Fat Head's Brewery Wastewater Screening Solids Reduction

Industrial Wastewater Treatment Solution Screens Spent Solids and Recovers Them for Zero Waste Reuse

OHM Advisors completed a two-phase process for Fat Head’s Brewery in order for it to begin operating its newly acquired treatment plant in the City of Cleveland. One of the ten largest breweries in Ohio, Fat Head’s first needed to complete applications for the plant’s wastewater discharge permits and engaged OHM Advisors’ industrial wastewater experts, who have specialized knowledge in the industrial beer brewery market.

Our experts completed the necessary environmental permitting with the City and prepared the basis of design with the Ohio EPA necessary for the treatment plan to begin operations and the brewery to discharge wastewater according to all applicable regulatory requirements. During that process and exploration of the plant, our engineers discovered that the plant was not equipped to properly treat the spent solids from the processing of fine barley and hops, so Fat Head’s further engaged our team to design a solution. We designed and supplied a rotary drum screen to remove fine barley and hops onsite and recommended the use of a spent solids silo to contain the solids for repurposing. The treatment plant is now fully operational and producing high-quality effluent as well as residual spent solids.

Our team’s final goal was to advise Fat Head’s on the sustainable reuse of the plant’s spent solids as part of our commitment to creating solutions that contribute to a circular economy. Our recommendations included the sale of the spent grains solids to local cattle and horse farmers for use as feed and potentially partnering with other local organizations for its use in other similar ways. It is always our industrial wastewater team’s goal to help a business reduce its environmental footprint not only by producing high-quality effluent, but by recovering solid manufacturing end product and reusing it in other cost-saving, sustainable ways.

Project Highlights: industrial wastewater permitting, industrial wastewater treatment, industrial wastewater optimization