This project introduces an advanced, integrated water reuse and regeneration solution designed specifically for brewery operations in coastal urban areas. It addresses a critical challenge in the food and beverage industry: managing and reusing high-strength process wastewater in a way that aligns with both public health standards and corporate sustainability targets. The intervention is especially relevant in cities like Barcelona, where water stress is compounded by increasing population density, industrial activity, and saline intrusion in local aquifers.
Brewery effluents are far more complex than typical municipal wastewater. They contain a diverse mixture of organic compounds, residual sugars, proteins, yeast residues, as well as nitrogenous substances and potent cleaning agents. These characteristics require highly specialized treatment processes that go beyond conventional approaches.
To manage this complexity, the project deploys a customized treatment train that integrates multiple biological and physicochemical technologies. The system begins with an anoxic reactor to initiate denitrification, followed by an aerobic reactor to complete the breakdown of organic matter. A membrane bioreactor (MBR) then provides high-efficiency solid-liquid separation, ensuring a clarified effluent free from suspended solids and pathogens. This is followed by a closed disinfection tank and tertiary polishing through activated carbon filtration to remove trace contaminants. Finally, reverse osmosis (RO) is applied to guarantee compliance with A+ water quality standards under Royal Decree 1085/2024, authorizing its reuse in sensitive industrial applications.
One of the project’s core innovations lies in redirecting a significant share of the treated water back into the production line, particularly for the washing of returnable glass bottles. This process step is among the most water-intensive in beer production and demands the highest sanitary standards. By closing this internal loop with regenerated water, the facility not only secures a consistent, high-quality water source but also reduces its dependency on municipal supplies and natural freshwater bodies.
This strategy improves the brewery’s overall environmental performance by reducing freshwater abstraction, lowering operational risk during drought periods, and contributing to long-term resilience. It also positions the facility as a benchmark for circular water management in the brewing sector, one that integrates compliance, innovation, and climate adaptation in a single, replicable solution.
The conventional use of potable water in industrial processes such as bottling and especially brewing entails significant volumes of abstraction, with traditionally low reuse rates. This is further aggravated in coastal regions with high industrial density and water stress, where some of Europe’s largest brewery facilities are located. In such locations, continuous large-scale production demands constant flows of blue water for brewing, cleaning, cooling, and auxiliary services.
Moreover, brewery effluent contains high levels of organic matter, including residual sugars, proteins, yeast, and cleaning chemicals—requiring advanced treatment technologies beyond those used in standard industrial plants. Failure to regenerate this water represents a significant operational and energy loss, as it could be reused in non-potable process steps such as bottle washing, equipment cleaning, or cooling towers. Continuing inefficient water-intensive practices also presents increasing regulatory and reputational risks, especially in European contexts with strict environmental targets, decarbonization goals, and net positive water impact ambitions
The project deploys an advanced treatment system that transforms treated brewery effluent into high-quality water suitable for internal non-potable uses such as bottle washing. This is particularly relevant in the brewing context, where bottle washing is one of the most water-intensive steps in the production chain. Stringent hygiene and safety standards require a reliable supply of clean, safe, and high-quality water to prevent cross-contamination or impact on the final product.
In coastal locations such as the Barcelona metropolitan area—where freshwater sources are increasingly stressed and aquifer salinization is an escalating threat—reducing blue water abstraction becomes a strategic imperative. Regenerated water availability for non-potable tasks such as bottle washing not only optimizes resources but also helps prevent overexploitation of vulnerable hydrological systems. Replacing potable water for such uses improves urban and industrial water resilience.
Thanks to advanced regeneration, a significant portion of the treated water can be redirected to the returnable bottle washing circuit, closing a critical loop within the plant and significantly reducing dependence on external supply. The technological configuration includes combined biological treatment (anoxic-aerobic), membrane filtration (MBR), controlled disinfection, activated carbon filtration, and reverse osmosis. This sequence ensures the removal of both organic and inorganic contaminants, as well as microbiological quality suitable for sensitive industrial uses.
The entire system is designed for continuous operation, with online monitoring of critical parameters and full traceability, facilitating seamless integration into high-capacity brewery operations with strict hygiene controls. It meets both regulatory compliance requirements and the sector’s sustainability commitments.
The solution is structured around a robust technological train tailored to the particularities of brewery effluent, which has a high organic load and variable composition. The treatment train includes anoxic and aerobic bioreactors for the efficient breakdown of nitrogen compounds and complex organics. The water is then routed through a membrane bioreactor (MBR) system, which combines biological treatment with advanced physical separation, ensuring high-quality effluent.
The water then undergoes disinfection in a sealed contact tank, followed by tertiary polishing using activated carbon filtration to remove trace organics and micropollutants. Finally, the process is completed with a reverse osmosis (RO) stage, ensuring A+ quality water compliant with Royal Decree 1085/2024—safe for sensitive applications such as returnable bottle washing.
The system includes a state-of-the-art automation architecture with integrated PLCs and SCADA, inline sensors for flow, conductivity, turbidity, residual chlorine, and microbiological parameters. This enables continuous operation with full traceability, ensuring not only compliance but also resilient and efficient water management. Moreover, the facility has been designed for modularity, enabling replication and scaling across other brewery plants in the group or the sector.
In the heart of Sant Andreu’s industrial landscape, this initiative redefines water stewardship in the brewing sector through the integration of an advanced internal reuse system. The project transforms brewery wastewater—from one of the most complex industrial effluents—into a safe and reliable resource, making water reuse a core component of the facility’s production logic and environmental responsibility.
Brewery operations generate effluents that are particularly rich in organic and nutrient content, as well as residual compounds from fermentation and cleaning. These characteristics pose challenges for conventional treatment plants, both in terms of technical performance and public health compliance. Recognizing this, the brewery adopted a tailored solution that integrates several treatment stages into a compact, high-efficiency system.
The solution’s strength lies in its multi-barrier approach: starting with biological treatment stages for organic and nitrogen compound removal, followed by advanced membrane separation, and then chemical polishing to eliminate trace substances and ensure hygienic quality. Each stage builds upon the previous to ensure consistency, safety, and regulatory compliance for the reclaimed water.
This regenerated water is reintegrated into the brewery’s operational cycle—most notably in the washing of returnable glass bottles, a process with stringent sanitary requirements and traditionally high water consumption. By doing so, the facility not only reduces pressure on local freshwater sources, but also strengthens its operational independence and contributes to broader water resilience strategies in the region.
The project also embeds real-time monitoring technologies and automated control systems to track water quality and optimize performance, creating a responsive and transparent reuse model. Designed for adaptability and long-term sustainability, the system is a model for other breweries and industrial users seeking to close the loop on water within their operations.
This intervention demonstrates how smart water reuse can be deployed in high-demand, high-sensitivity environments while meeting the expectations of circular economy principles, climate resilience, and forward-looking environmental regulation.
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