Treatment and resource recovery options for first and second generation bioethanol spentwash – a review

A decline in the availability of fossil fuel resources coupled with deleterious environmental concerns has prompted further research into biofuels. Conventional bioethanol production via a first-generation approach may soon become superseded through integration with lignocellulosic feedstocks. However, the underlying concerns pertaining to the disposal of high-strength liquid waste (i.e. spentwash) remain both unchanged and constitute a substantial cost to bioethanol manufacturers. Therefore this review details current efforts in the literature to elucidate various approaches for spentwash treatment and investigate the potential for resource recovery. Insight into the composition of distillery wastewater is given in the lead-up to a thorough discussion encompassing the origin, transformation and characterisation of the highly problematic melanoidin compounds entrained within this effluent. Close examination of advanced organic characterisation methods used by researches yields further insight into the nature of spentwash dissolved organic matter (DOM). Employment of both biological and physio-chemical treatment schemes to alleviate the environmental footprint of such high-strength wastewater are also reviewed. Opportunities to dramatically improve the economic viability of biofuel production by exploiting the potential for resource recovery in the form of energy, organic/inorganic constituents and effluent reuse are discussed. Overall, the review culminates by highlighting recommendations for future work to accelerate the onset of an environmentally benign bio-refinery