Molasses extract plant built in Melbourne for dual benefits

South East Water supports healthy and livable communities by delivering water, sewerage and recycled water services to 1.77 million people in Melbourne’s south-east. The water utility also provides water and sewer services to over 11,000 industrial customers who use water to support commercial, industrial or trade activities like manufacturing and food production.

To protect our environment and support healthy communities for generations to come, South East Water works in partnership with their customers to monitor and manage the water they discharge into the sewer, and find innovative solutions to reduce the impact of industry on our water network.

The opportunity: creating efficiencies by recovering nutrients from food production

One such customer is Lesaffre, a key global player in fermentation for 170 years with a production facility in Melbourne’s south-east where it produces high-quality baking yeast and bakery ingredients for nutrition and health.

Yeast is produced through a fermentation process using molasses, a by-product of refining sugar cane into granular sugar. Once the yeast is extracted from the molasses, the water retains a naturally dark colour and viscosity, and is high in nutrients commonly used in industrial agriculture.

As a result of this naturally occurring colour and viscosity, treating this water accounted for large amount of Melbourne’s Eastern Treatment Plant’s tertiary capacity and had the potential to limit the facility’s capability to manage the growing demand for water treatment in this key industrial and residential growth corridor.

The solution: collaborative approach for mutual benefit

Lesaffre and South East Water came together to understand the challenges and opportunities the issue presented and find a mutually beneficial solution.

Through collaboration and open discussion, Lesaffre and South East Water discovered that their interests and values were closely aligned. Both organisations are focused on supporting community health and wellbeing, being environmentally responsible and supporting innovation.

“We all came to the table with a really collaborative mindset,” said South East Water General Manager Liveable Water Solutions, Charlie Littlefair.

“I think we all understood that there was a great opportunity in front of us to not only create operational efficiencies in the water treatment process, but also to make the most of the nutrient-rich molasses derivatives in a circular economy, which is really exciting.”

The result of this collaborative approach was a new molasses extract plant at Lesaffre’s production plant in Melbourne.

The first of its kind in Australia, the molasses extract plant has the dual benefit of collecting the nutrient-rich derivatives produced through yeast production, which can then be used as food-grade mineral fertiliser for industrial agriculture, as well as significantly reducing the colour and viscosity of the water that is discharged to the Eastern Treatment Plant.

The benefits: long-term value and environmental outcomes

“Ultimately, anything that creates efficiencies in the water recycling process benefits our customers, community and the environment,” Littlefair said.

“Through this partnership, we’re not only supporting industry to be more sustainable, we’re also looking to pass future cost savings on to our customers and reduce the impact of operational expenses on bills.”

Lesaffre’s Australia Pacific Project Director (Agribusiness) Robert Arvier agrees that the benefits of the partnership are significant.

“Our molasses extract plant is a great tool to manufacture premium and innovative products. Through this new facility located in the heart of our production unit, we now can propose innovative and sustainable solutions to numerous technical and agri-applications whilst substantially reducing the impact of our plant on the environment and on our wider community,” Arvier said.

It’s also a long-term investment in Melbourne’s food production industry. Lesaffre has been producing in Australia for nearly 30 years, and the partnership with South East Water will support the long-term viability of the industry in Australia — providing employment opportunities and demonstrating the value of investing in local industry.

The development of the molasses extract plant process also represents an opportunity for new technical market applications across a range of industries. These include ruminant nutrition, industrial dust suppression, pelletising, cardboard manufacturing and even in dishwasher tablets.

Image credit: iStock.com/Michelle Lee Photography