Membrane bioreactors as core technology for water loop closure in a maltery.

This paper reports on the potential for water reuse in the malting sector. Core unit of a treatment train to close the water loop was a membrane bioreactor (MBR). Three different commercial submerged membranes were compared in terms of their fouling potential in this application. In a second step, MBR permeate was subjected to reverse osmosis (RO) and several oxidation processes. Neither the MBR permeate nor the RO permeate or oxidized water streams showed an adverse effect on malt quality. The worst case scenario was then tested in a closed water loop over several malting cycles at pilot scale and the effect on water and malt quality investigated.

Closing the water loop in a maltery: reuse tests at pilot-scale.

This paper reports on the potential for water reuse in the malting sector. Core unit of a treatment train to close the water loop was a membrane bioreactor (MBR). We compared three different commercial submerged membranes for their fouling potential in this application and related this to the presence of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). In a second step, we subjected MBR permeate to reverse osmosis and several (advanced) oxidation processes to evaluate the water quality achieved. Finally we performed a set of water reuse tests with waters obtained through different scenarios. The optimal scenario was then tested in a closed water loop over several malting cycles at pilot scale and the effect on water and malt quality was investigated.