Advancing circularity in the dairy industry: Integrated pyrolysis-anaerobic technology

The dairy industries in India and Australia put them as world’s largest producer and exporter of dairy products, respectively. Despite the socio-economic benefits, this industry struggles to cope with environmental issues, especially due to unsustainable waste management. Pyrolysis is the decomposition of organic materials through the application of heat in the absence of oxygen. It has gained traction since it efficiently converts non-biodegradable waste into biochar which finds numerous applications. On the other hand, anaerobic digestion (AD) converts biodegradable organics into bioenergy, in the form of biomethane. As such, pyrolysis and AD technologies could be employed for recycling packaging waste into biochar and milk/cheese/whey/butter processing waste and residues to biomethane, respectively. ;This proposed research will delve into integrating pyrolysis with anaerobic digestion to facilitate more complete dairy waste management. The biochar from the pyrolysis of bio-recalcitrant dairy waste will be employed in anaerobic digester to optimize bioprocesses and improve bioenergy production. ;Initially, biochar will be produced using lab scale pyrolysis units, where the pyrolysis conditions will be optimised for maximum biochar yield. Proof-of-concept batch assays will be followed by long-term continuous bioreactor operation to demonstrate the enhanced process performance of anaerobic digesters through biochar supplementation. Microbial communities will be characterised and their activity will be assessed. The project will also focus on life cycle assessment and techno economic evaluation of the proposed technique.