Distillieries - Environmental Clearance

DistilleriesEmission SourcePossible Emissions Sulfur dioxide (SO2) Total VOCs Particulate Matter (PM10) Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx)Source: Adapted from USEPA, AP-42, Section 9.12.2.1995Point source emissionsThese emissions are exhausted into a vent (excluding roof vent) or stack and emittedthrough a single point source into the atmosphere.The main emissions to air from the manufacture of beer and wine may include VOCs,greenhouse gases, odour, noise and dust.As per the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the California AirResources Board, breweries and distilleries are only minor sources of emissions of VOCsto the atmosphere.GHG emissionsHowever, several greenhouse gases may also be produced in the beer, wine and spiritmaking process including:CO 2 (a by-product of fermentation);Nitrous oxide (N 2 O) (a by-product of the internal combustion engine); and,Sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ) (if used during kilning).In breweries, approximately 16 kg of CO 2 is generated in boilers burning fossil fuel foreach hL of beer produced. This is much greater than the amount generated duringfermentation, which is approximately 3 kg/hL of beer produced (UNEP, 1995). TheGHG estimates for Australia for production of one bottle of wine is depicted in thediagram in a comprehensive LCA study on the GHG emissions in UK are givenunderneath.Although odours from breweries and wineries are considered to be harmless, theyrepresent an environmental nuisance and should be avoided wherever possible. Inbreweries, for example, a smell may be experienced in the vicinity of malt houses,particularly when drying the sprouted barley. In addition, odours may also be caused byemissions from the fermentation process, vapour and stack emissions from mashing andwort boiling (SEPA, 1991; UNEP, 1995).Dust, which can result from the handling of grains during cleaning, loading and malting,is another type of emission to air that represents an environmental concern as it can resultin localized or regional air quality problems (UNEP, 1995).b) Wastewater from brewing processBreweries as mentioned above have a specific consumption of water ranging from 4 to 11hL water/hL beer. In brewing, the average water consumption of around 5-6 hL/hL beeris correlated to beer production for industrial breweries. Water consumption is dividedinto 2/3 used in the process and 1/3 in the cleaning operations. In the same way, effluentTGM for Distillery Industry 3-35 August 2010