Cave Spring Cellars, Ontario Canada
Overview
Cave Springs Cellars is committed to environmentally friendly and sustainable winemaking. Taking a proactive approach, the winery wanted to improve its onsite treatment of wastewater to reduce BOD levels and hence the discharge fees for its current and future wastewater requirements.
Solution
In October 2015, a full scale system using four BioGill® bioreactors was installed by EcoEthic Inc. – a Canadian wastewater specialist company and BioGill® distributor.
Design
As a first step, the winery set up a pilot project which saw BOD drop from as high as 6,000 mg/L to just 48 mg/L in 22 hours, well below the required threshold.
Wastewater flows down from the crush pad into two consecutive settling tanks. From there the effluent moves to a large balancing tank (30,000L) where the composition is balanced for easier filtration. Effluent then goes into the processing tank where it is circulated into the BioGill® units. The effluent is delivered to the top of the BioGill® units, then gravity fed over and down the nano ceramic gills.
BioGill® technology harnesses microorganisms, nature’s best recyclers and decomposers, to remove the organic material (BOD) in the wastewater. The microbes grow on the gills, effectively digesting the BOD-producing organic materials.
Results
The BioGill® system has lowered the BOD in the winery wastewater by up to 99%. Prior to treatment, the BOD from non-vintage loads can be up to 9,645 mg/L. Following a 22 hour treatment cycle, the BOD has been reduced to 101 mg/L.
In June 2016, Cave Spring Cellars became Ontario’s first certified sustainable winery for its wastewater treatment, waste management and energy savings initiatives.
Get started
Your journey to lowered BOD and COD site levels starts with BioGill®, and we’re just a click away if you want help getting up and running.