Distillery meets the needs of increased water demand and effluent compliance
Challenge
A bourbon distillery located in the southern US, is one of the fastest growing distilleries in the region. Bourbon and whiskey are so important to the region that a statewide tour of distilleries has been established called the Kentucky Bourbon Trail® where tourists can plan visits to distilleries across the state. This distillery also serves as a retail outlet combining distilling and a restaurant.
To support the increasing demand for bourbon, the distillery decided to expand production. Other distilleries in the area also were expanding, which put an increased demand on drinking water from the local municipal drinking water plant. Additionally, the local municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) had limited available hydraulic and organic capacity. Therefore, any additional wastewater generated by increase production could be subject to heavy surcharges. The biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) in the effluent ranged between 750 – 1000 mg/l. Total suspended solids (TSS) measured ~300 mg/l.
As the expansion project progressed, the distillery management realized that they would need to incorporate a water reuse system to provide the 50,000 – 60,000 gallons of water per day that the municipality would not be able to provide. This would also reduce the flow and organic loading being discharged to the WWTP.
Solution
Xylem sales and engineering teams worked with the distillery to identify wastestreams that could be reused and design a treatment system that would meet the distillery’s flow and water quality requirements.
The distillery repurposed a holding tank to serve as an EQ tank and feed the wastewater treatment system. Initially, the distillery rented a Xylem Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR) system and Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF) RT-50 to treat the organics in the wastewater and remove solids. Effluent from the DAF discharged to a small holding tank and was then pumped to a filtration system consisting of media filters and Granular Activated Carbon (GAC), which were also rented through Xylem.
About 6 months later the distillery decided to purchase the rental MBBR and add a second MBBR system. Combined, the two MBBRs could process 100 gallons per minute (gpm). They also decided to purchase media filters and GAC filter, along with an ETS-UV system and chemical feed system to provide disinfection. A 300,000 gallon treated water storage tank was installed outside, which is used to provide treated water throughout the facility.
Results
The system has allowed the distillery to treat and reuse enough wastewater to meet the needs of the distillery without increasing demand on the town’s drinking water supply. The system also reduces the flow and organic loading being discharged to the WWTP without incurring any surcharges. Treated effluent measures BOD at <100 mg/l and <200 mg/l of TSS.