RO/NF

UF

MBR Chemicals

C A S E S T U DY
RO | UF | MBR

Food and Beverage
California, USA

High-Strength Brewery Wastewater at Lagunitas Brewing Company
treated to Excellent Standards for Reuse by MBR and RO
WATER FOOTPRINT OF BEER
Beer production is a water-intensive process
having an average water-to-beer ratio of 4 to 1.
About 25 percent of the water goes into the final
product, while non-product contact processess u c h a s c l e a n i n g, c o o l i n g, a n d p a c k a g i n g
c o n s u m e t h e r e m a i n i n g m a j o r i t y v o l u m e.
Breweries without a reclaim water system will
send this vast amount of water to the drain orlose it to evaporation [1].
Wastewater generated by beer production ishigh in organics containing large amounts ofprotein, fat, fiber, carbohydrates, yeast, hops
residue, ethanol, and suspended solids. Table
1 shows the typical parameters of untreatedbrewery wastewater, as defined by the Brewers
Association, characterizing brewery wastewateras "high-strength."
The high organic content wastewater may
overwhelm operations at municipal treatment
plants, whereby the municipalities cannot receive
the effluent or receive it at a high surcharge. Such instances will
force breweries to haul wastewater to larger treatment facilities, orat worst case, scale back operations.

Figure 1: Fermentation tanks

Table 1 — Typical ranges of untreated brewery wastewater effluent

ON-SITE WASTEWATER TREATMENT

Parameter

UnitValue

Lagunitas Brewing Company in Petaluma, California, is one
brewer y that has successfully mitigated these challenges.
Before implementing an on-site wastewater treatment plant,
Lagunitas transported 50,000 gallons per day of its high-strength
wastewater to a wastewater treatment facility located 50 miles
away, while also sending its low-strength effluent to a nearby
municipality. Fees for wastewater disposal and treatment were
estimated to be around $180,000 per month, making up 87
percent of water costs.

Water to beer ratio

liter/liter

4–1

Wastewater to beer ratio

liter/liter

1.3–2 lower than water
to beer ratio

Biological Oxygen Demand, BOD

ppm

600–5,000

Chemical Oxygen Demand, COD

ppm

1,800–5,500

Nitrogenppm

30–100

Phosphorusppm

30–100Total Suspended Solids, TSS

ppm

200–1,500

Lagunitas integrated reuse into the wastewater treatment
design using Toray's membrane bioreactor (MBR) and reverse
osmosis (RO) membrane technologies. Toray's flat-sheet MBR
module removes 99% of contaminants sending the filtrate to RO

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3–12

C A S E S T U DY
RO | UF | MBR

High-Strength Brewery Wastewater at Lagunitas Brewing Company treatedto Excellent Standards for Reuse by MBR and RO
Figure 2: Wastewater Treatment Designfor polishing to exceptionally high standards andcreating more reuse opportunities of the reclaimed
water within the brewery process. The durable andlow-fouling characteristics of Toray's MBR and RO
membranes operate reliably under wastewaterconditions for longer membrane life, cleaning
range, and reduction of overall costs. As a final step,ultraviolet disinfects the RO permeate to eliminate
any remaining bacteria.

Anaerobic
treatment

Brewing
Process

The on-site treatment scheme recycles
approximately 70 percent of the wastewater backinto the brewing process.
RESULTSLagunitas achieved the following with the use of anadvanced membrane treatment system [2]:Permeatetank

Ultraviolet
Disinfection

ReverseOsmosis

Membrane
Bioreactor

Recycledwater• Reduction of water-to-beer ratio from 4:1 to 2.5:1;

Table 2 — MBR and RO system• Approximately 40% reduction in water usage;

TypeMBRRO• About 70% reduction in wastewater volume.

Toray model

NHP210-300S

TM720D-400

Membrane type

PVDF

Polyamide composite

System capacity

80,840 GPD

0.3 MGD (design)

No. of trains

32Modules per train

43x3x3x2 / 3M

COD

3,500–4,000 mg/LNot applicable

MLSS in MBR tank

15,000–18,000 mg/L

Not applicable

Lagunitas experienced continued growth in its business andneeded to expand its wastewater treatment capacity. In February
2019, the existing TMR140-100S modules were retrofitted with
NHP210-300S, Toray's latest MBR technology. Utilizing thinner
membrane sheets based on the same durable PVDF membrane
technology, the NHP features a 50% higher packing density permodule, improved cleaning and fouling resistance, and is 66%
lighter to simplify logistics and installation. The existing module
diffusers were cleaned and reused with the NHP modules, further
saving capital equipment costs.
As breweries seek to reduce their water footprint, reuse strategies
employing efficient membrane technologies are proven to be asustainable choice for water management, and quenching thethirst of beer enthusiasts worldwide.
REFERENCES[1] Brewers Association. "Water and Wastewater: Treatment/Volume Reduction Manual." October 2016.
[2] Rixey, Eppa. Silver, Matthew. "Water Reuse at Lagunitas
Brewing Company." Water Reuse in Beverage Production — Beer &Bubbles. December 2015.

TORAY MEMBRANE USA, INC.
13435 Danielson Street, Poway, CA 92064, U.S.A.

www.water.torayLinkedIn

innovation@toraymem.com+1 (858) 218-2360

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All information presented herein is believed reliable and in accordance with accepted engineering practices. Toray makes nowarranties as to the completeness of this information. Users are responsible for evaluating individual product suitability for specificapplications. Toray assumes no liability whatsoever for any special, indirect or consequential damages arising from the sale, resale ormisuse of its products. © 2021 Toray Industries, Inc. Subject to change without notice.
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