Key opportunities
- High pressure water for cleaning
- Transfer line ‘pigging’ (inserting a solid plug [or 'pig'] into the pipeline to separate wine from water during transfers)
- Water pinch analysis / Cleaner production strategies
- Capture and reuse of transfer push-through water, wash water, filler sanitation water and cleaning chemicals
- Reuse of transfer or stormwater for cooling tower use
- Vineyard irrigation practices
- Wastewater for irrigation of vineyards, site gardens, woodlot, high-value crops
Example: Water capture and reuse
Current process
Fresh water for transfer push-throughs, rinse water and sanitation water is typically used once (a ‘one-pass’ process) and then pumped into floor drain or directed to floor drains by gravity, where it is directed to a centralised sump, and from there to the sewer or the site wastewater treatment plant. Thus cleaning and process water is used once only prior to being discarded.
Alternative process
Existing floor drains are instead divided into short sections, with each section having its own (small) sump (volume of approximately 2-3 kL or smaller). Water quality parameters such as pH, electrical conductivity (EC), turbidity, biological oxygen demand (BOD) are measured at the sump outlet with online rapid instrumentation such as Near-Infrared Spectrometry (NIR). Water which meets predefined quality requirements for reuse (with respect to pH, EC, BOD, NTU etc.) is ‘treated’ (for example, using coarse solids separation, filtration and UV irradiation) and then directed to a Recycled Water Storage Tank. So-called ‘poor’ quality water which does not meet the quality requirements would be directed to the main winery wastewater sump as per the current process described above.
New water lines would then be installed at regular intervals throughout winery to reticulate recycled water from the recycled water storage tank. Spent recycled water would be directed to existing floor drains as per current method, for further recycling if the quality parameters are met.
Such a recycled water storage tank could be fitted with a level control system for both overflow and underflow conditions. In the case of a low-level trigger, the system would draw from fresh water. In case of high level trigger, the system would overflow to the existing winery wastewater sump. The contents of the recycled water storage tank would be automatically discarded periodically (e.g. every 12 hours) in accordance with relevant guidelines and statutory requirements.
In partnership with this retrofit, winery operations would be classified according to their water quality requirements. For example, fresh water would be used for activities such as wine push-throughs, final tank/equipment rinse and sterilisation. Recycled water could be used for first rinse of the wash cycle, for cooling tower make-up water, floor cleaning, and similar activities. Fresh water, of course, would continue to be used for preparation of cleaning solutions and for wine additives and wine processing aids.
A diagram depicting the alternative process is shown below:
For further details refer to:
Mann, J.G., Liu, Y.A. (1999) Industrial Water Reuse and Wastewater Minimization. New York, McGraw-Hill Inc.
Tchobanoglous, G., Burton, F.L., Stensel, H.D. (1999) Wastewater Engineering: Treatment and Reuse / Metcalf & Eddy, Inc. Boston, McGraw-Hill, Inc.