Carlsberg has inaugurated a new water recycling plant at its brewery in Fredericia, Denmark, claiming that the new plant will “virtually eliminate water wastage” at the site.
According to Carlsberg, the water recycling plant will reduce the average water consumption at the brewery from 2.9hl of water per hl of beer produced to 1.4hl of water per hl of beer.
Carlsberg also estimates that the new plant will reduce the brewery’s energy consumption by 10% through its own biogas production and the recycling of hot water.
The installation of the ‘state-of-the-art’ recycling plant has resulted from Carlsberg’s public-private partnership with DRIP (the Danish partnership for Resource and water-efficient Industrial food Production). Carlsberg also claims that the new plant will accelerate its efforts towards achieving zero water waste, as announced in its Together Towards Zero sustainability programme, established in June 2017.
Arjun Bhowmik, vice-president production, Western Europe at Carlsberg Group, said: “Our focus has always been on optimising resource management and water consumption reduction at the brewery in Fredericia has been an integral part of this drive.
“The new water recycling technology that we are implementing in the brewery allows us to recycle almost 90% of all process water and thus reduce our water consumption by 50% in Fredericia. Fredericia can, therefore, become an important learning platform for all our breweries, and that makes everyone involved in the project very proud.”
Flemming Nør-Pedersen, director of the Danish Agriculture & Food Council – one of the partners in DRIP – added: “Partnerships will be crucial in realising the Danish Agriculture & Food Council’s vision of a climate-neutral food industry in 2050, and we can draw inspiration from the DRIP partnership.
“It is inspiring to see one of the four ambitions of Carlsberg’s sustainability program realized here in Fredericia. Denmark has thus gained strong competences in water technology and process equipment for the food industry, and it is a skill that other countries are interested in acquiring.”
The installation of the new plant is the latest sustainability move made by the Danish brewer as part of its sustainability strategy. Earlier this year, Carlsberg announced it has reduced its relative carbon emissions by 30% at its breweries since 2015.
The company has also trialled sustainable packaging solutions such as the Snap Pack multipack solution and two prototype beer bottles made from wood fibres and lined with polymer barriers.
Carlsberg Opens Water Recycling Plant at Denmark Brewery
