Project Details

Project Delivery

Project Results

Discussion

Situation

The client is a well-known producer of wines and brandies in eastern Bulgaria. The first modern winery in the region was established in 1932. Since then, the company has grown steadily. In the 1970s, the company stored over 12,000 barrels of brandies from the region. To this day, it is one of the largest producers of brandy in Eastern Europe and has a micro-distillery where it can produce brandies by hand.

As the company grows, the distillery wastewater treatment also plays an increasingly important role. Since hygiene is very important in the distillery, a large amount of wastewater is produced during cleaning. This usually contains discolorations originating from the raw materials, but also sugar, alcohol, peels and pips. In addition, distillery wastewater is slightly acidic, it has a low pH value.

Problem

The challenge in distillery wastewater treatment is the seasonal fluctuations in production. Depending on the grape variety, the harvest stretches from August to the end of October. During this period and the following months, the customer processes the grapes into brandies, which he stores. In the summer months, therefore, there is significantly less wastewater.

Solution

The ClearFox® team offered the client a biological distillery wastewater treatment with screening and pH neutralisation. The engineers designed concrete tanks in which they installed the ClearFox® SBR system. They made sure that the tanks were suitable for high flow rates. Before the wastewater enters the tanks, it goes through screening to remove coarse residues in the wastewater. After pH neutralisation, it enters a buffer tank that feeds the biological treatment stage at regular intervals. All electrical components such as the control system or pumps, but also the nutrient dosing station, were accommodated by the ClearFox® team in a separate machine room.

After the distillery wastewater treatment, the customer discharges the wastewater directly into the sewer system. For this order, the ClearFox® team took over not only the overall project planning but also the engineering of all the tanks, the delivery, the installation on site and the training of the employees.