Bruichladdich Distillery on Islay is to
build an anaerobic digester which will
convert thousands of tonnes of yeasty
waste into methane gas, which will be
burned to make electricity.
This is a project that Bruichladdich
have been working on for over three
years. They began an experiment with a
biogas reactor in March. Their pot ale,
the warm water, dead yeast and
distilling residues will be treated by
aerobic micro-organisms in a tank - the
"reactor" - to decompose the organic
matter in the pot ale and produce
biogas. This in turn can be combusted in
a small generator to create electricity.
Their initial calculations indicate that
around 80% of the distilleries
requirements could be supplied by this
experiment.
Mark Reynier, the owner of Bruichladdich
Distillery, says: "We are going to
install two anaerobic digesters on our
site where the waste will be broken down
to produce biogas, which can then be
burnt to make electricity. In theory, it
could meet all our power needs."
In the past, seaside distilleries piped
the pot ale in to the sea. Under
environmental pressure a decade ago,
this was forbidden as a potential threat
to the biodiversity of the loch. Now,
the pot ale is tankered away daily to
Coal Ila where it is poured down a
pipeline that expels it under the fast
flowing sound of Islay.
In one of those delicious paradoxes, the
biodiversity of the loch has indeed
suffered after a century of organically
rich, warm water being expelled in to it
had been stopped by the environment
protection agency themselves.
So this method will provide Laddie with
a purity of water that even a SEPA
official would be pleased to drink, a
reduction in tankering costs and
associated environmental issues, while
reducing their electricity bill to nigh
on zero in a reliable, minimal
maintenance unit. The digesters will
cost about £300,000 in capital outlay so
it should take just three to five years
to recoup the cost.
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