Efficiency of brewery wastewater treatment

Krystyna Lesińska

Poznań University of Technology, Faculty of Chemical Technology

Alicja Szymańska

Poznań University of Technology, Faculty of Chemical Technology
https://orcid.org/0009-0009-5888-5861

Mariusz Ślachciński

Poznań University of Technology, Faculty of Chemical Technology

Grzegorz M. Szymański

Poznań University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Transport
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2784-9149

Bogdan Wyrwas

Poznań University of Technology, Faculty of Chemical Technology
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4791-5318

Abstract

Wastewater is contaminated liquids discharged from homes and industrial plants. A wastewater treatment plant is a complex of basic technological facilities directly used for wastewater treatment, along with auxiliary facilities located on a shared site, necessary for supplying electricity and water, creating appropriate operating conditions, and maintaining the treatment plant. Brewing industries produce wastewater with high organic loads, characterized by high values ​​of parameters such as BZT₅ and ChZT. For this reason, these plants typically have their own wastewater treatment systems or cooperate with local municipal wastewater treatment plants. There is growing interest in energy recovery in this industry, for example, through the use of biogas generated during treatment processes, which contributes to cost reduction and a reduction in pollutant emissions. However, the variable composition and load of wastewater remain a challenge, as does the need to properly combine mechanical, biological, and chemical methods to reduce waste volume and its environmental impact. Preparations containing surfactant compounds are used to clean these types of industrial installations. The work was supplemented with an analysis of the content of anionic and nonionic surfactants. Their levels in wastewater—both raw and treated—can be determined using dedicated cuvette tests and the MBAS (for anionic surfactants) and BiAS-thio (for nonionic) methods. The assessment of treatment plant efficiency was based on the pollution reduction index, comparing the content of specific parameters before and after treatment, and the permissible pollutant values ​​in treated wastewater discharged to surface waters.

Keywords:

brewery wastewate, wastewater treatment plant, surfactants, MBAS method, BiAS-tio method, degree of pollution reduction