Brewery Waste Feed Composition Using Polymer Injection
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Solution Overview
Problem
The beer brewing and distilling processes generate significant organic residual materials that are costly to dispose of due to limited options for converting them into higher value products, with existing attempts yielding inefficient and uneconomical results.
Innovation Solution
A feed mixture comprising brewery slurry and spent brewer's grain, enhanced with a GRAS-approved polymer, is processed using a screw press to produce a grain meal product with improved transportability and shelf life, while allowing for the recycling of a secondary liquid stream that meets municipal treatment facility standards.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If brewery residuals are disposed of through traditional methods (wastewater treatment facilities), then disposal is achieved, but disposal costs increase substantially and volume limits are reached
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts harmful brewery residuals (spent grain, yeast, trub) that are currently disposed of as waste into valuable animal feed product. The residual materials, which were previously a burden requiring expensive disposal, are transformed through processing into a beneficial feed product that can be sold or used, thereby eliminating disposal costs and creating revenue streams.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical and chemical parameters of the residual materials through processing steps including drying, grinding, and formulation with binding agents. This transforms the residual materials from a wet, bulky waste product into a dried, compacted feed product with improved handling characteristics and nutritional profile, making it suitable for animal consumption.
2Loss of substance
If brewery residuals are converted to higher value products through existing methods, then value recovery is achieved, but the processes are inefficient and uneconomical
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the complex residual materials into distinct components (spent grain, yeast, trub) and processes them separately or in combination through standardized steps. This segmentation allows for optimized processing of each component and flexible formulation of the final feed product, improving overall process efficiency and economic viability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces binding agents and formulation materials as intermediaries to facilitate the conversion process. These additives act as mediators that bind the residual materials together, improve nutritional balance, and enhance the overall quality of the final feed product, making the conversion process more efficient and economical.
3Loss of substance
If brewery residuals are processed into animal feed, then value is created, but the product has poor physical characteristics for transportation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the feed product through drying to reduce moisture content, grinding to achieve appropriate particle size, and compaction to improve density. These parameter changes transform the product from a loose, bulky material into a compacted, easy-to-transport form that maintains its nutritional value while improving handling and transportation characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite feed product by combining brewery residuals with binding agents, nutrients, and formulation materials. This composite approach improves the physical characteristics of the final product, enhancing its cohesion, nutrient density, and transportability while maintaining its value as animal feed.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The process creates a cost-effective, efficiently produced animal feed product with enhanced physical characteristics and longer shelf life, enabling easier transportation and reducing disposal costs by utilizing brewery residuals effectively.
Implementation Method 1
injecting the GRAS-approved polymer into the mixture as the mixture is pumped into a screw press
Implementation Method 2
pumped into a screw press, and then collecting the finished product from the screw press
Data Source
AI summary
An improvement in the composition of an animal feed product prepared from brewery slurry, spent brewer's grain and a liquid GRAS-approved polymer is described. A process for making the animal feed product, wherein the process combines the brewery slurry and spent brewer's grain, and then injects the GRAS-approved polymer into the mixture as the mixture is pumped into a screw press, and then the finished product is collected from the screw press is described.