Science & Tech · Science & Environment · 1 hr ago
Japanese sake brewer turns used charcoal into odor-cutting cattle feed
Hakutsuru Sake Brewing in Kobe has found a new use for activated carbon left over from sake production.
The used carbon was usually treated as industrial waste, and its moisture made it less useful as compost.
The company mixed it with pulp to make feed that cattle can eat.
Tests found the feed cut mercaptans in manure by 92 percent and hydrogen sulfide by 87 percent, reducing compounds that cause unpleasant smells.
A Kobe cattle farmer says his animals eat the feed readily and that it helps control odors on his urban farm.
Hakutsuru began selling the product around 2022, and six other sake brewers have joined efforts to reuse spent carbon.
The company plans to turn manure from the cattle into compost for rice paddies, then use the rice to brew sake, linking farms and breweries in a recycling cycle.
Kobe-based Hakutsuru Sake Brewing has turned spent activated carbon from sake production into cattle feed that reduces manure odors.
The company says the feed cuts mercaptans by 92 percent and hydrogen sulfide by 87 percent.
Hakutsuru began selling the product around 2022, and six other sake brewers have joined efforts to reuse activated carbon.
The initiative gives value to material that was generally treated as industrial waste.
Hakutsuru is also planning to use manure from cattle fed the product as compost for rice paddies used to grow sake rice.
- Who
- Kobe-based Hakutsuru Sake Brewing developed the feed. Six other sake brewers have joined efforts to reuse activated carbon.
- What
- Spent activated carbon is combined with pulp to make cattle feed that reduces odor-causing compounds in manure.
- When
- Hakutsuru began selling the feed around 2022.
- Where
- The initiative is based in Japan, with Hakutsuru in Kobe and participating brewers in Nada and Fushimi.
- Why
- The company sought to reuse spent activated carbon, which had generally been treated as industrial waste, and reduce manure odors.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Activated carbon began to be used in sake production to help preserve the drink's color and aroma.
Hakutsuru began selling cattle feed made with spent activated carbon.
Kyodo published a feature about the reuse initiative and its cattle feed.
- Mercaptans reduction
- 92 percent
- Hydrogen sulfide reduction
- 87 percent
- Hakutsuru's annual activated carbon use
- About 100 tons
- Japanese brewers' annual activated carbon use
- At least 1,000 tons
- Other participating brewers
- Six
What people are saying
Because my farm is in an urban area, keeping odors under control is important. This feed really helps reduce the smell of the manure.
They seem to really like it. Maybe the aroma of the sake has something to do with it.
We want to tackle the environmental impact of waste at its source.
I hope more regions will find ways to recycle and reuse their activated carbon locally.