Dairy waste biofuel process targets UK's salty whey stream

New process converts dairy byproduct into renewable energy without new land/water use

British biotech firm Take Root Bio and Heriot-Watt University researchers developed a biological process to convert salty whey—cheese production's byproduct—into bioethanol. The method targets approximately 95,000 tonnes of salty whey produced annually in the UK, per Scotland's Heriot-Watt University. This waste stream currently contains 4% to 10% salt, 15 to 20 times salt concentration of conventional sweet whey.

The process remains in development. Researchers have not disclosed the microorganism used, feedstock salt concentration, pretreatment methods, ethanol yield, or residual stream composition. Economic viability at industrial scale is unconfirmed, though Take Root Bio is exploring mobile units for installation near dairies to reduce transport costs. Applications beyond cheese waste are also under investigation.

This work addresses energy waste from dairy processing while avoiding new land or water use. However, technical details are proprietary, scalability remains unproven, and the process has not yet reached commercial deployment. The source material provides limited detail on economic feasibility and technical output.

Source: New Atlas