Application of supercritical fluid extraction to brewer's spent grain management

This work reports a study of the the use of supercritical fluid technology coupled with pretreatment processes for the valorization of brewer's spent grain (BSG), a beer production residue, to design a global management process producing valuable extracts and raffinate stabilization. The SC-CO2 extraction of BSG was performed at temperatures of 313, 333, and 353 K and at pressures from 10 to 35 MPa using raw and milled BSG. Optimal extraction conditions were selected considering the criterion of maximum yield: 313 K temperature, 35 MPa pressure, and milled BSG. Equilibrium and mass-transfer parameters were determined for use in, the development of scale-up procedures. A preliminary economic study was performed to determine that the proposed process is economically feasible.