Water and Wastewater Treatment

in the Alcoholic Beverage Industry

Doroy Huyo Pinili Tantengco

Beer
Distilled
Spirits

Wine

Beer
Also called malt beverages

Produced from grain fermentation

Commonly used grains include:

Barley

Rice

Rye

Corn

Wheat

Production is comprised of FOUR main

steps:

Brew house operations

Fermentation

aging or secondary fermentation

Packaging

Distilled Spirits

Includes:

Vodka

Gin

Rum

Whisky

Brandy

Potatoes, sugarcane, molasses and agave are used

Whiskies are produced from fermented grain mashes and aged.

Vodkas are produced from fermented grain mashes, but are not aged.

Gins are produced from the fermented product, grain neutral spirits (GNS), to which either botanical
extracts and/or flavors are added to the GNS and bottled, or dried botanicals (e.g., juniper berries)
are added to the GNS to extract their oils and then distilled.

Rums are made from fermented sugar cane products, such as molasses.

Brandy is an alcoholic distillate or mixture of distillates obtained from the fermented juice, mash, or
wine from grapes or other fruit (e.g., apples, apricots, peaches, blackberries, or boysenberries.

Production of Distilled Spirits is comprised of

SIX main steps:
1. Milling
2. Mashing
3. Fermentation
4. Distillation
5. Aging or Maturation
6. Bottling

Distilled Spirits
Figure 2. General Production of Distilled Spirits (adapted from Kentucky
Bourbon Trail)

Wine
Produced by fermentation of sugars in
fruit juices, primarily grape juice.
Basic steps in wine production include:
1. Harvesting
2. Crushing
3. Pressing
4. Fermentation
5. Clarification
6. Aging
7. Finishing
8. Bottling

Table 1. Types of alcoholic beverages

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Alcohol Industry
Water Quality

BEVERAGE RAW MATERIALS

AGRICULTUR
AL
Ingredients

CHEMICALS
(flavorings,
sweeteners)

WATER

(grains, rye, barley,

grapes)

Water is the largest ingredients in beverage products.

In most industrial water, the hardness and the concentrations of
chloride or other substances that may cause corrosion are low.
Bacteriological, color, disssolved oxygen requirements are minimal.

WATER in Beverage Industry

Alkalinity

POTABLE
WATER

Mineral
content

Color

Pathogens

Acidity

WATER is treated mainly with granular activated carbon for the

removal of chlorine by-products. Reverse Osmosis, separate bed
deionizers or mixed bed deionizers may be required to keep
water quality consistent for product quality.

Table 2. Recommended
quality parameter for
treated water (NPCS Board of
Consultants & Engineers, 2008)

It should be clean,
clear, and free from
bad-tasting impurities
such as iron. Water
high in lime or iron
can interfere with the
fermentation process
and
discolour
the
final product.

Water Treatment

Removal of suspended solids

The food and beverages processing industry:

- requires a huge amount of water wherein it uses water for many
purposes.
- the quality and purity of the water is of primary concern since it is
used to make products that will be consumed.
- potable water is first treated to soften it and to remove additional
minerals.
Water is also used to clean and sanitize floors, processing
equipment, containers, vessels, and the raw food products prior to
their processing. Hot water, steam, cooling, and refrigeration also
require source water.

Eight major water-using activities in the food- and beveragemanufacturing sector (Alliance for Water Efficiency, 2014):
cleaning and sanitation
thermodynamic processes (water is in the production of steam,
hot water and in cooling towers)
transportation and cleaning of food products
equipment cleaning
container (bottles, cans, cartons, etc.) cleaning
lubricating can and bottle conveyor belts
can and bottle warming and cooling
product ingredients

The water used in the production of alcoholic

beverages is municipal and raw water.
Municipal water such as the Metropolitan Cebu
Water District (MCWD) is treated to meet drinking
water standards . Raw water can either be surface
or ground water that is directly taken from the
source and has not undergone treatment.

Sources of Water in Alcoholic Beverage

Production

Since water is mainly used for the cleaning of containers, process equipment and washing, major
portion of water used results as wastewater from different sections of the processing plant. The
common sources of wastewater in the brewery, winery and distillery are as follows:
wastewater from sanitary and employee facilities
rainwater
cooling water
production wastewater
wash water (from rinsing and cleaning of process equipment)
water from the cleaning of packaging material (bottles)
condensates
cleaning water (floors)
fruit waste (grapes)

Sources of Wastewater in Alcoholic Beverage

Production

Table 3. Main Areas of Wastewater Generation

(taken from Brewers Association)

Source

Operation

Characteristics

Mash Tun

Rinsing

Cellulose, sugars, amino acids, ~3000 ppm BOD

Lauter Tun

Rinsing

Cellulose, sugars, spent grain. SS~3000 ppm, BOD

~10000 ppm

Spent Grain

Last running and washing

Cellulose, nitrogenous material. Very high in SS

(~30000 ppm). Up to 100000 ppm BOD

Boil Kettle

Dewatering

Nitrogenous residue. BOD ~2000 ppm

Whirlpool

Rinsing spent hops and hot tub

Proteins, sludge and wart. High in SS (~35000 ppm).

BOD ~85000 ppm

Fermenters

Rinsing

Yeast SS~6000 PPM, BOD up to 100000 ppm

Storage Tanks

Rinsing

Beer, yeast, protein. High SS (~4000 ppm). BOD

~80000 ppm

Filtration

Cleaning, start up, end of filtration, leaks during

filtration

Excessive SS (up to 60000 ppm). Beer, yeast, proteins.

BOD up to 135 000 ppm

Beer Spills

Waste, flushing

1,000 ppm BOD

Bottled washer

Discharges from bottle washer operation

High pH due to chemical used. Also high SS and BOD,

esp. thru load of paper pulp

Keg washer

Discharges from keg washing operation

Low in SS (~400 ppm). Higher BOD

Miscellaneous

Discharged cleaning and sanitation materials.

Floor washing, flushing water, boiler blow-down

Relatively low on SS and BOD. Problem is Ph due to

chemicals being used.

Treatment of Alcohol
Industry Wastewaters

Alcohol industries generate huge amounts

of acidic, recalcitrant and colored
wastewaters with high organic content
Anaerobic treatment is one of the most
commonly applied technologies for alcohol
industry effluents with a high treatment
efficiency and bioenergy recovery

Examples of Anaerobic reactors:

Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) Reactor

Expanded Granular Sludge Bed (EGSB) Reactor

Upflow Anaerobic Filter (UAF)

Upflow Fixed Film Column (UFFC)

Upflow Fluidized Bed (UFB)

Down-flow Fluidized Bed (DFB)

Anaerobic Hybrid Reactor

Parameters to Monitor Wastewater Effluent Quality

Chemical Parameters
Solids content (TS, VS, FS, TSS,
VSS, TDS)
pH (hydrogen-ion concentration in
water)
DO (the higher the DO is, the
better the water quality is)
Oxygen Demand (BOD/COD)
Nitrogen & Phosphorus (TN, TKN,
TP)
Total Organic Carbon
Heavy Metals

Wastewater Characteristics

Table 4. Wastewater Characteristics of Alcoholic Beverages

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Treatment of Brewery Wastewater

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Treatment of Winery Wastewater

Distillery Wastewater or stillage

Anaerobic digestion is widely accepted as first treatment step in

distilleries.

Typical BOD/COD ratio of 0.8-0.9 indicates suitability of distillery

wastewaters for biological treatment and biochemical energy recovered
is 85-90% as biogas(Mohana et al., 2007).

A list of common types of anaerobic reactors used for distillery effluent

treatment is shown in Table 5.

Table 5. Anaerobic methods employed for distillery effluent

treatment

Treatment of Distillery Wastewater

Appearance and taste. Good quality water is clear, colourless, tasteless, and free from turbidity and
soluble solids
Nitrates. Fertilizers and decaying animal matter can cause nitrates to be present in water. Nitrates
should be kept to a minimum in potable waters.
Chloride. High level of chloride in water, i.e. 100 mg/L, may be an indication of pollution by sewage, or
contamination by sea water.
Organic content. Various acids, e.g. humic acid and fulvic acid, polysaccharides and microbial
contaminants, can be present in water in very small amounts.
Microorganisms. Microorganisms of all types can be found in water from all natural sources. High
bacterial counts indicate polluted water, and the presence of coliform bacteria indicates faecal
contamination.
Phosphates and Silicates. The phosphate of water is representative of the residues of the
decomposition of sewage or vegetation, and should not be present in good quality water levels greater
than 0.05 mg PO4/L.
Trace metals. Water that is polluted by industrial effluents may contain small amounts of various
metals. Although they may not be toxic at the levels found, they can cause problems such as brown
deposits.
Chlorinated substances. Water from the main supply is generally treated with chlorine prior to
entering the supply steam, as a means of maintaining sterility. Chloramines give water a medicated
taste.

Pollution indicators. It is totally impractical to check water for every potential pollutant.
However, the presence of certain parameters can give an indication of the type and sources of
pollution present

Parameters that affect the quality of water and wastewater

Indicator
Coliform bacteria
especially E. Coli

Pollutant
Intestinal pathogens due to faecal contamination

Yellow/brown colour

Inorganic chemicals, organic debris

pH lower than 6.5

Free CO2

pH higher than 8.5

Carbonates and bicarbonates

Free ammonia

Sewage and/or decaying vegetable matter

Nitrites

Soil bacteria, sewage or manure

Nitrates

Fertilizers, decaying animal matter

High levels of chloride

e.g. 100 mg/L
Trace metals

Sewage or seawater
Industrial effluent

Indicators for pollutants in water

Wastewater Statutory Requirements

Chemical oxygen demand: maximum of 200 ppm

Biochemical oxygen demand: maximum of 100 ppm

Suspended solids: maximum of 150 ppm

pH: 6-9

References

http://www.formatex.info/microbiology2/988-999.pdf?_
360safeparam=315193828

http://www.westfalia-separator.com.sg/v2/applications/fluids-water/brewery-wa
ste-water.html

http://
www.westfalia-separator.com.sg/v2/applications/fluids-water/waste-water-in-wi
neries.html

https://
repositorium.sdum.uminho.pt/bitstream/1822/6012/1/Brewery_and_Winery_W
astewater_Treatment%5B2%5D.pdf

http://
extension.psu.edu/food/enology/beer-and-spirits/distilled-spirits/notes-from-th
e-kentucky-bourbon-trail

http://
environmentclearance.nic.in/writereaddata/Form-1A/HomeLinks/TGM_Distiller
y_010910_NK.pdf

http://www.brewersassociation.org/attachments/0001/1517/Sustainability_-_W
ater_Wastewater.pdf