• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • About Craft Brewing Business

Craft Brewing Business

Professional Insight, Unfiltered

Craft Brewing Business Craft Brewing Business
  • News
  • Business & Marketing
  • Packaging & Distribution
  • Equipment & Systems
  • Ingredients & Supplies
  • Webinars & White Papers
  • News
  • Business & Marketing
  • Ingredients & Supplies
  • Packaging & Distribution
  • Equipment
  • Webinars & White Papers
  • COVID-19

Spent grains found to dramatically improve brick insulation

December 3, 2013Chris Crowell

spent grain bricks
Delicious!

At some point the question becomes, what problems can’t beer solve? According to an article on the New Scientist, adding a little spent grain to regular old red clay bricks can dramatically improve the insulating powers of said bricks.

From the New Scientist post:

Bricks are often impregnated with polystyrene as a way to enhance their heat-trapping abilities. This is appealing, because the bricks remain strong, and they can be built into energy-efficient buildings, says Eduardo Ferraz of the Polytechnic Institute of Tomar in Portugal. However, EU restrictions on carbon emissions have made it expensive to incorporate polystyrene and other synthetic materials into bricks.

Ferraz and his colleagues have now shown that brewery grains can be mixed into clay bricks to enhance their ability to trap heat, without compromising strength.

We’ve chronicled a couple other innovative ways breweries and entrepreneurial environmental startups are taking advantage of brewing byproducts, and as craft brewing continues to grow, there will no doubt be other opportunities to put spent grain to work. When it comes to insulating bricks, the study shows that a clay paste that is 5 percent spent grain can maintain a brick’s usual strength while reducing heat loss by nearly 30 percent. The grains make a more porous final product, which traps more air and increases heat retention.

One thing could stand in the way of using this process, though: the smell. Bill Daidone of the Acme Brick Company, one of the largest brick manufacturers in the US, says his lab abandoned experiments because the stench of the moist grains was overpowering. “We opened up the bucket and it was terrible,” he says. This problem vanishes once the bricks are fired, though, says Ferraz.

This could be a huge advancement for the brick industry. If any readers out there are located near a brick manufacturer, it might be time to invite them over for a pint or two (with your iPad on the bar conveniently opened to this article).

Brewers Association hits on quality as main objective.jpg
Brewers Association hits on quality as main objective (along with 20 percent market share) #CBC2014
spent grain regulation
FDA backtracks on spent grain rule after brewing industry comments
Barley-Back-Old-Grain-New-Brews
FDA rule regulates spent grain sold as animal feed
FSBC-Image-1
Here’s the fastest growing brewery in the U.S. according to Untappd

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. BeerFacility says

    December 4, 2013 at 2:49 pm

    Wow, cool: Spent grains found to dramatically improve brick insulation – http://t.co/6uMNPZGNXl via @craftbrewingbiz Cheers!

    Log in to Reply
  2. jjadamsfb says

    December 3, 2013 at 11:56 am

    RT @CraftBrewingBiz: Spent grains found to dramatically improve brick insulation
    http://t.co/SzGbqejTp3 What can’t beer do, we ask you?

    Log in to Reply
  3. Adam Holtvogt says

    December 3, 2013 at 10:59 am

    Adam Holtvogt liked this on Facebook.

    Log in to Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

Latest News

  • Riverbend Malt House adds limited quantity of Hickory King Corn
  • Here’s the fastest growing brewery in the U.S. according to Untappd
  • Isuzu celebrates after producing 100,000th N-Series truck
  • Women of the Bevolution and Beer Kulture announce Monique Gray, founder of Momentum Cider, as its launchpad grant recipient

Sign up for our newsletter

unsubscribe from list

Most Popular Today

Recent Features

  • FSBC-Image-1Here’s the fastest growing brewery in the U.S. according to Untappd
    June 6, 2023
  • MONTUCKY-HERO-IMAGE___Montucky Cold Snacks announces new mascot and contest winner, plans to plaster his face on its beer cans this fall
    June 5, 2023
  • Video: Watch how Country Malt Group started in a shed and became an America beer supplier success story
    June 5, 2023
  • Constellation sells Funky Buddha and Four Corners back to original owners, says see ya to craft sector
    May 31, 2023
  • liquid-riot-teamCheers to 10 Years: Liquid Riot freshens up look for next decade
    May 30, 2023
  • People news: Colorado’s Dry Dock names new head brewer + moves from Wiseacre, Crooked Hammock and more
    May 30, 2023

Footer

  • Email Newsletter Sign Up
  • About Craft Brewing Business
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise on Craft Brewing Business
  • Media Kit Download
  • Privacy and Terms

© 2023 · CBB Media LLC