Coastal Brewing Company, Foster Australia
Overview
The Coastal Brewing Company, a brewery based in Forster, Australia, had to reduce BOD in its wastewater to below 600mg/L, in order to meet regulations from the local authority. Co-founder and head brewer, David Black, wanted a wastewater treatment solution that was effective, affordable and simple to operate.
Another key factor was that as beer production volumes frequently change, the solution had to cope with fluctuating wastewater loads.
Location: Australia
Size: 1000 gallons per day
System Size: 9x BioGill® Towers
Solution
In 2017, the brewery installed a treatment system using two BioGill® Towers to treat wastewater in excess of 4,000mg/L BOD5 to below 600mg/L BOD5.
Design
The wastewater first passes through initial settling and a screening process to remove particles larger than 1mm, such as grain and fiber from the hops. The wastewater then moves into an equalization tank where pH is adjusted. From there wastewater is pumped to the top of the first BioGill® Tower where it is dispersed over the gills.
The water flows by gravity down through the bioreactor, where microbes consume the dissolved organic matter. Partially treated wastewater flows from the first Tower to a second Tower where the process is repeated, further cleaning the water. The fully treated water then moves to a discharge tank, and held until nighttime hours when the brewery is permitted to discharge the water to the local sewer system.
Results
The BioGill® system was designed for an influent BOD of >4000mg/L. The brewery’s compliance requirement for sewer discharge was <600mg/L BOD. Operating since May 2017, the BioGill® system has achieved 100% compliance. Sampling results demonstrated an effluent average of 249mg/L BOD, with the best recorded result of 26mg/L.
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