Brewery Wastewater Monitoring

A number of projects we work on at Detectronic, are delivered as a partnership. Global water, energy and maintenance solutions providers, NCH CHEM-AQUA, were tasked with helping a Yorkshire-based brewery better understand their wastewater network. They contacted us to provide technology and equipment for the monitoring project.

The brewery had initially approached NCH with a view to saving water within the plant and further improving operational costs and efficiencies. NCH suggested the implementation of a six month industrial and trade effluent monitoring project at the plant. This would allow enough time to gain a comprehensive insight into exactly what was happening in the network.

Objectives

• To measure the flows across the site to work out what quantity of effluent was coming from where.
• To ascertain if any rain water was entering the sewer.
• To discover if effluent was coming in through known connections. Focus centered around the adjacent football ground,  small housing estate and neighbouring industry.

Planning

We have worked with Neil Richards, NCH CHEM-AQUA’s regional sales manager UK North, in the past. The first step of the process was for technical support manager, Phill Tuxford, to meet with Neil at the site to discuss the best way to approach the project. The focus was on gathering the robust and reliable data required to deliver the savings and efficiencies required by the client.

Implementation

Following the site visit, a bespoke monitoring strategy was devised and implemented. Installation and maintenance of six Detectronic MSFM Flow monitors and a rain gauge over an initial two-month period were included.

This monitoring period was consequently extended for another three months. During that time, we moved the equipment to different parts of the site to gather flow data from different locations.

Analysis and reporting

Information received from the monitors was analysed by the Detectronic data centre team and a report produced. The report highlighted that rainfall was entering the sewer across half of the site. The housing estate and football ground were also contributing a nominal amount. There was also significant infiltration from neighbouring industrial sites.

We noted that more wastewater was entering the network from a certain piece of equipment at the plant than previously estimated. During a ‘stop-weekend’ at the plant, wastewater was continuing to enter the drains. Water from the cleaning towers at the plant was also entering a local river via osmosis.

Results

The monitoring project delivered a detailed picture of what was happening at any given time in the network. It highlighted several issues for Neil and his team to work on.

Using the data from the Detectronic monitors and key results from subsequent analysis, we were in a position to offer unrivalled advice and solutions to each of these issues and enable the brewer to achieve its initial objectives.

Neil Richards, NCH CHEM-AQUA’s regional sales manager UK North