• Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Mail
  • Call Me Back
  • About
  • Knowledge
📞 Call us on 0330 223 31 31
Water Treatment Services
  • Home
  • Water
    • Applications
      • Boiler Water Treatment
      • Cooling Water Treatment
      • Closed Loop Water Treatment
      • Legionella Control
    • Services
      • Cooling Tower Cleaning
      • Cooling Tower Maintenance
      • Chlorine Dioxide Water Treatment
      • Commercial Water Softeners
      • Expert Witness Services
      • Pre-Commission Cleaning
      • Tank Reline & Repair
      • TMV Servicing
      • Water Chlorination & Disinfection
      • Water Leak Detection
      • Water Testing
        • Drinking Water Testing
        • Metals Testing
        • Pool Water Testing
        • BSRIA Closed System Testing
        • SDI Testing & Analysis
        • Trade Effluent Testing
    • Training
      • Water Treatment Training
      • Basic Chemistry of Water
      • Industrial Treatment
      • Pre-Treatment
      • Boiler Treatment
      • Cooling Systems
      • Closed Systems
      • Wastewater Training
      • Advanced Treatments
      • Training Dates 2021
  • Wastewater
    • Metals Testing
    • Trade Effluent Testing
    • Wastewater Training
    • Expert Witness Services
  • Air
    • Ductwork Cleaning
    • Indoor Air Quality
    • Local Exhaust Ventilation Testing
    • Mould Testing
    • Expert Witness Services
  • Energy
  • Legionella
    • Legionella Risk Assessment
    • Legionella Training Courses
      • Legionella Awareness Training
      • Responsible Person Training
      • Water Hygiene Awareness
      • Pseudomonas Training
      • Training Dates 2021
    • Legionella Testing
    • Expert Witness Services
  • Contact
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
You are here: Home1 / Knowledge2 / Energy3 / Improving Water Efficiency in the Food & Drink Sector
Water Efficiency in the Food and Drink Sector

Improving Water Efficiency in the Food & Drink Sector

This guide considers water efficiency in the UK food and drink sectors. Developed by the water re-use specialists at Water Treatment Services the guide highlights the increasing importance of water scarcity, water use and re-use. It looks at how businesses can improve their approach to the use of water to increase production process efficiency, reduce costs and improve environmental performance.

Using water in food and drink processing

Water is a finite, precious resource essential to life on Earth.

With only around 1% available as fresh drinking water it’s essential that we use it efficiently, minimising its use and re-using in our processes where we can.

One of the industries which is thirstiest in its demand for fresh water are the food and drink sectors.

Figures from a recently produced report show that in order to grow and process one day’s food for your average family of four, an incredible 25,000 litres of water are used.

Growing numbers of people living in both developed and developing countries around the world means that we’re increasingly thinking of water as a precious commodity, with finite supply.

The food and drink sectors appreciate the scarcity of water more than most other industries, given their reliance on access to safe water supplies.

Water management strategies for the food and drink sectors

Food and drink companies across the world are adopting detailed water management strategies, with the aim of saving water, re-using it where they can, reducing the amount of water which is produced as waste, and improving their carbon footprint.

Being successful in their water efficiency efforts will guarantee safe food production both today, and in the future.

Focussing on water efficiency through water use and re-use

Many organisations using significant quantities of water are now using the term “water footprint” to describe the concept of looking at how much water they use in their processes, and ways of decreasing this to improve their environmental impact.

Part of this move has been prompted by regulatory forces including national governments who use a combination of techniques such as increased water bills and associated tariffs, rising trade effluent costs or more stringent environmental standards to force food and beverage producers to think more carefully about the environmental impact of their operations.

  • Learn more about water savings for business

Most manufacturers however find that implementing closed loop water systems or re-using wastewater in other areas of their business can save both water and energy too.

Another recent study of these sectors found that around two thirds of the water which isn’t used to make the end product is used for ancillary purposes including cleaning equipment, or in cooling towers.

Only around a third of the water is used for cleaning or sanitation purposes.

Other environmental measures for consideration

The food and drinks sectors are coming under increasing pressure from many environmentalists to re-use kegs, bottles and containers where possible, and some progress is being made in this area.

However, washing out packaging can be very water-intensive, with in some cases up to 45 litres of water per litre of end product being required.

What can be done to improve this? Manufacturers can reduce this figure by getting the balance of cleaning agents correct, and optimising the way they wash out containers and recycle water through their systems.

Improved wastewater treatment practices for food and drink production

Wastewater and trade effluent treatment companies are doing their bit too, and are working on refining existing technologies, developing new technologies and coming up with new environmentally-friendly cleaning products and other chemicals to reduce the amount of water used and improve water re-use practices.

  • Learn more about wastewater treatment for the food sector

Improved disinfection and cleaning in place (CIP) practices

As mentioned previously, one of the largest areas for the consumption of fresh water in the food and drinks industry is the cleaning of equipment and machinery.

New cleaning methods like using ozone as a cleaning and disinfecting product has the welcome effect of reducing the water required, and allowing it to be recycled through the system.

Another main benefit of using ozone is that process systems can be sterilised quickly, and the system doesn’t have to be shut down, drained or flushed through.

As a comparison, a traditional cleaning process using a chemical disinfectant or heat usually mean shutting down the process for up to 24 hours.

Using ozone for the same process only takes around two hours, with no need for draining.

Water efficiency in vegetable processing

Another part of the food industry which is making swift advances in water efficiency is vegetable processing.

New cyclone dirt separation technologies allow dirt to be removed from vegetables in a way which uses far less water.

Food processors using this type of technology can also re-use water more effectively, and produce less waste too.

Reducing wastewater from other food and drink processes

Reverse osmosis or RO is widely used in the food and drink industry, and improvements in system design are allowing processors to cut their water usage significantly.

Anything between 25% and 50% of the water which flows through a standard reverse osmosis process will be discharged as wastewater.

Modern RO system design allows this percentage to be reduced to as little as 10%.

Adjustments to existing RO systems are cheap and easy to implement so there’s no excuse to implement this type of improvement.

Reverse osmosis which incorporates a very fine membrane filter helps to remove bacteria, toxins, viruses and other pathogens and produces water which is clean enough for many uses in the food and drink processing sectors.

Water efficiency using other water purification techniques

Desalination is a technology aimed at purifying sea water or any other water with high levels of salts making it unsuitable for use in food and beverage production.

Desalination using the relatively new electrodeionisation technology has the advantage of being more energy-efficient than other water purification techniques and the water produced can be used in many different ways.

This deionisation technology is ideally suited for many applications in the food and drink industry.

Another technology that is seeing good results is electrolysis which can be used to clean up naturally occurring minerals in water, and can extend the use of water through the manufacturing process, without impact on the environment.

How the food and drink processors can improve

There are many different options for improving the way the food and drink processors use and re-use water.

The key to success is finding the combination of technologies and practices which works best for your individual circumstances.

Water saving, re-use and resource optimisation solutions

Water Treatment Services offer a comprehensive range of innovative resource optimisation, water saving and re-use solutions that can save on valuable resources, improve environmental performance, and reduce both water and wastewater costs.

Our experts can provide advice and support to help you identify the most appropriate water optimisation strategies for your processes.

With offices in London serving the South and South East England, Manchester (North West), Birmingham (Midlands), Bristol (South East England and Wales), Leeds (North and North East) and Glasgow (Scotland), supported by regional teams of specially trained engineers and equipment specialists we offer cost effective engineering and environmental support solutions across the whole of the UK and internationally.

Contact us today to learn how our water saving and reuse solutions can help you and the environment.

Contact Us Today

Further reading…

Learn more about our water management solutions.

 

Tags: Food and Beverage, Food Processing, Save Water, Wastewater treatment, Water Re-Use
You might also like
What is Silver Hydrogen Peroxide? What is Silver Stabilised Hydrogen Peroxide?
Trade effluent and liquid waste management Trade Effluent & Liquid Waste Management
Wastewater treatment for metal fabrication industries Wastewater Treatment for Metal Fabrication & Finishing Industries
Private water supply problems Private Water Supply Problems & What to Do
Water savings for business Water Savings for Business
What is trade effluent? What is Trade Effluent?
How industrial wastewater treatment works How Industrial Wastewater Treatment Works
What is Fracking for Shale Gas? What is Fracking? Hydraulic Fracturing for Shale Gas & Oil

Search…

What’s New

  • PWTAG Code of Practice for Pool Water Treatment

    PWTAG Code of Practice for Pool Water Treatment

    In this pool guide the water management experts at …
  • In-Field Wastewater Testing for Plant Operators

    In-Field Wastewater Testing for Plant Operators

    In this article the industrial wastewater specialists at WTS …
  • Guide to Testing Swimming Pools and Hot Tubs

    Guide to Testing Swimming Pools and Hot Tubs

    In this pool guide the water management experts at …
  • How Boiler Water Treatment Affects Performance

    How Boiler Water Treatment Affects Performance

    In this article the industrial steam boiler specialists at …
  • Improving HVAC Energy Efficiency

    Improving HVAC Energy Efficiency

    This article examines how businesses can optimise energy consumption, …
  • What is Waste Acceptance Criteria or WAC Testing?

    What is Waste Acceptance Criteria or WAC Testing?

    In this article the industrial waste specialists at WTS …

REVIEWS

4.8
Rated 4.8 out of 5
Water Treatment Services is rated 4.8 out of 5 stars (based on 97 reviews)
Read our reviews

Free Newsletter

Receive exciting features, news, latest research and special offers! Just add your email address and we'll do the rest.

Contact us

Water Treatment Services

[email protected]

Tel: 0330 223 31 31

© Copyright 2022 - EDG Ltd. Operating as Water Treatment Services
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Mail
  • Home
  • About
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • Environment
  • Reviews
  • Sitemap
Overcharged on Water Bills? How Businesses can ReclaimOvercharged on your water bills? How businesses can reclaim overchargingWater tube boilers explainedWater Tube Boilers – Industrial Steam Generation Explained
Scroll to top

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

OK

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Google Analytics Cookies

These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience.

If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here:

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Other cookies

The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them:

Privacy Policy

You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.

Privacy
Accept settingsHide notification only