Waste Treatment for the Pabst Brewery at
Perry, Georgia
THOMAS R. McWHORTER, Project Engineer
Wiedeman and Singleton Engineers
Atlanta, Georgia
RICHARD J. ZIELINSKI, Chief Chemist
Pabst Brewing Company
Perry, Georgia
INTRODUCTION
Early in 1968 Pabst Brewing Company, made the decision to construct a new
brewery on a rural site in central Georgia. The brewery was to have an initial
production capacity of 1.5 million barrels per year and was to be designed for
expansion in the near future to a capacity of 3.0 million barrels per year. The site
selected was located six miles from Perry, Georgia on land used principally for
farming. Since municipal sewage treatment facilities were not available, waste
treatment facilities had to be constructed and operated by the brewery.
A study was undertaken to determine the quantity and characteristics of waste
to be discharged from the various processes within the proposed brewery. The study
was based largely on existing data since very limited time was available for design and
construction. Existing sewage treatment plants having a high proportion of brewery
waste were visited to evaluate the performance of different treatment methods and
to anticipate possible problem areas. Time was not available for pilot plant studies.
This paper describes the origin, quantity and characteristics of waste from the
brewing process, the separation and handling of different wastes flows, the receiving
stream and the degree of treatment required, the treatment facilities constructed and
initial performance of the treatment system.
RECEIVING STREAM
The primary beneficial use of the receiving stream, Big Indian Creek, in the
vicinity of the brewery was fishing. A comprehensive water quality survey was made
to determine stream assimilation capacity and to obtain background data on stream
conditions existing prior to the start-up of the brewery. The stream was found to be
unpoEuted, high is dissolved oxygen, low in bio-chemical oxygen demand (BOD),
solids, hardness and coliforms. In a biological survey, macroinvertebrate forms
intolerant to organic pollution were found along with a considerable diversity in
facultative macroinvertebrate forms. A time of travel study conducted by use of dye
indicated that stream flow velocities were 0.5 to 0.6 fps.
Big Indian Creek is a tributary of the Ocmulgee River and has Mossy Creek as
its own major tributary. The treated effluent is discharged to Big Indian Creek 10
miles above the Ocmulgee River and 2.5 miles above Mossy Creek. The flow time
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