Comparison of anaerobic treatment alternatives for brandy distillery process water.

This paper compares the conceptual design of anaerobic treatment alternatives for brandy distillery process water from the production of wine, brandy, high proof alcohol, and cleanup activities that will be land applied. The results of process water characterization and treatability testing are included. The wine industry's sustainable practices movement and recent tightening of the State of California requirements for land application of food and beverage processing wastewater, have forced facilities to reevaluate the characteristics, segregation options, and treatability requirements for recycling, reuse, or discharge of effluent to land treatment facilities. The treatment alternatives, results of characterization, and bench- and pilot-scale treatability testing for solids, organics, and nutrient removal using anaerobic and aerobic biological and physical-chemical treatment methods are presented. Based on test results and evaluation, we developed a conceptual design and cost estimates for process water treatment systems to remove solids, organics and nutrients that include energy recovery and produce effluent of improved quality for land application.