Valorization of Spent Brewer’s Yeast for the Production of High-Value Products, Materials, and Biofuels and Environmental Application

Abstract

Spent brewer’s yeast (SBY) is a byproduct of the brewing industry traditionally used as a feed additive, although it could have much broader applications. In this paper, a comprehensive review of valorization of SBY for the production of high-value products, new materials, and biofuels, as well as environmental application, is presented. An economic perspective is given by mirroring marketing of conventional SBY with innovative high-value products. Cascading utilization of fine chemicals, biofuels, and nutrients such as proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids released by various SBY treatments has been proposed as a means to maximize the sustainable and circular economy.

Keywords

• spent brewer’s yeast
• high-value products
• β-glucans
• circular bioeconomy
• process sustainability