Florida and Cambrian Brewery to Reduce Wastewater Costs

The Florida Brewery is installing equipment that will remove 99% of contaminants from its wastewater, enabling the company to discharge the treated water directly to the city sewer instead of trucking it off site. The installation will significantly improve its bottom line and also help it reach its compliance and environmental goals, the company says.

The Florida Brewery, the second oldest brewery still in operation in Florida, is working with Cambrian, a provider of distributed wastewater treatment and resource recovery solutions. Cambrian will utilize its BlueCycle MBR (membrane bioreactor) technology to eliminate existing high strength wastewater disposal systems, and reduce carbon dioxide output by an estimated 254 metric tons per year. The MBR is an aerobic digester that combines aeration, membrane filtration and a dynamically integrated controls architecture to remove contaminants from wastewater streams, enabling water reuse consistent with Title 22 reuse quality water, Cambrian says. Built-in efficiencies improve energy efficiency and environmental management.

A new report from Meticulous Research says the industrial wastewater treatment market will grow at a CAGR of 7.2% between 2020 and 2027, reaching a value of $77.6 billion. The MBR technology segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR, as it has emerged as an efficient, compact technology for industrial wastewater treatment.

While beer is about 95% water, the amount of water used to produce a container of beer is far greater than the amount of water contained in the beer itself. Breweries in the US average about seven barrels of water for every barrel of beer produced, according to the Brewers Association. Most breweries discharge 70% of their incoming water as wastewater that flows to the sewer system. In most cases, brewery effluent disposal costs are much higher than water supply costs. The Brewers Association points to wastewater generation and disposal as a cost and sustainability improvement center for breweries.

Some smaller brewers are installing advanced pre-treatment units to meet local regulatory requirements. In general, however, advanced systems do not have an economic payback until there are some economies of scale associated with larger volumes of wastewater, the Brewers Association says.