A company that helped design how astronauts grow and recycle food in space is working with Heriot-Watt University to tackle the problem of dairy waste here on Earth. Take Root Bio worked with the International Centre for Brewing and Distilling (ICBD) to successfully turn salty whey, a high-volume by-product from cheese production, into a widely used fuel called bioethanol.
Supported by the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC), which connected the two organisations through its industry network, the project brought together Take Root Bio’s closed-loop approach with Heriot-Watt’s expertise in bio-based solutions. Together, they looked at how the sugars found in salty whey could be transformed through a bio-based process, creating value from a material that is often difficult and costly to manage. The process also leaves behind a secondary stream that could potentially be recovered and reused.
The challenge of disposing of salty whey is significant. Around 95,000 tonnes are generated in the UK each year from production of cheddar and similar cheeses, and its combination of milk sugars and high salt content makes management particularly difficult. A single cheese producer can generate tens of thousands of litres every week, creating both environmental and economic pressures for the sector.
While the project focuses on dairy waste, the thinking behind it comes directly from the Take Root’ Bio’s background in biosphere engineering and complements Heriot-Watt’s circular economy expertise. In the kinds of systems Take Root develops, resources are kept in use for as long as possible, with one process feeding into the next rather than creating waste.
That same thinking runs through Heriot-Watt’s side of the project. Its scientists specialise in finding new value in food and drink by-products. They use biological processes to turn difficult materials into usable resources, making the partnership a natural fit
At the heart of the project was the idea that salty whey could be treated as a resource rather than waste, meaning dairy producers could potentially reduce the costs associated with its management while providing feedstock for new bio-based products. The company is also looking at whether mobile production units could be deployed closer to where these by-products are produced, helping to reduce transport requirements and making the concept easier to scale.
The concept now will enter a pilot stage together with cheese makers.
