Water availability and wastewater management are increasingly important issues for Australian wineries, particularly in regions where water supply is constrained or expensive, or wastewater disposal options are limited. Many wineries have already implemented significant water-efficiency measures, meaning further improvements in water security may increasingly depend on recovering and reusing water that would otherwise remain in wastewater streams.
Winery wastewater can contain a substantial amount of recoverable water, but salinity and other dissolved components can limit how that water can be reused. The Wastewater Desalination project is investigating whether established desalination technologies used in other industries could provide a practical way to recover more usable water from winery wastewater for use within various vineyard or winery operations.
The longer-term aim is to understand where desalination makes sense for wineries, which treatment approaches are best suited to different circumstances, and whether the benefits of increased water recovery and water security justify the cost and complexity of implementation.
Progress to date
The project has characterised winery wastewater composition, volumes and seasonal variation, and examined how wastewater is currently treated, reused or disposed of across a range of winery settings. Winery partners have provided case studies to help understand how differences in site infrastructure, water availability and intended reuse affect the potential value of desalination.
Established desalination technologies, including reverse osmosis, have been assessed for their suitability for winery wastewater, and technology suppliers have been engaged to explore system configuration, installation requirements, servicing and rental or purchase options.
The project has also considered what could happen to the concentrated brine remaining after water recovery. Options ranging from conventional brine management through to further concentration and potential recovery of salts or nutrients have been explored.
Economic modelling indicates that there are circumstances where desalination could provide value, but there is no single business case that applies to all wineries. Existing infrastructure, wastewater characteristics, the cost and availability of alternative water, the intended use of recovered water and the management of the brine stream all influence viability.
Importantly, the value of recovered water may extend beyond its direct replacement cost. In water-constrained regions, improving water security may help protect winery and vineyard productivity when access to alternative water sources is limited.
What’s next?
The next stage will move from desktop assessment to on-site trial using a suitable desalination system with winery wastewater under normal operating conditions.
The trial will generate practical evidence on water recovery, treatment performance, operating requirements and costs, integration with existing winery infrastructure, and the quantity and composition of the resulting brine stream. It will also help determine the quality of recovered water and the most appropriate reuse opportunities, from irrigation through to higher-value winery uses, such as use in evaporative condensers or cooling towers and for cleaning.
Alongside the trial, the project will continue to work with wineries and technology suppliers to test the business case, understand adoption drivers and barriers and clarify regulatory and implementation requirements.
The results will help identify the winery circumstances in which desalination is most likely to provide value and inform practical guidance for wineries considering whether wastewater desalination could form part of their future water-management strategy.
Resources
Further information and resources will be added as the project progresses, including relevant project documents and research outcomes.