Success Stories

How a Major Brewery Reduced Alkali Use by 31.8% and Increased Biogas Generation

Topics

Efficiency & Cost Savings, Water Treatment, Sustainable Programs

Industry

Brewery

Project Details

Introduction

When a brewery’s anaerobic EGSB pretreatment unit began showing signs of instability, the team faced rising alkalinity supplementation costs, compliance risk, and lost renewable energy output. Volatile fatty acid buildup was forcing excessive caustic addition, while untreated waste increased surcharges from the city and reduced biogas yield.

To restore stability and lower costs, the brewery partnered with CRB Water to evaluate reactor performance and optimize biological activity.

High-level details

Location

United States

Industry

Food & Beverage

Services

Results

Lowered alkali use by over 30%
Increased COD removal capacity by over 50%
Improved biogas generation and energy recovery
Eliminated city surcharges for excess waste

Challenge

When the delicate biological symbiosis stays in balance, anaerobic systems are powerful tools for wastewater treatment of high-strength wastes. However, this brewery’s system was struggling to:

Maintain stable volatile acid levels
Control alkali consumption
Prevent excess COD discharge to the city
Sustain steady biogas production

Every imbalance drove up cost and downtime risk, putting compliance and plant efficiency on the line.

Solution

CRB Water’s technical team began by reviewing operational data to verify key parameters, including pH, temperature, feed type, and reactor hydraulics. Using data from its specialized Biotreatability Laboratory, the team conducted nutrient and biological optimization tests to identify the missing factors limiting performance.

Through that analysis, CRB Water formulated a bioavailable micronutrient concentrate and recommended process adjustments that rebalanced the microbial community.

Applying Met Source AN technology, the team enhanced microbial kinetics for faster organic removal and more stable digestion.

The result: greater system resilience, less chemical demand, and improved COD removal without mechanical changes or added downtime.

Results

With optimized biological function and stable operation, the brewery:

Lowered alkali use by over 30%
Increased COD removal capacity by over 50%
Improved biogas generation and energy recovery
Eliminated city surcharges for excess waste

The program not only reduced costs; it turned a struggling pretreatment system into a reliable energy-producing asset.

Measure of Success

Metric	Before	After	Change
Avg. SCOD Removed	85,000	94,000	+10.6%
Avg. Effluent SCOD to City	8,450	1,650	–80.5%
% Removal Efficiency	90%	98%	+8%
Yearly Biogas Value	$506,000	$610,100	+20.6%
Alkalinity Usage	$337,260	$225,600	31.8% savings

How a Major Brewery Reduced Alkali Use by 31.8% and Increased Biogas Generation

Introduction

High-level details

Challenge

Solution

Results

Measure of Success

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