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Wisconsin Dairy Exploring Building a Biorefinery for Cheese Waste

Sept. 6, 2024

Burnett Dairy Cooperative and Community BioRefineries are considering construction of a plant to convert cheese manufacturing waste and other feedstocks into aviation fuel.

Dave Fusaro

Burnett Dairy Cooperative and Community BioRefineries LLC today said they are exploring a partnership that could lead to construction of an innovative biorefinery that would convert cheese manufacturing waste and other feedstocks into sustainable aviation fuel and other products.

“What we will explore together has tremendous potential for the dairy industry, for renewable energy and for the environment,” said Matt Winsand, CEO of Burnett Dairy, located in Grantsburg, Wis. “We’re excited to be on the leading edge and hope others in our sector will see their own opportunities to be part of it.”

A “true biorefinery” processes a variety of biological materials – feedstock or biomass – to produce fuel or other value-added products. This project would be similar to a microbrewery, in that it centers on fermentation, rather than the cooking or steeping required in ethanol production. It is a small, downscaled process suitable for local use in proximity to feedstocks like food processing waste, industrial grade hemp and other materials.

This project is in line with the federal government’s Sustainable Aviation Fuels Grand Challenge. This joint initiative of the U.S. Depts. of Energy, Transportation and Agriculture created a government-wide commitment to scale up sustainable aviation fuels production to 35 billion gallons per year by 2050, with an initial 2030 goal of 3 billion gallons annually. At full production, the proposed Burnett Dairy project could contribute as much as 600 million gallons annually.

There is no smoke, steam or other emissions, and 100% of feedstocks end up as products. Water involved in the process is purified and then recycled. In addition to highly sought after sustainable aviation fuel, the process can also make ingredients for food and nutraceuticals.

Winsand said while the two organizations have numerous details to explore, the long-term goal is to locate a biorefinery close to the cooperative’s milk processing facility in Grantsburg where cheese production byproducts and a variety of other feedstocks are readily available. The proposed biorefinery would be constructed in three phases. Given the early stage of explorations, no cost estimate is available.

About the Author

Dave Fusaro | Editor in Chief

Dave Fusaro has served as editor in chief of Food Processing magazine since 2003. Dave has 30 years experience in food & beverage industry journalism and has won several national ASBPE writing awards for his Food Processing stories. Dave has been interviewed on CNN, quoted in national newspapers and he authored a 200-page market research report on the milk industry. Formerly an award-winning newspaper reporter who specialized in business writing, he holds a BA in journalism from Marquette University. Prior to joining Food Processing, Dave was Editor-In-Chief of Dairy Foods and was Managing Editor of Prepared Foods.