NEW – Maximizing water reuse at a brewery
Since 2008 the plant has been under pressure to reduce its water use. Firstly to reduce the overall cost of water that was as high as $3.05 per m3, and secondly to help SCC lower its water use of water per beer ratio under 3.5 hectolitre per hectolitre (Hl/Hl) and meet the goals of the Heineken`s Brewing a Better World plan. The SCC originally installed Reverse Osmosis (RO) tertiary treatment in 2008 that was operational until 2012. However, the system was experiencing frequent shutdowns and was not performing satisfactorily. An external partner, GE Water and Power, was then brought in to optimise the process. Between 2012 and 2014, the project succeeded in increasing the production performance of the system by 58% reducing the amount of shutdowns by fivefold. The RO treatment is now producing 82 000m3 per year and reduces the water withdrawal from local municipality that allows for this water to be used by higher priority customers elsewhere.