Wastewater Effluent Solutions for a Growing Craft Beer Industry
Elijah Werlyklein
GEOG 128-12: Environmental Pollution
California State University, Fresno, CA
November 29, 2018
A final manuscript submitted to
Dr. Mohan B Danghi, Associate Professor
Department of Geography and City & Regional Planning
California State University, Fresno
Word Count = 1983
Abstract
The craft beer industry is growing faster than ever before. While beer has always been a popular beverage, consumers tastes have shifted to prefer unique, artisanal brewed beers rather than the large scale productions of huge corporate brewers. This has led to an explosion in the growth of small scale, “Craft” breweries, and with this, the amount of effluent wastewater generated by these brewers has grown as well. Big brewers can deal with their waste water largely though methods brought about due to economies of scale, but smaller brewers must utilize different techniques in filtration and treatment in order to ensure that they do not have an outsized impact on the environment. I intend to present and address various new innovations and techniques that can be used to mitigate brewery wastewater. As every small brewery is unique, a combination of different approaches to the problem may prove useful. My research consisted of journal articles, trade publications, and news articles for a background in the subject. Of these methods, many were found to be successful regarding various aspects of wastewater management, and I ordered them in respect to their effectiveness in my conclusion.
Table of Contents
Cover Page………………………………………………………………………………..……..…i
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………….ii
Table of Contents………………………………………………………………………………….iii
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………..…….…1
Objectives…………………………………………………………………………………..…..…2
Methods…………………………………………………………………………………………….2
Discussion of Results……………………………………………………………………………….3
Conclusions & Recommendations…………………………………………………………………5
References……………………………………………………………………………….…………6
Introduction
Water usage and wastewater treatment is often the last thing that comes to mind when one thinks of a cool, refreshing pint of beer, but it is in fact the largest part of any brewing operation. Beer is, on average, 95% pure water, the remaining 5% comprises everything that the casual drinker would consider the beer flavor. So naturally, having clean water to start with is important. But the water used does not all go into the final product. Most breweries output 70% of their clean water in the form of polluted effluent, which must then be treated before returning to the aquifer, according to the Brewers Association (2018). Since water is a finite resource, and treating water can be an expensive burden, brewers have both a moral imperative and an economic incentive to reduce their footprint when it comes to water usage.
The E.P.A., along with local jurisdictions, have imposed requirements for both the T.S.S. (total suspended solids) in effluent, and the B.O.D. (biological oxygen demand) as well. These may vary from place to place, but the repercussions for failing to heed these guidelines are serious. In one such instance, a small brewer was fined $6,900 for a single infraction (Targeted News Services, 2014).
There are two main places to focus in order to improve wastewater in the brewing process: the overall nutrient load and the overall suspended solids, a result of filtration. Rarely does a solution effectively treat both of these factors at once, so a combination of different techniques needs to be employed. The small brewer is presented with a daunting task, but also has a diverse toolbox of different ways to minimize wastewater effluent. Finding the proper balance of various methods is ultimately up to the brewer, but it is possible to make a marked improvement with a concerted effort.
Objectives
The objective of this study is to isolate the specific causes of water waste in breweries, specifically smaller, “craft” brewers. I am choosing to focus upon small brewers because most large corporate brewers already have very effective water filtration systems and protocols in place, and as oftentimes is the case, the most effective solutions are also the most expensive. Large breweries can afford it (2018). Smaller brewers are nearly always functioning on a shoestring budget, and a task such as wastewater and effluent reduction can seem difficult, but with the right combination of strategies it is indeed possible. Just as no two types of beers are alike, craft brewers and breweries pride themselves on their unique ingredients, methods, and brewing styles. This can make it difficult to use a “one size fits all” approach for water use, but I will present many different solutions, which if used in concert can significantly improve the effluent footprint for a brewery. This study is intended to serve as a toolbox for the brewer, they know what will work best for their specific situation, and can implement different strategies as they see fit.
Methods
My methods for this study were to accumulate and familiarize myself with a broad scope of both research journal articles, industry trade guides, and news articles primarily focussed on brewery practices that have either been applied or are at a theoretical level in order to familiarize myself with the subject matter. I conducted no interviews, however I do have a basic understanding of the subject matter. Full disclosure: as a freelance writer, I was the chief blog writer/editor for getfermentable.com, which is a brewery management software company. While I have addressed the topic of brewery water use in the past on that blog, I have taken great pains to avoid any “self-plagiarism”. The entirety of this present work is completely new material, citing entirely new sources, and I intend for it to be a strictly scientific, scholarly companion piece to the casual writing that I have done in the past. I identified specific points that the small brewer may use in order to mitigate both the wastewater created in their brewing process, and addressed forthcoming hypotheses for potential uses of brewery waste byproduct.
Discussion of Results
Water is the most precious of resources, and climate change will only exacerbate this in the near to long term future. However, where water can quench a thirst, or irrigate a crop, beer cannot. As humans, we require and deserve more than a mere glass of water, for it satiates only the most fundamental of needs. Water provides sustenance for the body, but beer is food for the soul. Regardless of this, however, water will always be more important than beer, and any endeavor that is perceived as wasteful in this respect will be ultimately unsuccessful. Craft brewers are not immune to this, in fact, the scrutiny on water usage in the future may make it harder for craft brewers to function, given the fact that their brews don’t serve an irreplaceable purpose in society (2018). The water that breweries require in order to craft a draft can come from many different sources: well water, treated surface water, or even municipal water supplies, which all have unique attributes once presented to the brewhouse (Eumann & Schildbach, 2012). Clean water in proves for a good beer out, and it is important that the effluent produced is salvageable, because the overall water consumption of a brewery can become a valuable metric for gauging a breweries cost effectiveness (Fillaudeau, Blanpain-Avet, & Daufin 2006). The most common method for filtration is diatomaceous Earth. Diatomaceous earth, specifically referred to as Kieselguhr, is a useful filtration medium for brewing, and has been used for more than 100 years, but it’s environmental impact may become more pertinent with passing time as this resource is depleted. D.E. is, after all, just the skeletal remains of diatoms, a microscopic creature that thrived in the Miocene. The Diatoms days may have faded over 300 million years ago, but they have still proven useful, if only for filtration. They now have been put to function to their fullest, their apogeal finial, and final purpose, by filtering out the deceased yeast from the bottom of a brewtank (2006). Acknowledging that filtration may not be the perfect solution, other aspects for proper brewery waste management have been addressed regarding the use of fungi in order to convert wastewater, rich in B.O.D., into useable water. In that study, the fungus that was used could subsequently be consumed as biomass, or used as a fertilizer for crops. In addition to this, the fungi in question were able to reduce the B.O.D. of wastewater by 89% (Hultberg & Bodin, 2017). Another interesting proposal for the use of effluent takes a completely different approach. Instead of attempting to mitigate the suspended solids (comprised of dead yeast and diatomaceous earth) through filtration and then eventually disposing of it in a landfill, it was attempted to bake the slurry into pellets that could be used as industrial aggregate. Aggregate, specifically sand, is a rapidly diminishing resource, and the world will soon be searching for a new source for it. Sand is needed for nearly every aspect of modern construction (Owen, 2017). In test application, these artificial sand granules performed comparably to actual silica sand when used in roofing material (Farias, Garcia, Palomino & Arellano, 2017). That may have proven an effective method for dealing with the solid waste produced by breweries, but the nutrients in the slurry are still a large factor to be considered. This is referred to as the Biological Oxygen Demand, or B.O.D. It is so fertile, in fact, that the usual method for treatment involves anaerobic bacteria digesting it. Once digestion is complete, the bacteria dies, and is disposed of. Instead of simply having bacteria thrive from the nutrient rich sludge to ultimately perish, one study examined the effects of this sludge as a fertilizer on various crops. It was found to be beneficial to the germination of different varieties of pea plants (Salian, Wani, Reddy & Patil, 2018). Another novel approach involved attempting to use the effluent as a medium to produce electricity, similar to how a wet cell battery works. While this may sound too good to be true, in this case it was in fact just that. While microcurrents were produced, they were in such a small scale that it proved not to be worth the effort (Wen, Wu, Zhao, Sun, & Kong, 2010).
Conclusions & Recommendations
Beer is an ancient craft, and it is steeped in the cultures of every country on the planet. But these ancient traditions can be married to modern techniques and practices, updating it to the times and making sure that it will not damage our environment. While the specific “cocktail” of practices should be devised and implemented by the head brewmaster at any specific brewery, I can certainly order the methods in order of decreasing effectiveness. Of the solutions for B.O.D., the most effective turned out to be using the slurry as a fertilizer, which seems to be an advantageous solution in that it also could benefit agriculture. Imagine if a brewer could use that fertilizer on a crop like hops or barley, then it would be a full circle, with every part of the mash eventually becoming beer, even the unused portions. Another solution is using fungi to eliminate B.O.D., but that does not produce an overall benefit, so it wouldn’t be my top recommendation. That leaves the T.S.S. to deal with, and that can be a difficult part of the process. While the process involved in aggregate production is involved, and requires specific equipment such as kilns, it is still the most promising procedure for T.S.S. mitigation. This may be impossible for the brewery itself to undertake this, but perhaps in a market with a lot of breweries, it could be a task taken up by a local geotechnical firm. A partnership such as this is the only realistic way to implement this process. The field of brewery water management is ripe with countless new methods for dealing with wastewater, and I have addressed only a few promising new techniques here. My ultimate recommendation would be for brewers to keep their ear to the ground, and to regularly consult trade publications and scientific journals. The future is bright for brewery waste management, and that’s something that we can all drink to.
References
Anon, 2018. Water and Wastewater Sustainability Manual. Brewers Association. Available at: https://www.brewersassociation.org/educational-publications/water-wastewater-sustainability-manual/ [Accessed November 29, 2018].
Anon, 2014. Pioneer Brewing Company of Sturbridge Assessed $6,900 Penalty for Violating Industrial Wastewater Discharge Regulations. States News Service. Available at: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-367829438.html?refid=easy_hf [Accessed November 28, 2018].
Eumann, M. & Schildbach, S., 2012. 125thAnniversary Review: Water sources and treatment in brewing. Journal of the Institute of Brewing, 118(1), pp.12–21.
Farias, R., Garcia, C.M., Palomino, T.C., & Arellano, M.M., 2017. Effects of Wastes from the Brewing Industry in Lightweight Aggregates Manufactured with Clay for Green Roofs. Materials, 10(5), p.527.
Fillaudeau, L., Blanpain-Avet, P. & Daufin, G., 2006. Water, wastewater and waste management in brewing industries. Journal of Cleaner Production, 14(5), pp.463–471.
Hultberg, M. & Bodin, H., 2017. Fungi-based treatment of brewery wastewater—biomass production and nutrient reduction. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 101(11), pp.4791–4798.
Owen, D., 2017. The World Is Running Out of Sand. The New Yorker. Available at: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/05/29/the-world-is-running-out-of-sand [Accessed November 29, 2018].
Salian, R., Wani, S., Reddy, R., Patil, M., 2018. Effect of brewery wastewater obtained from different phases of treatment plant on seed germination of chickpea (Cicer arietinum), maize (Zea mays), and pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan). Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 25(9), pp.9145–9154.
Wen, Q., Wu, Y., Zhao, L., Sun, Q. and Kong, Y., 2010. Production of electricity from the treatment of continuous brewery wastewater using a microbial fuel cell. Fuel, 89(7), pp.1381–1385.