team had the chance to interview Mrs Cormier Valerie, who is the head of the regional administrative service of the French Biodiversity Office.
Do you have any information concerning the nutritional properties of brewers' spent grain?
“I know that after the beer brewing process, amounts of starch are still present in spent grain and represent a real source of sugar. It is an interesting food supplement especially for ruminants. Ruminants are producing volatile fatty acids and methane. That’s why the livestocks are participating in the greenhouse effect. But regarding brewers' spent grain, the main source needed for livestocks is nitrogen coming from vegetable protein. But analysis is needed on spent grains by the farmer to know the amount of nitrogen because it really depends on the type of cereal (wheat, barley or malt) and how the cereal has been extracted. And sometimes they have to mix the brewers' spent grain with other cereals such as corn due to the huge amount of protein that could be harmful for the digestion of the livestock.”
Since brewers' spent grain represents an important food supplement for livestock can we remove this source from the diet of cattle? If we use it for our project?
“Spent grain is only used by farmers that have a brewery nearby their exploitation. Because fresh spent grains are way more cheaper than dry spent grain which requires a pre-treatment of dehydration to be stocked. But for cattle rations, the vast majority doesn’t include spent grains at all.”
And what do you know about the use of brewers' spent grain to perform methanation?
“Yes, but the main problem here with methanation, is that there is a misuse of vegetable production only to supply them. In order to have a huge production of biogas, they will put a lot of good vegetables that can be used somewhere else. But to be honest I have a political approach about methaniser, because if we take the example of spent grain, this is too interesting food supplement for livestock to be used only for methanation. Of course we make renewable energy here but at what cost ? Of surfaces cultivated with chemical products, of tractors that use fuel oil etc… “
Thanks for your advice on methanation. The fact is that we don’t want to use a by-product that can be already up-scale somewhere else and it is the same regarding agrofood for livestock.
“But, since you’re only using the energy source by extracting starch, you will not degrade vegetable proteins and the nitrogen source for livestock remains intact. Despite everything you are a bit complementary, then it is necessary to see if it is possible concretely.”
Yes, that's a good idea, because our GMOs don't need to be in contact with the nitrogen source present in spent grains!
How we integrated this interview:
The main crucial information the StarchLight team must take into account here is that the brewers' spent grain can still be used after the extraction of starch. In fact, it is necessary to prove in the laboratory that our extraction of starch is not harmful to the vegetable proteins that are the main source of nitrogen for the agrofood of livestocks.
Then a new question came to our mind about the kill switch we want to implement in our bacteria. A kill-switch is something that tells a bacterium whether to live or die, depending on specific environmental conditions.
Our modified bacteria should not be directly in contact with the brewers' spent grain
due to potential contamination with others already present microorganisms. But if bacteria
needs to be in contact with spent grain in order to improve the extraction of starch, the test
of a functional kill switch needs to be done in the lab to reuse the brewers' spent grain for
livestock after our sugar extraction.
In the future if we manage to do that, the main by-product of the beer brewing process can
be up-scale as feeding livestock and also as making electricity!
5°) Interview about GMOs’ legislation.
Regarding GMOs’ laws, we had the opportunity to talk with someone who wishes to remain
anonymous from our French government working at the “minister of research and higher
education” specialized in GMOs.
This interview constitutes a key point for the future implementation of our project. In fact,
since the Starchlight project is making a bio-battery that may be used directly in breweries,
we had to learn more about releasing GMOs in the environment.
Any use of GMOs requires a risk analysis. The facilities in which contained uses are implemented must be approved. But we are using GMOs with no or negligible risk for the environment and public health (class 1), so in the context of a research, development or teaching project, two cases can be distinguished:
1°) The first case is about testing our prototype in a facility (laboratory or brewery) that does not yet have a GMO facility approval: the operator of the facility will have to apply for a facility approval and at the same time file a GMO use declaration.
2°) The second case is about testing our prototype within a facility that already has approval as a GMO facility, then the operator of that facility shall compile and make available to the ministry in charge of research, a risk assessment file for that new use.
As provided for in article L. 532-3 of the Environmental Code, new Class 1 uses may be implemented in an approved facility without re-declaring, subject to a prior risk assessment, that is made available to the administration. But these self-assessments will be requested during inspection visits by the Ministry of Research.
This meeting allowed us to think about a future strategy for the implementation of our prototype in breweries.
How we integrated this interview:
Regarding these interviews, the StarchLight team thought about the idea of doing all the necessary experiments in the laboratory because our lab has the GMO facility approval.
However, the implementation of equipment containing Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in the food industry is highly regulated and the Starchlight device is designed accordingly. StarchLight must pay attention to these regulations for its implementation that could challenge the project even if we designed a device that avoids any leakage. The battery can be fully operated while maintained in its container. Indeed, the only operation needed to switch the device from its charging mode to its powering mode is to either expose or hide it from a light source thanks to its integrated door switch mechanism. The batteries would need to be refilled with a growth medium on a regular basis. This has to be performed in a laboratory with a proper biosafety and containment level.
All this gathering of information raised questions about how our project could impact society and the current climate crisis.
For the last 20 years, in France, there has been a resurgence of a love of artisanal beer, meaning beers coming from smaller structures that have a deeper focus on unique tastes and a real identity. Indeed, in the early 2000's, there were barely 10 artisanal breweries in the parisian region, Ile-de-France. But now, early 2022, there are nearly 150! However, beer production creates big amounts of wastes, called spent grain that comes from the cereals (malt, barley) used for the brewing process. In the context of this resurgence of small breweries, we want to help them create a circular economy process in their activity by creating their own energy from their waste by using synthetic biology, and we believe that now is the best time to do so.
The problem we are tackling is the amount of waste produced by the local breweries around the Parisian region. StarchLight solves this problem by re-using the spent grain produced by these breweries, which is a barely revalorized ressource. Moreover, StarchLight could be part of the solution to the global problem of green energy production in light of an international willingness to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, Paris and its region is the area with the most polluted air in France, which causes a number of health issues to its inhabitants. Being part of the solution to follow the objective of reducing France's greenhouse gas emissions by 1.5% a year is what we hope to achieve with StarchLight.
Once our project is operational, our first goal would be to help small breweries produce at least a fraction of their energy by using their own waste. This would be beneficial for them as it would mean less waste to get rid of and reduced costs in energy, and it would also be beneficial to the environment. With the growing love for artisanal beer in France and all other the world, we believe that starting by implementing StarchLight in some of the 150 artisanal breweries in the Île-de-France region would be a great start in a real circular economy movement in the field.
In the long term, we hope to create a ripple effect that would encourage other industries to find ways to implement ways to lower their environmental impact, for example, by modifying our project by using other raw materials. We have mainly thought about other industries that produce biomass waste, such as bakeries with bread or food markets with rotten vegetables.
References
- Zeko-Pivač, A.; Tišma, M.; Žnidaršič-Plazl, P.; Kulisic, B.; Sakellaris, G.; Hao, J.; Planinić, M. The Potential of Brewers' Spent Grain in the Circular Bioeconomy: State of the Art and Future Perspectives. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology 2022, 10.