Pot ale is a wastewater produced by the whisky industry, as the residual of the distillation process (Fig. 1). Pot ale is produced in millions m3/year and causes serious environmental concerns due to the high levels of COD, BOD, phosphorus and ammonia, as well as the presence of copper [1]. Current processes to dispose or treat pot ale include: direct disposal to the sea, spreading on land as fertiliser, evaporation to produce pot ale syrup and anaerobic digestion [2,3]. However, all these methods for disposal or treatment have their limitations. Direct disposal to the sea is only possible in very limited circumstances, where the location of the
distillery allows it. Spreading on land as fertiliser causes concern, due to the possible toxic effects of the pollutants contained in pot ale. Evaporation to produce pot ale syrup is expensive due to the high energy costs and the use of pot ale syrup is limited because it cannot be fed to sheep due to its copper content