Upcycling of brewer's spent grain : development of a biorefinery approach
(2024)
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- With the expansion of global population, the demand for food intensifies, requiring an increase in production across both agricultural and industrial sectors. This leads to a rise in the generation of biological waste, intensifying the challenge of proper waste management and disposal. In this context, the brewing industry is also expected to increase its production, generating a higher amount of organic residues, of which brewer’s spent grain (BSG) make up 85%. Despite the rich composition of BSG, it is currently poorly valorized. This thesis investigates alternatives to increase the valorization of BSG by extracting its compounds and creating added-value products. An untargeted metabolomic approach was used to optimise a food grade extraction and to analyse the impact of the commonly applied drying pre-treatment on BSG biomass. It was demonstrated that this drying process alters the chemical composition of BSG extracts and that this costly step can be avoided. Among the detected compounds, hordatines, a group of phenolic unique for barley-based products, was identified and studied for their antioxidant potential. To maximize BSG valorization a biorefinery approach was developed, resulting in the recovery of four potentially bioactive fractions. To evaluate the feasibility of the extraction process on a larger scale, a preliminary upscaling was conducted, which proved to be challenging. This thesis provides a step toward transforming BSG recycling into upcycling by extracting multiple added-value products within a single process. It also provides insights for further approaches aimed at maximizing the valorization of BSG, and potentially of other organic biomass.
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Minestrini, M. (2024). Upcycling of brewer’s spent grain : development of a biorefinery approach. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/246953