Michael EumannMichael EumannEUWA Water Treatment PlantsEUWA Water Treatment Plants

3232ndnd Convention ConventionMelbourne, Australia 2012Melbourne, Australia 2012

2525thth – 30 – 30thth March MarchInstitute of Brewing & DistillingInstitute of Brewing & Distilling

Asia Pacific SectionAsia Pacific Section

PUSHING THE LIMITS:

DEVELOPMENT OF A

NEW WATER TREATMENT PROCESS

Agenda

• Different Water – Different Beer

• Development of Water Treatment in Breweries

• Sustainability

• Conventional Lime Precipitation

• Modern Separation Technique: Ultrafiltration

• Combining Old and New

• Test Results

• Outlook

Different Water – Different Beer

Different raw water influenced the evolution of typical beer types in

different regions:

Pilzen in Czech Republic PILS

Burton-on-Trent in UK PALE ALE

Munich in Germany DARK BEERS

Vienna in Austria NO BEER, JUST WINE

Brew Water Treatment

Changes in ionic composition of brew water, primarily removal

of bicarbonates, was the aim already in the early days of

industrial brewing.

Today mainly three different major methods are used in

breweries for changing the ionic composition of the brew water:

From the oldest to the newest:

Lime precipitation (LP),

Ion exchange (IX) and

Reverse osmosis (RO).

Brew Water Treatment in the Historical Context

Mar

ket

Sha

re

Year

20001900 1950 19751925 2025

?Lime precipitation

Ionexchange

Reverseosmosis

Sustainability

WATER ENERGY CHEMICALS

Lime precipitation low low low - medium (Ca(OH)2)

Ion exchange medium low high (typically HCl)

Reverse osmosis high high low (antiscalant, acid)

Lime: Ca(OH)2

Lime (Ca(OH)2)

is a natural product,

is non-toxic.

CaCO3 from lime

precipitation can be easily

used in other industries or

even be recycled.Limestone quarray near Orosei, Sardinia

(picture by Michael J. Zirbes; taken from www.de.wikipedia.org)

Pamukkale, Turkey

(picture by Mila Zinkova; taken from www.de.wikipedia.org)

Conventional Lime Precipitation

Addition of lime (Ca(OH)2):

• Main reaction:

Ca2+ + 2 HCO3- + Ca2+ + 2 OH- 2 CaCO3 + 2 H2O

• Mg(HCO3)2 can only be removed as Mg(OH)2, which requires higher pH-values two-stage lime precipitation (system Morgenstern).

Since 1965

ONE-STAGE LIME PRECIPITATIONONE-STAGE LIME PRECIPITATION

Raw waterLime milk Reactor 1

Lime water

Sand filter

Brew water

Since 1965

Mg(HCO3)2+ 2Ca(OH)2 => 2CaCO3 + Mg(OH)2 + 2H2O

TWO-STAGE LIME PRECIPITATIONTWO-STAGE LIME PRECIPITATION

Conventional Lime Precipitation• Large footprint due to:

• Lime saturators • Reactor(s).

Large Footprint

Lime saturators:•Solution of lime:

• short time.•Separation of undissolved from dissolved matter by sedimentation:

• long time large footprint.

Lime precipitation reactors:•Reaction of lime with bicarbonates:

• short time (within minutes).•Separation of undissolved from dissolved matter by sedimentation:

• long time large footprint.

Modern Separation Technique: Ultrafiltration

Ensures filtrate is free of particles, turbidity even underfluctuating flow conditions.

Takes out bacteria and viruses.

Ideal for surface water(e.g. river, lake) or aspretreatment for RO.

Combining Old and New: Lime Water Preparation

Water source

Lime milkSaturatedLime Water

Membrane filtration system

Lime WaterStorage

Combining Old and New: Lime Water Preparation

Replaces lime saturators.

Small footprint.

Provides clear and saturated lime water of constant quality.

Combining Old and New: Lime Precipitation

Combining Old and New: Lime Precipitation

Replaces reactor(s).

Small footprint.

Provides clear, dealkalized brew water of constant quality.

Test Results: Water Quality(exemplarily for six months trial period)

WATER

Raw water ExistingConventional

Lime precipitation x1

New membrane based lime

precipitation

Total hardness(ppm CaCO3)

163 - 179 88 89

m-Alkalinity(ppm CaCO3)

125 – 135 45 35 – 40

p-Alkalinity(ppm CaCO3)

- 5 +/- 0 15

pH ( ) 7.89 – 8.16 8.77 9.5

Conductivity (µS/cm) 337 - 339 190 200

X1: Two-stage lime precipitation plant; effluent values fluctuating.

Test Results: Backwashing

• Focus was put on hydraulics and backwash regime, resulting in

• Cross-flow operation,

• Optimization of the lime precipitation reaction,

• Regular backwashing using air and water

• Backwash water recovery by simple reinjection, resulting in < 1 % of water losses.

Comparing Footprint and Cost

Capacity 5m3/h

Conventional Membrane

Footprint (LxWxH) 8m x 2.5m x 5m 4m x 2m x 2m

Cost 80,000€ 30,000€

Application

• Revival of a well-known, sustainable technology by restoring its competetiveness.

• Combination with reverse osmosis:• As pretreatment for maximising the yield (up to 95 %).• For concentrate recovery.

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTIONTHANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION