Electrochemical Process Enables Sustainable Direct Reuse of California Winery Effluent
Situation
A Sonoma County wine packaging conglomerate, serving 30 of the 50 top US wineries, is in a region of limited rainfall, where canals and reservoirs transport and store water from northern areas of the state. Seasonal variations, population growth, and high transportation costs continue to pressure water users to develop alternative sources for freshwater including seawater desalination, groundwater, and reclaimed wastewater.
The winery wanted to reduce water needs and minimize its water footprint while saving costs related to purchasing and disposing of water. The project faced several hurdles including reclaimed winery wastewater with high levels of dissolved silica that would require extensive pretreatment and limit the recovery from traditional filtration processes like reverse osmosis (RO).
Target
Establish a water reuse system that would have positive impacts on sustainability through reducing external water demands and waste disposal. The system needed to effectively reclaim wastewater effluent to mitigate high levels of dissolved silica while minimizing the overall water footprint.
END Process Skids combine electrochemical desalination with advanced automation, energy-saving pumps, and integrated Clean-In-Place (CIP).
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Activity
MI Systems designed and implemented a water treatment solution based on our END® Technology, based on its ability to remove Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and other inorganic contaminants at ultra-high recovery on silica-impaired water sources.
Silica, an abundant element in most water supplies, often ‘plates out’ when concentrated in a treatment system, irreversibly fouling pressure-based filtration like RO. END® Technology does not concentrate silica, enabling high recovery treatment without risk of damage. These features and advancements, coupled with new process technology to achieve ultra-high water recovery, made NSF/ANSI 61-G & 372 certified END® Technology the best choice for the winery’s reuse applications.
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Results
The END® Process System was integrated with an MBR and disinfection system in 2019 and operates at 95% recovery rate with no additional pretreatment or water treatment chemicals. Energy consumption is only 0.164 kWh/m3 of treated water, surpassing the performance of competitive processes. The cutting-edge, automated solution for the winery is capable of treating over 17 million gallons of water per year with minimal noise and maintenance.
“Implementing MI Systems’ advanced technology aligns with our core values of pursuing a greener way to run and operate our business,” – System owner