Brewery Waste Digester and RNG

One of the largest craft brewers in the United States needed a new wastewater pretreatment facility that would reduce the volume of solids requiring off-site disposal and maximize waste as a source of renewable energy at its greenfield brewery. Our design for the brewery’s new wastewater pretreatment facility incorporated a custom two-phase anaerobic digestion system to biologically treat high solids waste streams, including spent grains and yeast. Since this was a greenfield site intended for tourism, we addressed concerns regarding odors from the brewery’s new wastewater pretreatment facility. The biogas created by the anaerobic process is treated to remove moisture and contaminants and then is used in two 200kW microturbines to generate electricity for use in the brewery. Additionally, excess biogas is used in a boiler to provide heat for the digester. This project achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification and qualified for renewable energy funding from several sources.