ProcessEffluent collection, treatment, analyses, & brewing
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Effluent CollectionOn January 1, 2019, while most of Chicago was still asleep, water was collected from the North Shore Channel within the mixing zone of the O'Brien Water Reclamation Plant for the purpose of producing the first effluent home brewed beer made in Chicago.
Effluent from the O'Brien Water Reclamation Plant is biologically treated by conventional activated sludge and disinfected by UV irradiation prior to discharge to the North Shore Channel.
Legal: Previous communication with the Illinois EPA confirmed that no permit was required.
MWRD disclaimer: "After discussing this matter with our Law Department, it was determined that MWRD commissioners and staff are not in a position to support, sample, test or promote any effluent/water-based product meant to be consumed." |
Advanced TreatmentTreated wastewater effluent (conventional activated sludge and UV disinfection, 15 gallons) was further treated by batch distillation (5 gallons per batch). The first 500mL of distillate was discarded and the remainder was filtered through granular activated carbon (household Brita filter) to remove low boiling point volatile compounds (such as hydrogen sulfide). The last portion of each batch (about 1 gallon) of each batch was also discarded, and the middle portion was retained for brewing and lab analysis. A bit over 3 gallons was produced per 5-gallon batch by running the still 18 hrs/day. A total of 10 gallons total was produced in 3 days.
Advanced treated water (distilled+GAC) conductivity (uS/cm) is lower than tap water.
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BrewingMashSpargeBoilFirst pull of the amber ale right out of the mash tun. After a week in the fermenter, it will move it to another bucket to clarify and then into the bottles for 3 weeks before serving.
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Advanced treatment process selection
A fundamental question for advanced treatment for reuse is "how much treatment is required?" Full scale advanced treatment systems for reuse typically consists of membrane-based processes or ozone paired with biologically activated carbon. Resilience, the ability to detect and recover from potential process failure, is important for reuse and achieved by a balance of advanced monitoring techniques and multiple treatment barriers. Commercial scale advanced treatment processes and advanced monitoring are typically costly and require navigating an unclear permitting process.
Our treatment system was built based on principals of resilience and redundance to reliably produce high quality water. Multiple treatment barriers are paired with monitoring of conductivity and select drinking water parameters. Distillation was selected because it is safe, well-established, and accessible on a do-it-yourself" (DIY) scale. Distillation has been used to produce lab-grade water and spirits long before the evolution of membrane treatment technologies. Inspired by NASA's Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) on the International Space Station (ISS), our second batch was additionally treated with ion exchange to bring conductivity down to zero uS/cm. Why? Because we can (see note 1). After all, this is a demonstration project, and we aim to show what is possible. Two independent treatment processes provide redundant treatment for the chemical categories:
Our treatment system was built based on principals of resilience and redundance to reliably produce high quality water. Multiple treatment barriers are paired with monitoring of conductivity and select drinking water parameters. Distillation was selected because it is safe, well-established, and accessible on a do-it-yourself" (DIY) scale. Distillation has been used to produce lab-grade water and spirits long before the evolution of membrane treatment technologies. Inspired by NASA's Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) on the International Space Station (ISS), our second batch was additionally treated with ion exchange to bring conductivity down to zero uS/cm. Why? Because we can (see note 1). After all, this is a demonstration project, and we aim to show what is possible. Two independent treatment processes provide redundant treatment for the chemical categories:
- Organic compounds - distillation, GAC
- Low boiling point volatile compounds - initial distillation product was discarded, ion exchange
- Solids and metals - distillation, ion exchange
- Pathogens - heat inactivation in distillation and boil of brewing process
Note 1: Remineralization is recommended for low mineral water (less than 50 mg/L total dissolved solids) typically produced by treatment processes including reverse osmosis, distilled, and select ion exchange processes including ZeroWater tap water filters. The World Health Organization recommends remineralizing distilled water to concentrations of 50 mg/L calcium and 20-30 mg/L magnesium before drinking. Compare to 200 mg elemental calcium in one tablet of regular strength TUMS antacid (500 mg calcium carbonate active ingredient per tablet). No worries for beer because plenty of "goods" are added during brewing.