Glendullan’s on-site bio-energy plant

Diageo is the world’s largest producer of spirits with a strong commitment to efficient and sustainable production. Our second on-site bio-energy plant for Diageo was built at its Glendullan distillery in the Scottish Highlands. Treating whisky co-products, it demonstrates how the whisky sector can embrace the circular economy. Replacing an existing aerobic plant at another site, the plant is both cutting the site’s carbon footprint and reducing production costs.

Key components of this bio-energy plant are:

Feedstock supply Distillery co-products including pot ale and spent lees, supplemented by feedstock piped from nearby distilleries.

Anaerobic reactor With no internal moving parts, the 3,000m3 AD tank uses external mixing to ensure optimal biogas output.

Solids separation The proprietary system recycles bio-degradable solids to boost COD removal, reducing liquid retention to 3 days.

Biogas handling Biogas, with a 55% methane content, is stored in the biodome, before combustion in the dedicated biogas boiler.

Aerobic treatment In a Sequential Batch Reactor, with pressure filtration prior to clean water discharge into the River Fiddich.

• Objectives

  Objectives

  • Treat process residues generated from distilling 
  • Updating outdated disposal methods
  • Reduction in energy consumed
  • Biogas generation
  • Achieving water course discharge standards
• Solution

  Solution

  Our ClearFleau CSTR liquid digestion (AD) technology converts distillation co-products into biogas which is used to supply renewable heat for use in the distillation process. It can reduce the chemical oxygen demand (COD) in feedstocks by over 95%, including higher-strength materials such as pot ale.

  The innovative Glendullan design reflects its sensitive location in a valley adjacent to the River Fiddich, achieving the appropriate water course discharge standards.

   

   

• Benefits

  Benefits

  • Enabling increased local production
  • Accessing latent energy value in residues
  • Boosting the site’s resource efficiency
  • Income from renewable energy generation
  • Clean water discharged to River Fiddich
  • Nutrients from bio-solids for barley crops