Droughts are not new to Gqeberha (formerly called Port Elizabeth). Located in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province, Gqeberha experiences a semi-arid climate with erratic rainfall, making it prone to periodic water scarcity. This has inspired a unique partnership between ABInBev, the Flemish government and Waterleau, a global leader in water technology.

“Between 2015 and 2023, Gqeberha experienced its longest drought in history – lasting eight years. On the 21^st July 2021, dam levels plunged to a record low of 9.98%, with only 3.43% usable water when accounting for dead storage. At one point, just 36 days of supply remained in the two major dams. It was frightening. It was unprecedented,” says Laurenz Devers, general manager Sub Saharan Africa, Waterleau.

Ibhayi Brewery, Gqberha

Like most businesses, breweries such as ABInBev are increasingly vulnerable to water-related risks, including water scarcity, poor water quality, and climate-related disruptions such as floods and droughts.

“Added to this, ABInBev understands that while water is a key ingredient in their products and operations, water is also a critical resource for the health and well-being of the communities surrounding them. Over the past two decades, Waterleau has commissioned numerous effluent and water treatment systems for ABInBev around the world. The partnership allows ABInBev to focus on brewing while Waterleau – a water technology company – has the knowledge, expertise and experience to solely focus on water. We installed their first water recovery plant at their head offices in Leuven, Belgium,” adds Devers.

The proverb – Necessity is the mother of invention – is most applicable at the ABInBev/SAB Ibhayi Brewery in Gqberha where, in light of the persistent droughts, they have implemented a successful water reuse project with the aim to increase water security through extracting less water from the dams.

Project Imfino (Spinach)

Some years ago, ABInBev/SAB Ibhayi Brewery went into partnership with Taylormade Water Solutions, who is using the effluent from the brewery’s anaerobic digestors for crop production (mostly spinach) in a 2000 m² wetlands system next to the brewery.

Called Project Imfino, the system uses integrated constructed wetlands and raised hydroponic beds to grow different kind of crops. This system is optimally designed to capture the nutrients in the effluent, necessary for crop growth, and grow fresh, certified crops as a result. Partners such as Rhodes University, Water Research Commission and the National Research Foundation of South Africa have been supporting this project since its inception.

The project provides 1 500 kgs of fresh produce for the local community as well as eight permanent jobs. There is no need for additional water, or fertilizers. It is a great example on how to integrate crop production and effluent treatment to create a profitable, sustainable local value chain from brewery wastewater.

The wetlands system ultimately produces effluent that is free of all nutrients and organic compounds (taken up by the plants) and has a volume of 250 000 ℓ/day. A few months ago, this effluent was always discharged into the municipal drain.

Further treatment

As Project Imfino operates in a water scarce region, employs and trains unskilled people and provides a source of income and food to the surrounding community, it attracted funding from the the Flemish Government through the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO). There is also co-funding with Taylormade Water Solutions and Waterleau.

The aim of the project is to take Project Imfino a step further by installing an ultra-filtration plant and treating the effluent (that would have been discharged) for reuse in ABInBev’s operations. While the reused water will not be used to make beer or ever come into contact with the beer, it will be used for the heating and cooling plants, the washing and cleaning of the plant and other cleaning activities for crates and bottles.

Interestingly, the average brewery uses around 40% of its water to manufacture the product and 60% of the water for its actual operations. The average ratio of water to beer is between 3 and 4 hℓ water to 1 hℓ of beer. ABInBev is dedicated to lowering this ratio, with initiatives like the Waterleau water recovery plant at Ibhayi Brewery playing a key role.

“Ordinarily, development aid is given to government, but this was development aid from the Flemish government that is focused on creating a positive connection between an industrial player (ABInBev), Belgium technology (Waterleau) and the surrounding community,” explains Devers.

Waterleau has designed, engineered, manufactured and installed a fully mobile and containerised ultra filtration water reticulation plant, where the effluent that passes through the wetland system is further purified for reuse.

Devers adds that while water reclamation technology has existed for a few years, this project is still unique in that a typical wastewater plant consists of two steps: anaerobic treatment technology and aerobic treatment technology.

“Normally effluent from a brewery will pass through an anaerobic digester where approximately 80% of impurities are removed. From there, an aerobic digester will remove any nitrogen, phosphorus and COD (chemical oxygen demand).  Effluent is then further processed through a water reclamation plant. In this instance, the wetland replaced the aerobic digester, saving ABInBev from chemical and energy costs. By recycling this water after anaerobic treatment over a wetlands system and using ultra filtration, the IBAYI brewery will not need aerobic treatment for polishing. Aerobic treatment is energy consuming and produces sludge. This smart solution produces clean water, and fresh crops instead of this sludge, with minimal energy use,” states Devers

Before Waterleau installed the plant, water went through an anaerobic digester, the wetland and into the municipal sewer. With the Waterleau plant, no water is wasted and discharged into the sewer. Around 75 000 m³/year or 250 000 ℓ/day of water will be diverted back by the brewery as service water. The project will not only save of water from the dam intake, but also 70 – 80 MW/year of electricity compared to biological (aerobic) systems in other breweries. Ultimately, this project will make water more available for the local community.

There is a desire to increase the capacity of the plant going forward and an intention in rolling out the project on other sites.

SmartLab® with IoT and AI

“The plant has been running successfully since September and has been fitted with our SmartLab® technology to digitise interactions and leverage data-driven intelligence. All the data from the plant is uploaded onto a secure cloud with firewalls. The data is analysed through artificial intelligence (AI) and operators then receive feedback on the performance of the plant. This aids in optimising operational efficiency and aligning a company’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards. With our digital water platform, we can reduce chemical and energy costs. AI can also predict and prevent equipment failure,” says Fortune Maharaj, a process engineer at Waterleau.

Both Taylormade Water Solutions and Waterleau will operate and maintain the plant for 18 months, free of cost to ABInBev. During this time, academic research will be done on the project, and a more in-depth life cycle assessment, water and energy impact study will be done.

Waterleau has an impressive global and African footprint, with offices in South Africa, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco and Egypt and has installed over 200 water and wastewater treatment plants for breweries on the content.

“The quality as well as the automation level is a key differentiator for Waterleau. We also have strong relationships and have built a reliable network of local suppliers and contractors,” concludes Maharaj.

Project team

• Waterleau South Africa: Engineering, design, installation, co-financing and operation assistance
• Taylormade Water Solutions: Crop production, water optimisation and operation
• ABInBev/SAB Ibayi: Global brewer and water off-taker
• Rhodes University: Academic research on the project
• Flemish Government/UNIDO/Waterleau: Co-financers of the project.