Brewery reduces BOD load entering the municipal wastewater treatment system

The Challenge

Veolia Water Technologies partnered with Sierra Nevada to develop a new wastewater treatment system to significantly reduce the BOD load entering the municipal wastewater treatment system. The Biothane UASB anaerobic system uses biological organisms as the primary treatment step reduce BOD/COD prior to being polished in an activated sludge system prior to discharge. As the Sierra Nevada brewery expanded and increased its wastewater flow and load, it was necessary to install a  pretreatment system before discharging to the local municipal sewer system.

The Solution

The system continuously achieves 88% COD removal in the anaerobic step (red line in the graph below) and >96% COD removal in the complete plant (blue line below).