Inside Bofferding Brewery, May 2020;
Credit: Jazmin Campbell / Chronicle.lu
Tuesday 13 September 2022 marked the inauguration of a new wastewater treatment plant at the Brasserie Nationale, widely known as the Bofferding Brewery, in Käerjeng in southwestern Luxembourg.
The inauguration took place in the presence of Michel Wolter, Mayor of Käerjeng.
Since the 1980s, the Bofferding Brewery has regularly implemented various actions aimed at the sustainable and efficient management of all natural resources, including water consumption.
"In the 1980s we needed twelve litres of water to produce one litre of beer, while in 2021 we needed four. Our objective was not to rest on our laurels, but to reduce our consumption once again by 50%", explained Mathias Lentz, Director of the Bofferding Brewery.
For more than 40 years, the brewery has invested no less than €20 million in improving its production processes in favour of quality and environmental protection. These efforts were rewarded in 2002 with the Environment Prize awarded by FEDIL and the European Environment Prize awarded by the European Commission, which have made it possible to position the company as a reference in terms of productivity and respect for the environment.
Encouraged by the Luxembourg Government and the national innovation agency, Luxinnovation, the Bofferding Brewery launched the development project for a wastewater treatment plant at the end of 2020. In line with the objectives of the "Neistart Lëtzebuerg" programme aimed at a transition of companies towards more resilience, respect for the environment and a more sustainable economy, the brewery was able to benefit from the support of Luxembourg's Ministry of the Economy in this project.
The treatment plant, developed by the Belgian company Pantarein, now makes it possible to treat wastewater by a process of decantation, filtration and finally reverse osmosis allowing the reuse of 70% of used and treated water. This reprocessed water is used in a separate water circuit, which has the sole function of cleaning, steam production and cooling. The wastewater treatment plant can treat 360,000 litres of water per day.
Mathias Lentz described this innovation as "a giant step", not least because "if it took us more than 40 years to go from twelve to 4.8 litres of water per litre of beer produced, our new system will once again allow us to reduce water consumption by 50%, i.e. 2.4 litres of water consumed for one litre of beer produced". He continued: "Compared to the brewing giants and water-intensive industries in our region, the Brasserie Nationale is definitely positioned as a precursor in environmental matters. Aware of our role in environmental protection, this investment was obvious to us".
The wastewater treatment plant project is fully in line with the Bofferding Brewery's sustainable development strategy, based on the preservation of natural resources, the reduction of waste and the transition to renewable energies.
