Multisectorial Energy Integration of Low-Temperature Brewery Process, Manufacturing Industry and District Heating Network

Low-temperature industrial processes release substantial amounts of waste heat, representing a largely untapped renewable energy resource. This study focuses on the brewery sector, encompassing both beer and whiskey production, along with its integration with manufacturing and city. The brewery industry generates approximately 0.061 kWh of waste heat per liter of beer, while whiskey production releases around 2.2 kWh per liter, with most of this waste heat available at temperatures close to 95 °C. Such low-grade heat is well suited to meet heating demands in manufacturing industries and urban district heating networks, where temperature requirements typically remain below 80 °C. Multiple technological options for meeting process heat requirements and recovering waste heat are evaluated using the OSMOSE energy integration framework. The study assesses the technical performance and economic viability of these options under varying assumptions for electricity prices, natural gas prices, and carbon pricing. Depending on market conditions, overall external utilities consumption reductions ranging from 22% to 63% are achieved. Price of utilities also has an effect on reduction of emission, as it is ranging from 25% to 90%.The results highlight the significant potential for cross-sectoral heat integration between breweries, manufacturing industries, and urban energy systems. A comparison is drawn between a case in which 5 th generation system (case 1) is activated and a case in which 5 th generation is not active (case 2). It was observed in most of the market conditions, case 1 is energetically, environmentally and economically more sustainable compared to case 2. In one of the market condition it was possible for both the cases to be energetically a carbon negative solution as it was economically feasible to capture biogenic CO2. The work helps in validating that strategic waste heat recovery and utilization can substantially enhance energy efficiency, support industrial decarbonization pathways, and improve the resilience of urban energy infrastructures.