OVERVIEW 

Anga is dedicated to reducing carbon emissions from whiskey distilleries by finding valuable uses for their by-products. His primary focus is developing a unique reactor called LENA, which can produce biogas and other bio-based chemicals. His primary research objective is to explore various pathways to decarbonise and valorise distillery by-products, in line with the circular economy principles. His research is funded by the Irish Research Council (IRC). under award number GOIPH/2021/932

CURRENT ACTIVITIES

Evaluating the plausibility of a demand-driven energy approach from the LENA reactor.

BACKGROUND

To achieve corporate social responsibility goals and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Ireland’s whiskey industry, circular economy strategies are crucial. The proposed LENA system aims to valorise whiskey by-products through anaerobic digestion, generating biogas and volatile fatty acids (VFAs) with broad applications, such as producing platform chemicals. Biogas can be upgraded to biomethane for injection into the gas grid or as a transport fuel. The project seeks to optimize the LENA system for sustainability and economic benefit through demand-driven energy generation and will involve laboratory trials, techno-economic analysis, and lifecycle assessment to promote renewable technologies, sustainable fuels, and climate mitigation in the industry.