Major energy and resource demands of a brewery Essay

Major energy and resource demands of a brewery - Essay Example Water is an essential resource in the brewery industry especially because it is a vital ingredient that is utilized in almost every step in the process of making beer, comprising nearly 95% proportion of beer by mass. Breweries in the contemporary world have water demands that range from about 0.4 to 1m3per hl of beer that is produced, and the consumption rate varies considerably depending on a number of key factors of production. For instance, the consumption of water varies based on the beer type, and number of beer brands, the size of the brews, the packaging and pasteurization process, as well as the cleaning system, and the type of equipment used. The bottling process consumes more water than the kegging process, and the cooling systems account for further water losses through evaporation especially in hot climates, but cold climates lead to energy saving in the chilling process (Chauvin 48); in this case, the entire beer brewing process needs large quantities of good-quality wa ter. The brewing process is not efficient on the use of water especially because large quantities of water are lost through wastage; wastewater is a major component of the waste products of brewery operations despite substantial technological enhancements in the industry. It has been estimated that nearly 3 to 10 liters of wastewater is generated per every liter of beer that is produced in brewerie ; the quantity of wastewater generated by breweries largely depends on the scale of production and specific water usage. A large proportion of the wastewater produced through brewing, rinsing, and cooling processes is disposed off, or safely treated for reuse but this process is usually very expensive for average brewers who find it economically unsuitable. In this respect, most brewers hardly reuse their wastewater because the high cost of treating it, leading to the high demand for good quality water in the brewing process. Apart from water, energy is yet another major resource of the b rewing industr