Australia Turns Stale, Unsold Beer Into Renewable Energy

Coronavirus lockdown in Australia forced restaurants and bars to shut down, leading to liters of beer go stale and eventually, waste. However, the country quickly figured out a way to turn the waste into something that can be put to instant use.

In the state of South Australia, some varieties of expired ales and lagers have been used to power a water treatment plan.

In recent months, millions of liters of stale beer are being used at the Glenelg Wastewater Treatment Plant in Adelaide to convert it into renewable energy that can power its water treatment process.

"By adding around 150,000 liters of expired beer per week, we generated a record 355,200 cubic meters of biogas in May and another 320,000 cubic meters in June, which is enough to power 1,200 houses," said Lisa Hannant, senior manager of production and treatment at the plant.

The plant makes use of organic industrial waste, which is mixed with sewage sludge to produce biogas. This biogas is converted into electricity, which in turn powers the entire plant. The plan produced enough biogas to meet 80 percent of the requirements of the plant.

Now with the influx of stale beers from local breweries, the plant has reached a new level of about 654-megawatt hours of energy generation in one month.

Beer has high calorific value, which makes it excellent for the anaerobic digestion process. Digestors incorporate the sewage sludge, which is heated to produce in an oxygen-free environment to decompose and eventually produce biogas.

"Honorably, our thirsty digesters have been doing their bit for the environment by drinking themselves silly and with such a horrific diet it's no wonder they produce so much gas!” she said.

The biogas created by the plant by using the stale beer can eventually be used to brew new batches of fresh beer. The brewing industry has been particularly hit hard due to Australia’s coronavirus lockdown. One of the largest breweries, Lion Beer Australia, said in May that it is emptying around 4.5 million liters of stale beer for use at the plant.