Waste Generation

Solid wastes
Solid waste comprises of organic material residuals from the brewing process. This
includes:
Malt husk and spent grain, which are by-products of wort separation
these are often used as animal feed.
Trub which is slurry containing wort, hop particles and suspended
proteins that are thickened by wort boiling which is then separated
from the mixture before wort cooling. (The trub is added to the
grain.)
Spent Yeast which is recovered by natural sedimentation after the
second fermentation and maturation. Only part of the yeast can be
used again as new production yeast. The rest of the yeast is every
high in protein and vitamin B and can be used as a feeding
supplement.
Wastewater
Wastewater is said to be one the largest waste products in brewery operations.
Wastewater produced by the process contains organic matter and is
non-toxic. The amount of process wastewater produced is
dependent on the efficiency of the water usage. Brewery processes
also produce liquids such as the weak wort and residual beer which
the brewery should reuse rather than allowing them to enter the
sewage system.
Wastewater is also produced by the brewerys toilets, kitchen etc.
This is sent to the sewage system.

Wastewater Treatment
Wastewater treatment is an end-of-pipe means of controlling water pollution.
The beer brewing process often generates large amounts of wastewater efuent
and solid wastes that must be disposed of or treated in the least costly and
safest way...
JOURNAL OF CLEANER P RODUCTION
THE BREWING INDUSTRY AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES
Abass A. Olajire

One form of waste water treatment is Physical Treatment. Physical

treatment is used for removing abrasive solids and other large
materials. It is not used for dissolved pollutants. The process of
physical treatment of wastewater is as follows.

Flow equalization is a technique used to collect

wastewater in holding tanks before introducing the
wastewater into downstream brewery treatment
processes or straight to the sewage system.
Screening is where the waste water is screened to
remove glass, labels, bottle caps, plastics and spent
grains
Grit removal is where the screened wastewater is then
passed through a grit chamber where sand, grit and
gravel settle to the bottom of the chamber.

Sedimentation is where the wastewater which still

contains dissolved organic and inorganic particles with
floating solids is allowed to settle.
Chemical treatment is used to remove toxic materials and colloidal
impurities.
The acidity or alkalinity of wastewater can effect both
wastewater treatment and the environment. Low pH
levels can indicate increasing acidity while a high pH
levels can indicate increasing alkalinity. The pH of
wastewater must remain between 6 and 9 to protect
organisms and to keep the waste water treatment
processes active. Acids and alkalis will stop the
processes.
Flocculation is used to enhance the sedimentation
process. It the agitation of chemically treated water to
encourage coagulation and therefore increasing the
settling rate.
Finally the wastewater can undergo what is called Biological Aerobic
Treatment. This is performed in the presence of oxygen by aerobic
bacteria that break down the organic matter in the wastewater, thus
producing more bacteria and inorganic end-products such as: CO 2,
NH3, and H2O.
The wastewater sludge can be used as a plant fertilizer.
Emissions
Emissions caused by fermentation
During the fermentation process the sugars are being converted to alcohol and
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) by yeast. Emissions of fermentation CO2 can be lessened or
circumvented with a CO2 recovery plant. Carbon dioxide recovery enables breweries
to economically recover CO2 generated during the brewing process, as a
replacement for CO2 that is purchased which is required during the beer making
process.

 Other Recyclable Materials

Glass bottles can be sent to glass manufacturing plant.
Paper and labels can be sent to cardboard and paper manufacturing
plant.
Metal products such as bottle caps, aluminium cans etc. are also
recyclable.

References:

TRINIDAD GUARDIAN MBAA DISTRICT CARIBBEAN CONVENTION 2010 , SPECIAL

PUBLICATIONS UNIT ,WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 2010.

http://www.caribbrewery.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=sFvfjeKDuCc
%3D&tabid=61

JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION, THE BREWING INDUSTRY AND ENVIRONMENTAL

CHALLENGES, ABASS A. OLAJIRE, MARCH 1, 2012.
http://cmbe.engr.uga.edu/bche4920/2013/Brewing/Olajire%202012%20J
%20Cleaner%20Prod.pdf
POLLUTION PREVENTION AND ABATEMENT HANDBOOK WORLD BANK GROUP EFFECTIVE
JULY 1998

http://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/1081718048855530b5e4f76a6515bb18/bre
weries_PPAH.pdf?
MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=1081718048855530b5e4f76a6515bb18