Industrial Pretreatment Tyler Glaze

Director of Quality

Short’s Brewing Co

Short’s Brewing

• Founded in 2004 in Bellaire, MI

• Expanded in 2008 to Elk Rapids, MI

• Why did we choose those 2 locations?

2002’s Decision

• Bellaire had “good water”.

• Water was not very expensive.

• Building was an old heap, but had tons of potential.

• Joe is from the area.

2008’s Decision

• Move to Elk Rapids• More space for bottling• More space for brewing• 30x brewing capacity in square feet• 30x the BOD, TSS, Phos, etc.

But where does that water go

• Beer• Steam

• Sidestream

• Spent Grains

• Drains

• Sewer (only sinks, toilets, breakroom)

Sidestream

• Brewhouse -> Sugar, protein, spent hops

• Cellar -> Yeast, hops, tank rinses, little beer

• To the farmer, and the digester!

Spent Grains

• 1000 lbs of grain in, 1150 lbs spent grain out

• Grains in -> Very wet grains out.

• Very happy cows!

• High protein, low sugar

Drains

• All drains go to our WWTP

• Cleaning chemicals

• Caustic solutoins (High pH)

• Acids (Low pH)

• Sanitizers (Low pH, Bug Killer)

• Rinses (neutral pH)

• Beer (low pH, sugar)

• Solids (Mash, bottle caps, glass, sticks, gloves… you know the drill!)

• NO POOP

The WWTP Philosophy

1.Control our own future

2.Keep it simple

3.Make it effective

4.Ignores the humps

5.Be a good neighbor

Type of Treatment: Options!

• Aerobic MBR Treatment• Ultrafiltration

• Very thorough

• 8,000-10,000 mg/L BOD in

• ~<1 mg/L BOD out

• Anaerobic Treatment• Knockdown

• 8,000-10,000 mg/L BOD in

• 500-1000 mg/L BOD out

Construction Photos

IT ALL COMES TO A HALT

OUR DESIGN BUILD FIRM CALLS

THEY HAVE NO MONEY TO CONTINUE

THEY ARE WALKING FROM THE JOB

What happened?

• Design Build firm is shutting down

• Project is not complete

• Electrical is near complete

• Plumbing has barely started

• Software isn’t even on the radar

• Contractors haven't been paid by the DB firm

• We completed the project ourselves with a scrap of a budget remaining and help from our subcontractors.

What happened when I started it up?

• Winter of 2014/2015 hits us.• DB firm was to provide training and on-site startup• No bugs• Software was garbage at this point• Nothing worked right• Foam• Some more foam• Remote access foam is really nice

We finished it!Never enough thanks to those that helped us out back then.

How we screwed it up

• Contracts and agreements• Background checks!

• Lien Waivers!

• We trusted someone• Never do that!

• Water Softener Discharge• AVOID IT ALL COSTS

• Heat Trace and Insulation• No full pipes without it!

• No Testing Capability

• Summer oil is not the same as winter oil• Blew up a blower

• Make sure the Blower’s safety systems are actually working• Blew up another blower

head• Something needs to

change ASAP

Brewers do a lot for good reason

NO WATER = NO BEER

Bad Days

• Foam Overs • Get a good antifoam

• Freezing in Winter Time

• Full EQ’s in conjunction with thirsty Michiganders

• Blower Explosion• Align your shafts!

• Get good bugs!• Hair from sludge, Thanks Kalkaska!

• Dead bugs – Truck was contaminated with Oil Field Junk

Brewers use a lot of water

• Water use varies in our industry• 3 water : 1 beer

• up to 10:1

• Waste is easy to achieve

• Cleaning

• Rinsing bottles

• Vacuum pumps

• The brewer’s mop

Pretreatment OperationsLiz Hart and Ryan Vedrode

The best solution for Short’s because…

• 3 year agreement, beginning in March 2015

• Have a sweet membrane bioreactor - CH2M has 16 total staff with Membrane experience in Traverse City region

• 24/7 Operation

• Positive partnership with great synergy

• Wastewater operational expertise

• Affordable solution to reduce the burden on Short’s resources

Good for CH2M because…

• Shared values• Environmental Stewardship

• Community Involvement

• Innovation

• Appreciation of great beer

• Broaden CH2M’s scope in a growing industry • Pretreatment of brewery waste presents unique challenges and

opportunities

• Gain experience with different equipment and treatment technology

Operational Philosophy

• Remote Access Operation (Approximately 75%)• Make WWTP operational changes from nearly anywhere

• Monitor treatment plant status at any time

• Quick investigation and response to plant alarms

• Greatly reduces the financial impact of call-ins

• One downside is that security concerns can be mitigated, but not completely eliminated

• Onsite Operation (Approximately 25%)• Typically M,W,F

• Cleaning, Sampling, Equipment and Operational Adjustments, PMs, Discussion with Short’s team about Brewing schedule and activities

IPP with Village of Elk Rapids

• CH2M handles the relationship with the Village of Elk Rapids• Spill Prevention / Action Plan• Monthly Data Sharing

• Sharing data and information with your Municipal WWTP is a good thing

• Pretreatment plant issues? Contact the Village• They happen!

• Making a beer with lactose? Hit the deck!

• IPP changes, run them by CH2M to make sure Tyler isn’t wrong!

Facility Improvements, Process Optimization and Risk Mitigation

Programming Optimization• Alarms that make sense• Flow control demystification – First iteration of controls

were not controlling anything• Blower speed based on DO concentration, NOT on/off

control• Lead/Lag controls on blowers, RAS Pumps, Membrane

permeate pumps• Back-up membrane flow controls!

• Paddlewheels AND a mag meter• “Low Flow” setpoints to prevent membranes from

running dry

General Facility Improvements

• Equipment Modifications• Fixed level sensors in the EQ

and Aeration Tanks

• Ceiling insulation missed by contractors

• Standby Power

• Membrane bleed off valve for priming after cleanings or maintenance

• Equipment Redundancy• Aeration Blower

• Scouring Blower

• Membranes

• Network Switch

Risk Mitigation

• Safety Improvements

• Replaced the chain fall hoist with an automatic crane

• Repaired the hook on the chain fall

• Repaired membrane cassette mounts

• Covered floor holes in original membrane covers

• Exhaust fans

Process Optimization

Process Control

• Continual Wasting

• Target MCRT

• Equalization Tank

management plan

• Enhanced control of the

solids inventory to maintain

desired microbial population

DAF Operation

• Identified optimal air

pressure, effluent weir height,

replaced the DAF skimmer

rubber with a thicker, more

durable material to prevent

tears and increase solids

removal efficiency.

• Started adding polymer to the

DAF to increase %TSS

Removals

Process Optimization

Membrane Optimization

• Created a cleaning schedule - In-line maintenance

cleanings quarterly, Recovery cleans annually

• Created a semi-annual membrane inspection procedure

• Monitor TMP daily to verify no issues are developing

(include graph)

TMP (Transmembrane Pressure) Graph

DAF in Operation

Communication!!!

Get talkative with your teams.

Train your brewers to not spill shit.But if they do, call Ryan (Not Tyler or Liz) in the middle of the night

Stuff that still needs to happen

• Remote Power Monitoring

• Backup Internet Connection• EWON?

• Another backup membrane• We beat up membrane 1 before

• Solids Concentration• Real loosey goosey right now