Beam Suntory to expand, ‘greenify’ distillery

Beam Suntory has invested $400 million to build a gas processing facility in its distillery in Boston, Kentucky, to boost its output by 50 percent while halving its greenhouse gas emissions.

The company will build a facility across the street from the distillery that will convert “spent spillage” from the plant into usable biogas and pipe it back into the distillery.

Upon the project’s completion in 2024, 65 percent of the distillery’s gas-fuel needs will be supplied by the biogas.

The process will also yield fertilizer that will be distributed to local farmers.

To make the most of renewable natural gas, the distillery will use high-efficiency gas boilers. Scrubbing technology will be used to remove carbon dioxide from fermentation tanks.

The facility will be built by 3 Rivers Energy Partners in partnership with Beam Suntory.