Crisps and Snacks

Situation

A leading crisp and snack manufacturer was seeking an effluent treatment partner to help deliver cost reductions and achieve discharge consents across 3 manufacturing sites. Existing treatment plant was no longer fit for purpose, resulting in regular discharge consent breaches, and group sustainability targets were not being achieved.

The challenge was to deliver an alternative technology to chemical dosing, capture by-products for recycling and re-sale, and ultimately reduce the total cost of operations. Automation was crucial in order to minimise operator input.

Solution

Following a comprehensive feasibility study of all group manufacturing sites, Kolina proposed their proprietary electrocoagulation solution, coupled with a 3rd party pre-treatment plant, to be fitted to the existing waste water treatment process. This was installed to provide robust separation of heavy solids from potatoes within the treatment train. A common approach facilitated the installation of Kolina’s standard electrocoagulation technology and 3rd party pre-treatment plant across all the companies sites.
Improving solids capture and the removal of starch increased the value of recovered by-product. As a result the customer has since been recognised and shortlisted for a National sustainability award.

Results

Kolina’s electrocoagulation plants are achieving an average 76% COD and 84% TSS reductions across the group, with no breaches of discharge consents. Trade effluent discharge costs have reduced by 68% providing significant annualised savings,