Stone Brewing, Co. LLC., located in Escondido, California, is a strong advocate for environmental responsibility. They have grown from a small microbrewery to one of the largest craft breweries in the United States. Their goal has been to brew outstanding and unique beers while maintaining an unwavering commitment to sustainability, business ethics, and the art of brewing.
The grounds at Stone Brewing have won several prestigious awards for environmentally responsible landscape architecture. They’re built within a flood retention basin and draw on reclaimed materials, including second-hand plants, and tremendous love and respect for the environment.
Part of being socially and environmentally responsible includes proper handling of wastewater produced in the brewing process. The wastewater must be filtered and purified before being discharged. Stone Brewing chose Blue-White Industries to assist them in finding a solution for treating wastewater generated by its craft brewery.
PROBLEM
Stone Brewing is regulated by the county and state and is required to meet wastewater discharge protocols. The brewery and the packaging hall generates, on average, approximately 100,000 gallons of wastewater per day. To achieve the standards required for the safe disposal of wastewater, Stone needed to find reliable, operator-friendly metering pumps that would deliver accurate amounts of chemicals into their treatment system.
SOLUTION
Stone Brewing installed four of Blue-White’s FLEXFLO® A2 Peristaltic Chemical Metering Pumps to assist with the purification of the wastewater generated by its craft brewery.
Two of the A2 pumps inject a solution of 12.5% sodium hypochlorite for use in the membrane bioreactor (MBR) filter backwashes. MBR processes can produce effluent of high quality so that it can be discharged into coastal waterways or be reclaimed for urban irrigation.
One A2 pump injects 93% sulfuric acid prior to reverse osmosis (RO). This is also used in the process of removing effluent materials from the water molecules.
One A2 pump injects 12-14% sodium hydroxide to bring the reclaimed water to a pH of 8, so it does not corrode the pipes.
RESULT
The compact FLEXFLO® A2 pumps could handle the variety of aggressive chemicals being injected into the wastewater. Water Technicians at Stone Brewing appreciated the ease of use and the electronic features of the pumps. The FLEXFLO® A2 successfully offered precision chemical metering to assist with the purification of the brewery’s wastewater.
Written By:
Amparo Burke, Advertising
