Wineries

Ecomarca operates in the wine sector and it is responsible for the waste water treatment (management of processing cycles, waste water treatment) and tanks washing and disinfection, by controlling and reducing bioburden.

WASTE WATER TREATMENT

Waste water obtained from winemaking predominantly contains alcohol-based pollutants, sugars, organic acids, polyphenols, in addition to solid substances resulting from processing residues and operations of wine clarification.

For this reason, the organic content of waste water is typically very high; furthermore, the outgoing waste water is generally characterized by high temporal discontinuity, both during the day and the month, and of course the year, with a peak during the harvest period.

Main characteristics of the treatment plant

Treatment plants for wineries must take into consideration the following characteristics:

• Variability of the organic load (COD, Chemical Oxygen Demand) during the washing stages, also according to seasons and the type of wine produced;
• Increase in the amount of solid fragments during the harvest period;
• presenza di farine fossili, bentoniti, ecc. durante le fasi di chiarificazione del vino;
• Presence of fossil flours, bentonites, etc. during the operations of wine clarification;
• Presence of yeast and any interference with the biological process of purification;
• Presence of biocides and harsh reagents resulting from washing processes of filtrations.

For the proper sizing of the treatment system, all the variables related to activities carried out inside a winery must be considered; the plant must necessarily be flexible in order to adapt to changing waste water conditions.

For this reason, Ecomarca performs a preliminary analysis at the customer premises in order to take note of processing peculiarities and to identify any improvable situations: the first treatment may already occur inside the winery!

Our solution

Ecomarca uses the most advanced technologies available for making purifiers, which combine biological processes with the most advanced systems of separation of clarified water. These purifiers are managed by special software allowing the automatic and interactive operation of the waste water treatment plant.

The main types of treatment plants for wineries are the sequential (SBR, Sequencing Batch Reactor) and the membrane ones (MBR, Membrane Bio Reactor).

SBR plants are suitable for the treatment of waste water characterised by a strong variability over time, both in terms of pollutant and hydraulic load, as it happens inside a winery. SBR plants allow treatment during all the 24 hours, by accumulating a part of the waste water during the day and carrying on the treatment cycle at night. The main characteristic of SBR systems is to carry out all the stages of the purifying process within a single compartment in a sequential manner.

In MBR plants the purifying process using activated sludge and the microfiltration through membranes are coupled. Ecomarca chose and suggests to its customers flat ceramic membranes since, with respect to other types made with other materials, typically polymeric, they guarantee a very high durability over time, continuous purifying effectiveness and very low maintenance costs.

MBR purifiers have the advantage of being particularly compact and they consequently require smaller volumes, the flow rate processed being equal; inside these plants all the water is micro filtered through membranes and purity of purified water is such as to allow the reuse. Vai alla scheda tecnica Impianti MBR.

The variability of pollutant and hydraulic load, which is typical for a winery, requires a biomass capable of attacking effectively the ingoing waste water, minute after minute. To ensure this, instead of the traditional aeration with air, a supply system of e-OXY pure gaseous oxygen directly into the oxidation tank is often used. This ensures a high degree of flexibility of the oxygenation system necessary for the biological process in order to overcome the high organic peaks and it allows the modulation of the treatment and to prevent bad odours due to any lack of oxygen.

TANKS AND EQUIPMENT WASHING

The impurities which are usually found in the equipment used inside a winery are sands, powders and own components of wine such as minerals, sugars, yeasts, bacteria, polyphenols, etc…

The degree of adhesion of dirt to surfaces depends on the material making up tanks (concrete, steel, etc.) and may be increased by the protracted conservative effects. It is for this reason that products used for cleaning equipment and tanks must simultaneously satisfy three basic properties:

• To cleanse the organic matter;
• To descale mineral substrates;
• To disinfect from pathogens.

Since there is not any product meeting all these characteristics, today the cleaning and the disinfection of equipment used in the wine sector are carried out with acids and alkalis.

The chemical incompatibility of these substances makes the operator not use them at the same time: therefore, their use alternately is the only possible system.

The classic method of cleaning called dominant alkaline involves washing equipment with an alkaline product such as sodium hydroxide and then an acid washing. The cleaning is performed at the beginning and at the end of each operation, followed by a rinsing.

Our solution

The use of products made of stabilized hydrogen peroxide such as Ox-Virin and Ox-Agua ensures a cleansing, descaling and disinfectant effect as their main components are peracetic acid, acetic acid and stabilized hydrogen peroxide.

The liberation of oxygen causes the release of bubbles with an effervescent effect producing the mechanical cleaning of surfaces. The disinfection of microorganisms is carried out mainly through the denaturation of proteins inside the cell membrane and for the oxidation of double hydrosulphide bonds inside the bacterial enzymes.

Main advantages of using Ox-Virin

• Complete removal of organic matter and micro-organisms;
• Reduction of energy consumption as Ox-Virin is also active at low temperatures;
• No treatment residues and, consequently, NO alteration of the organoleptic characteristics of bottled products.
• Possible elimination of a wash;

The method of use and the dosage are described in the appropriate operating protocol that Ecomarca prepares specifically for the needs of each customer depending on the type of process, room or surface or equipment.