Water treatment for the food and beverage industry
Save the dates! drinktec: 15 – 19 September / 109. VLB-Oktobertagung: 06 - 07 October
Product and Process water for the food and beverage industry
Water is a limited resource. Alternative water sources, such as surface water, will have to compensate the use of tap/drinking water in the future. Due to their origin, such water is rarely of a quality that allows to use it in the F&B industry without suitable pretreatment.
Treated water is used as an ingredient or for cleaning
However, water is one of the most important basic food for humans and a main component of various foods such as fruit juice drinks, soft drinks and beer. Treated water is also required for secondary processes such as bottle cleaning.
Water treatment units for beverage industries
Our goal in F&B production is to manufacture products with constant quality while meeting characteristic requirements for composition, taste, hygiene and purity. Due to the rising costs of raw materials and energy, as well as the limitation of resources, it is necessary to do this efficient.
Important conditions for this are the legal requirements, the increasing environmental awareness and the expectations of consumers. Our solutions are tailor-made.
“Your water is our motivation. We build water treatment systems that are customised to your requirements and deliver what you expect.“
Dr. Sven Fleischer, Tendering & Project Manager
For Diary Industry
High water consuption in production
means high savings potential
In Germany, over 30 million tonnes of raw milk are produced and processed in dairies every year. The various work processes use large quantities of process water. This is needed for cleaning the production facilities, generating steam, cooling and heating, among other things.
Water consumption is a substantial cost factor for diaries. At the same time, there is considerable potential for savings in this area: by using reverse osmosis systems with high yields and energy-efficient pumps, milk processing companies can significantly reduce their water and energy consumption and minimise their environmental impact.
Efficient solutions for your business
Herco offers reliable solutions for these challenges, which we adapt flexibly to your needs. With our experience in the manufacture and development of water treatment systems, we provide these advantages:
Hygienic design
The system components are made entirely of stainless steel and thus prevent the risk of contamination due to their low dead space design.
Long-term cost efficiency
Save up to 20 % freshwater with concentrate recirculation and 50 % energy by frequency-controlled pumps.
Durability
Our systems save resources and comply with the applicable legal regulations.
Reference project Diary Industry:
Two-stage reverse osmosis plant UO-S7 50.000 AS/KS/FU
The RO-unit is responsible for the production of demineralized water, which is used for cleaning the production plants and machinery in a Scandinavian dairy. The premises in which the systems are installed are limited in terms of space. Therefore, the design had to be particularly space-saving and compact. The work effort for the operator is minimized by the automatic operation mode of the RO-unit.
- Source: Surface water
- Capacity: 2x 50m³/h (alternating operation)
- Concentrate recycling sub-unit 2x 12,5 m³/h
- „Hygienic Design“ (completely made of stainless steel & no contamination due to low dead zone design)
- Chemical dosing units
- CIP
- Siemens S7 control with Profinet interface
- Variable speed drive pumps
Energy and water savings
- 30 % - 50 % Energy savings through the use of variable speed drive pumps
- Up to 20 % Fresh water savings through concentrate recirculation
Customer
Dairy & Food group Valio (Finland)
Application
Process water for cleaning the production facilities
For Breweries
We have been a member of the "Versuchs- und Lehranstalt für Brauerei in Berlin e.V." since 2022 (VLB ).
The quality of the raw water
is a crucial factor in the brewing process
We provide safe and clean brewing water with our water treatment units for breweries. All impurities, such as bacteria and organic substances, are reliably removed. In addition to the important function for maximum possible hygiene, effective water treatment also has a significant influence on the taste of beer.
Optimum pH value
The pH value for the brewing process is largely determined by the residual alkalinity of the (brewing) water. It should be between 5.2 and 5.6 in the mash to ensure optimal enzyme activity. Alkaline water contains too much carbonate and bicarbonate, which can be removed from the brewing water by decarbonisation.
Correct water hardness
The hardness of the water, i.e. the content of calcium and magnesium ions, also has a major influence on the quality of the beer. Too high a hardness can lead to undesirable flavours in the end product. This can be prevented by ion exchange.
Our technologies for breweries
We offer high-quality and individual water technology for all process steps in food and beverage production. In the following flow chart you can see the structure of a water treatment. Consisting of several reverse osmosis units (including blending devices) and concentrate recycling unit.
1 Pre-treatment
2 Reverse osmosis
Hygienic design
Blending devices
Concentrate stage UO-BW
3 Add-ons
Filtration or Ultrafiltration
Softening
CIP-/SIP-Concept
MEG
Ultrafiltration, De-ironing, De-manganization and carbon hardness
Ultrafiltration can remove undesirable ingredients in the process-water and also in the product water so that the water meets the customer's requirements.
When using well water, De-ironing and De-manganization filters must also be considered.
The use of a RO-units makes it possible to reduce the ion content of the water. A blending device is then used to set the desired carbonate hardness. Our water treatment units take care of all the requirements. On request, completely in Hygienic Design.
Brewery flyer
Download
Here you will find all the information on water treatment for breweries in our short flyer. Including example calculation and flow diagram.
File format:
PDF / 207 KB
Energy-efficiency
Download
Our water treatment systems for breweries are also highly efficient, thanks to our VSD pumps. Learn more in our brochure.
File format:
PDF / 160 KB
For Wine Production
The quality of wine
depends on the quality of the water
Water quality also plays a major role in winemaking. The water used in winemaking must be clean and free of harmful impurities to ensure the safety and quality of the wine. Examples of applications: Grape cleaning; cleaning of production equipment, bottle cleaning.
Versatile water treatment
Depending on the quality, the water may need to be treated to obtain the required properties. Water treatment may include filtration, removal of heavy metals and other contaminants, removal of bacteria and viruses, or pH adjustment.
Maximum hygiene
The highest possible hygiene is important in winemaking to avoid contamination of the wine. It is therefore crucial that water treatment plants are regularly cleaned and maintained to ensure perfect water quality.
Reference project Wine Production:z
RO-unit with antiscalant dosing
The RO-unit with antiscalant dosing is responsible for supplying the bottle cleaning with fully demineralised water. An already existing Herco RO-unit is to be supported so that work can be done alternately.
Customer
Winery Germany
Application
Bottle cleaning
System technology of the UO-D 2.500 AS/FU
- Source: Tap/city water
- Capacity: 2.500 l/h
- Characteristics:
PVC-piping
Energy-saving variable speed drive high pressure pump
Proven HERCO RO-Digital microprocessor control including Profinet interface
References
Several water treatment solutions
5 x Ultrafiltration systems UF 8D6
Treatment of surface water for juice production in Romania
RO-Plant UO-S7 25.000 KR/FU
Product water for the food & beverage industry in Serbia
Ultrafiltration system UF 2D6
Treatment of surface water for a brewery in Germany
RO-Plant UO-D 1.500 / EP 2.200 / MEG 2.500
Ultrapure water for soft drink production in the United Kingdom
RO-Plant in stainless steel UO-D 1.500 VA
Product water for a soft drink producer in Belgium
Filtration with SPS in a container
Iron and manganese removal for a malting plant in Germany
2x UP-S7 30.000 FU/VA
Ultrapure water system for fruit juice production in Spain
UF 4D6 / UO-D 12.000 BW/FU
Brackish water treatment for a brewery in Spain
UF 6D6
Ultrafiltration system for rapeseed oil production in Poland
2x UP-S7 50,000
Process water treatment for cleaning production plants and machinery in Finland
RO-Plant UO-D 2.500 AS/FU
Process water for bottle cleaning in Germany
Return of investment
Resource-saving water treatment ensures the future viability of your production site. Our units minimize operating costs by using variable speed drive pumps and concentrate recycling.
Energy efficiency Webinar
Learn more about life cycle costing calculations for our water treatment equipment and find out how quickly the return on investment is achieved through low operating costs.
To the Webinar
Water treatment units
Made in Germany
We have many years of experience in plant construction, even for complex projects. Adherence to delivery dates is our top priority. Our high-quality machines and systems are tested in our in-house test field to ensure perfect functioning - on request also with factory acceptance and instruction of the system operator.
DIN certified
and strictly supervised production
In the food sector, regulations such as Regulation (EC) 1935/2004 or Regulation (EC) 2023/2006 must be complied with. Standards such as DIN 10528, DIN 11853 or guidelines such as EHEDG Doc. 28 are used to design the water treatment systems in such a way that microbial contamination is prevented or reliably removed. In addition, there are customer-specific requirements, e.g. regarding applicable makes. We offer you systems of certified quality (DIN EN ISO 9001, DIN EN ISO 13485), which are planned with these requirements in mind and manufactured by our production team in Germany.
Environmental management system
Registered in the EMAS register
Herco Wassertechnik applies an environmental management system in accordance with Regulation (EC) No. 1221/2009 and EN ISO 14001:2015 (sections 4 to 10) for the continuous improvement of its environmental performance, regularly publishes an environmental statement, has the environmental management system and the environmental statement verified by an accredited, independent environmental verifier and is registered in the EMAS register (emas-register.de).
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Please feel free to contact me directly
Andreas Pentke
Business Development Manager Food & Beverage
andreas.pentke@hercowater.com
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