Feb 14, 2020 06:00:00

A project to clean water with `` beer waste '' that causes water pollution

In the United States, where craft beer production is active, the wastewater discharged by the craft beer industry to sewage is becoming a serious problem. Meanwhile, it has been reported that waste generated as a by-product of beer production has become a clue to solving the problem of sewage.

Beer Waste Helps Montana Town Save Money On Water Treatment: NPR

https://www.npr.org/2020/02/12/804586191/beer-waste-saves-montana-town-1-million-on-water-treatment

The wastewater treated by the water purification plant in the city of Bozeman , Montana, USA, amounts to 6 million gallons per day (about 230 million liters), including about 50,000 local wastewaters for local residents and 10 Contains wastewater from the brewery.

In particular, wastewater from breweries contains a large amount of nitrogen and phosphorus derived from yeasts and hops, causing water pollution. However, according to engineering consultant Coralynn Revis, 'waste from the brewery at the right time and when it's in the right place will help a lot in purifying the water.'

In 2017, Revis came up with the idea that `` waste from breweries could feed on microbes that purify water '', working with Bozeman's water purification plant managers and brewery owners. And started a project to actually treat water with beer waste.

After trial and error for the first two years, the project team eventually succeeded in identifying when and how much beer waste to put in. By replacing

alum purchased as microbial feed with beer waste, we have been able to save about $ 16,000 a year (about 1.75 million yen).

In addition, this water purification facility was planned to be renovated with a capital of 1 million dollars (about 110 million yen) in order to meet stricter and safer water quality standards, but thanks to the project, it has been upgraded without new standards It is now possible to meet.

'I'm wondering why I haven't done this, even though I know brewing and fermentation,' said Michael Garity, the brewery owner who participated in the project. According to Drue Newfield, the manager of the water treatment plant, the beer waste used as microbial food will disappear completely during the treatment process.

Mr. Revis and his colleagues' attention was awarded to the Environmental Protection Agency, which won a prize in the

PISCES Program 2019 (PDF file), a water purification project evaluation program sponsored by the Agency.

'I didn't do it to be awarded, I just thought,' What should I do to get the best job done? ' Mr. Revis and his colleagues said that inquiries from inside and outside Montana were flooding, and in the future, while expanding various initiatives to expand beer waste to wastewater treatment while challenging various issues It is a plan to go.