Brewers spent grain contains a high level of protein, which makes it interesting as a secondary raw material to use in food or feed. It also contains lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose. Brewer’s spent grain is available in vast amounts and is currently used to feed cattle, for flour and as fertilizer.
- We aim to transform brewers spent grain into a high-value product that meets the nutritional requirements of fish. Our main objective was to compile an overview of different methods that may help facilitate the implementation of the brewer’s spent grain in aquafeeds. But this is not entirely straight forward. Before brewer’s spent grain can be used as a protein source, the cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin fractions must be removed as they constitute antinutritional factors for fish. This can be done by applying a combination of chemical and biological treatments, Freja Karlsen explains
SUREAQUA is a multidisciplinary centre working to provide competence, innovation and technology to ensure sustainability and resilience in aquatic and associated land-based value chains. As a part of this initiative NORCE-researcher Freja Karlsen’s PhD-project at the National Institute of Aquatic Resources at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) was to study the possibility of developing a sustainable product for fish-feed from brewers' spent grain.