Good housekeeping
THE WORLD OF HEINEKEN
pasteurisation, and for bottle washing and cleaning. Electricity powers the
electrical equipment and the engine room, where the cooling takes place
that is necessary for fermentation and lagering. Other big energy
consumers are the C02 compression process and the (aerobic) waste water
treatment. One promising new technology to conserve thermal energy,
which has already been introduced in several European installations,
including the Zoeterwoude brewery, involves recovering part of the heat
through condensation of the vapours.
"Not only does this save energy," claims van Oeveren, "it also tackles
another issue that breweries often face nowadays: the odour problem, that
typical brew-house smell that people used to be so fond of, which is now
unfortunately regarded as a nuisance." Another simple, yet effective
measure that is being introduced in many breweries is a reduction of wort
boiling time by 15 to 30 minutes, with new technologies and mechanisms
ensuring this is possible with no loss in quality.
"Cutting electricity is proving to be quite a challenge," continues Van
Oeveren. "The electrical equipment, which accounts for a large part of a
brewery's electricity bill, is being gradually replaced by smarter systems,
but it is a very slow process as these machines have a long life. Also, the
shift ten years ago to automation accounted for a marked increase in
electricity consumption. Progress, however, is clearly visible on a yearly
basis. Even the use of energy-efficient light bulbs, though only a drop in the
ocean, accounts for a reduction by a few percent."
Water is an important raw material in beer brewing, but it is also
extensively used for cleaning, cooling, heating and pasteurisation. On
average, five litres of water are used for every litre of beer produced.
Inevitably, a lot of water is lost through water treatment and evaporation.
Heineken has committed itself to reducing its water consumption-not
only to neutralise price increases but also as a necessary measure to
reduce dependency on water availability. Improving efficiency in the
cleaning and heat exchange processes makes a substantial difference, as
does encouraging good housekeeping and optimising CIP (Cleaning In
Place) systems. In addition, new water-friendly bottle washers and
pasteurisers have been developed, though here again replacement is a
waiting game, as these machines have a technical life of 20-30 years.
Dumping waste not only puts a huge strain on the environment, it also costs
the company a lot of money. Heineken encourages recycling materials used
for packaging, glass and plastic bottles. The company is looking at
alternative ways to recycle the large quantity of spent brewer's grains left
over at the end of each brewing process. Usually, this by-product is sold
and used for cattle feed, but the dwindling cow population in the
Netherlands, not to mention the scarcity of cows in Africa, is making it
increasingly difficult to dispose of the spent grains in this way.
A few years ago, Austrian partner Brau Union developed a method to
separate the spent brewer's grains into three elements—water, proteins
and fibres. The fibres are subsequently incinerated to produce green
energy. A combustion plant that does just that has already been built in the
new Heineken brewery in Ama, Nigeria. With Heineken's suppliers
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developing new energy-efficient machinery and breweries increasingly
using their own initiative to achieve targets, the drive to reduce energy
consumption has become a platform for innovation and progress.
"If we were able to adapt the existing new technologies on a large
scale, the brewing industry would be nearly self-sufficient for its energy
requirements," says Bakker. "It could very well be that a greater
independence from fossil fuels will help to strengthen our competitive edge
in the future, while at the same time contributing to a slowing down of
climate change. It is this combination of doing good while doing well that
keeps my job so interesting."
