Engineering Better Waste Removal

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Engineering Better Waste Removal
MBAA Midwest Technical Conference September 2008

• Michael P. ONeil
• Applied Technologies, Inc.

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Overview

• Typical WW characteristics
• Typical wastewater (WW) generation rates
• Minimum treatment requirements
• Cost of wastewater
• Motivation for better waste removal
• Types of treatment systems
• Steps to decision making

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Typical Wastewater Characterization
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Typical WW Generation Rates for Breweries

• Range 2 10 bbl ww / bbl beer
• Typical 2 4 bbl ww / bbl beer

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Brewery Size Versus Wastewater Generation
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Options for Discharge

• Discharge to POTW
• with or without pre-treatment system
• Discharge directly to a water body

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Minimum Requirements to Discharge WW to a POTW

• 40 CFR Part 403.5.a General Prohibitions
• A User may not introduce into a POTW any
  pollutant(s) which cause Pass Through or
  Interference.

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Minimum Recommended Treatment for Breweries

• Screening
• Removal of large objects (e.g. bottle caps,
  broken glass, labels, grain, etc.)
• Equalization
• Normalize pH, temperature, solids, and organic
  concentrations to the POTW
• Recommend minimum of 6 to 12 hours retention time
  in EQ tank

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Cost for wastewaterSurcharge Dollars Spent
Annually
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Motivation for Better Waste Removal

• Reasons for Waste Minimization
• Lower sewer charge and surcharge costs
• Keep your facility in regulatory compliance
• Reduce/eliminate excessive product loss
• Reduce or eliminate the need to build or expand a
  wastewater treatment plant
• Conserve water

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Factors Motivating More Advanced Treatment

• Regulatory requirement
• POTW is too small to accommodate your waste load
• State regulatory agency is requiring a
  pretreatment permit
• Want to direct discharge to a water body
• Company image
• Facility is in an environmentally conscious
  community
• Want to be known as an environmentally
  conscious company
• Want to develop good PR (with neighbors, POTW,
  state agencies, etc.)

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Factors Motivating More Advanced Treatment

• Economic
• You want to lower your wastewater discharge
  costs.
• You want to take advantage of renewable energy,
  i.e. biogas utilization to lower energy costs.

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When should you consider advanced treatment?

• Generally, when your annual sewer discharge costs
  approach, or are greater than, 250,000
• This equates to a brewery size of 150,000
  300,000 bbl/year
• Based on flows of 2-4 bbl ww/bbl beer
• Sewer surcharge rates of 0.30/lb BOD, TSS

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Wastewater Treatment System Choices

• Systems treating brewery wastewater are
  universally biological, either aerobic or
  anaerobic in nature.

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Wastewater Treatment System Choices

• Aerobic Systems
• Use aerobic bacteria to reduce BOD in wastewater
• Can reduce both the BOD and TSS of wastewater
• Do not have an energy recovery by-product
• Produce a lot of biosolids that require handling
  and disposal

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Wastewater Treatment System Choices

• Anaerobic Systems
• Use anaerobic bacteria to reduce the BOD in
  wastewater
• Produce a renewable energy by-product (biogas)
• Produce very little biosolids
• Common systems for breweries are
• Upflow anaerobic sludge blankets (UASB)
• Fluidized/Expanded bed

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Smallest Entry Level Treatment Systems

• Aerobic systems
• There are packaged systems available that can
  treat as little as 1,000 gpd or less
• Practically speaking, the smallest aerobic system
  will be sized to treat 10,000 gpd
• Equivalent to a brewery size of between 235,000 -
  470,000 bbl per year production
• Installed cost 400,000 - 900,000

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Smallest Entry Level Treatment Systems

• Anaerobic Systems
• The smallest is a 50 cubic meter UASB system
• Equivalent to a brewery size of between 118,000
  236,000 bbl per year production
• Installed cost 700,000 - 1,200,000

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Typical Aerobic Treatment System for a Brewery

• Activated Sludge Plant
• Reduces both BOD and TSS in the wastewater
  effluent
• HRT 12 to 24 hours
• SRT gt 10 days
• BOD loading 40 to 100 kg/m3d
• BOD removal 90 to 98

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Typical Anaerobic Treatment System for a Brewery

• UASB
• Soluble waste streams
• Generally employs preconditioning system
• Heated, proprietary settler and seed sludge
• HRT - 0.25 to 1.5 d
• SRT - gt 100 d
• COD loading - 5 to 15 kg/m3d
• COD removal - 80 to 95

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Typical Anaerobic Treatment System for a Brewery

• Expanded/Fluidized Bed
• Soluble waste streams
• Generally employs preconditioning system
• Heated, proprietary settler, effluent recycle,
  and various types of media
• HRT - 1 to 48 hr.
• SRT gt 30 to 100 d
• COD loading - 5 to 35 kg/m3d
• COD removal - 60 to 85

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General Biogas Properties

• 50-70 CH4 / 30-50 CO2 / saturated with water /
  traces of H2S and other gases
• Heating value (dry) 500 to 700 BTU/cf

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Biogas Uses

• Heating
• Engine driven equipment
• Power generation
• New technologies

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Steps to Decision

• First step internal review
• Maximize waste minimization
• Conduct a feasibility study
• Become educated on your options and available
  technology
• Pre-design or design
• Install and operate

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Any questions?
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Thanks!