The Exprela group has developed a process to produce bioethanol from the whey derived from cheese production, in collaboration with Queizuar; the latter manufacturers and sells the Bama brand of cheese from the Controlled Destination of Origin region of Arzúa-Ulloa.

Preliminary results from a study being carried out by Bilega Energía, a spin-off of the University de A Coruña that is collaborating with this project, show that the bioethanol obtained could be sufficient to cover all the energy needs of a manufacturing plant. The director of the group, Esperanza Cerdán, explains that as a result it’s possible to generate enough energy to satisfy the needs of the company, an example not only of taking advantage of a byproduct to protect the environment, but also of energy efficiency.

The group has already patented this process, and the results of this research could become reality in the near future  thanks to the launch this year of the first pilot plant in Spain that will use this system. Esperanza Cerdán points out that  the use of whey could become an alternative to bioethanol production from agricultural products such as corn, thus reducing the pressure on prices of these products resulting from growing demand in order to produce biofuels.