Brewery effluent treatment is a crucial part of wastewater treatment in the food and beverage industry. Water is not only a core component in production, but also absolutely necessary to clean all process steps. Depending on the size of the brewery, between 3.5 and 6 litres of water are needed to produce one litre of beer.
A brewery in the UK produces up to 10,000 hectolitres of beer a year. On average, this produces about 20 m³ of wastewater per day. To be able to discharge this directly into the environment, the owners wanted a solution for wastewater treatment. Since the ClearFox® team already has a lot of experience with the brewery effluent treatment, they were able to offer a fast and reliable solution.
The challenge in this project was the irregular wastewater production. This mainly occurs when cleaning the vats, pans, and storage tanks. The ClearFox® team therefore had the task of balancing the inflow peaks.
For this project, the ClearFox® team planned a wastewater treatment plant with FBBR technology in concrete tanks. The ClearFox® engineers had the tanks produced on site – this met the customer’s wishes. The total of five tanks serves as buffer tank, FBBR reactor and lamella clarifier. They are suitable for below-ground installation and are thus particularly space-saving.
Before the wastewater flows into the buffer tank, a compact screw screen filters out coarse solids such as husks or spent grains. The buffer tank is important first and foremost to compensate for inflow peaks. After that, the wastewater flows continuously into the fixed-bed reactor. Since wastewater from breweries can be treated biologically very well, the FBBR process is the ideal solution for this project. The wastewater has a COD of around 5,000 mg/l and a BOD5 of around 2,500 mg/l. The biological treatment achieves a COD of 150 mg/l and a BOD5 of 40 mg/l, making the treated wastewater ideal for direct discharge.
Yes, ClearFox® FBBR technology is suitable for a wide range of wastewater, especially from the food and beverage industry. Our engineers will analyze the specific requirements of your project, such as wastewater volumes, pollution levels and flow variations, to develop a customized solution.
FBBR technology is particularly suitable for wastewater with a high biological content, as typically occurs in breweries, dairies, slaughterhouses or other food and beverage production.
Our solutions can be adapted to different sized production plants. The solution shown is designed for daily wastewater volumes of around 20 m³, but can be scaled for larger or smaller capacities.
A buffer tank balances out inflow peaks and ensures a consistent supply to the biological reactor. This is particularly important when wastewater is generated irregularly, e.g. during cleaning processes.
The planning and installation time depends on the individual requirements. Typically, a system like this can be implemented within three to six months from the initial inquiry to commissioning.
ClearFox® offers comprehensive support, including regular maintenance, training for your team and remote monitoring of the plant to ensure reliable operation.
