A French company, Valbio, has built a power plant in the Alps that turns whey from Beaufort cheese production into 2.8 million kWh of energy per year. The process uses bacteria to ferment whey and produces methane and carbon dioxide gases to generate power. The aim is to minimize waste, with only clean mineral water being the output not reused. France is known for its love of cheese, with 96% of the population eating it and protecting it through the Appellation d’Origine Protégé (AOP).
France is one of the largest producers and consumers of cheese in the world, but it is unique when it comes to the usefulness of cheese.
A renewable energy company known as Valbio has built a power plant in the French Alps that turns whey, a byproduct of cheese making, into 2.8 million kilowatt hours a year, enough to power 1,500 of the region’s 18,000 residents. city of Albertville.
The process is quite simple: whey from the local production of Beaufort cheese is mixed with bacteria. The resulting fermentation produces a mixture of carbon dioxide and methane gas, which is used to generate power in an engine that heats water to 194°F (90°C).
The entire process is intended to minimize waste; in fact, part of the Beaufort cheesemaking process leaves cream behind, but this is used to make butter, cottage cheese, and protein powders. Indeed, clean mineral water is the only output of the process that is not reused.
The French and their cheese:
About 96% of all French people eat some type of cheese, with about half of the population consuming it every day.
According to legend, blue (bleu) cheese was invented by a Frenchman who put his cheese in a cave and forgot about it until months later.
France protects all of its cheeses through the Appellation d’Origine Protégé (AOP), which guarantees that a cheese is made in a certain way and in a certain region.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
