TREATMENT OF BREWERY WASTEWATERS BY
BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT
Paul Barrett, Manager
Utilities and Environmental Engineering
Jos. Schlitz Brewing Company
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212
Phillip L. Hayden, President
Pollution Control Science, Inc.
Miamisburg, Ohio 45342
INTRODUCTION
In 1974, the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company decided to construct a wastewater
treatment plant (WWTP) to treat all process wastewaters discharged from its expanded
brewery and new aluminum can manufacturing plant located in Longview, Texas.    Because of the effluent restrictions proposed by the Texas Water Quality Board on discharges to the Sabine River and the stringent criteria on performance and reliability
established by the Schlitz management, it was decided to undertake a comprehensive
research project.   This research project was necessary since there was no wastewater
treatment plant treating brewery wastewater that could produce an effluent that would
meet the required criteria.   The balance of this paper describes the research project, a
performance evaluation of the constructed WWTP and two years of operating data.
This paper describes the treatment train only.   The sludge handling portion of the
plant will be described in a later paper.
RESEARCH
Analysis of the Winston-Salem Brewery
To determine the wastewater flow and characteristics of the Longview Brewery,
which was to be expanded to a production capacity of 4.0 million barrels per year,
the Schlitz brewery in Winston-Salem, North Carolina was used as a model.   Over a
period of six months the wastewater characteristics of the Winston-Salem brewery were
analyzed extensively to develop a data base.
Analysis of the data indicated the following:
1. During a normal 5-day production week, flow, lb BOD5 and lb suspended solids
increased during the first of the week, reaching a maximum discharge during
Wednesday and Thursday, and drop to low levels during the weekend.   Figure 1
shows the ratio of daily average to weekly averages for flow, BOD5 and TSS.
2. Computed moving averages of hourly values of flow, BOD5, TSS and alkalinity-
acidity data indicated that at least 48 hour detention was required to dampen and
smooth fluctuations in these parameters.
3. As shown in Table I analysis of the wastewater indicated brewery wastewater has
high levels of organics (BOD5), suspended solids (TSS), low levels of nutrients
(N & P), no toxic materials and wide fluctuations in pH.   As compared to other
853