With water being at the heart of every drink we make, we’re always looking for ways to protect this resource and ensure we’re managing our water efficiently. Calvin Winch, Head of Supply Chain Sustainability, shares the recent water management project we completed at Beckton as we continue to create a better tomorrow.
At Britvic, water is our most precious ingredient. As a soft drinks company, it is essential to our production process and used throughout our value chain. Protecting this resource is therefore a critical priority for us.
As we have grown and increased production in the last few years, we have had to find ways to ensure our water treatment plants can keep up with this demand. The challenge at Beckton was ensuring a consistent supply of water to the production plant and managing a high level of chlorine in the incoming water supply, due to the proximity of our factory to the water works. These levels were causing our de-alkalisation plant to deteriorate three times faster than expected when turning this water into beverage grade water for our drinks. This was costly and affected our ability to use water and carbon efficiently.
Seeking a solution to these water and energy challenges, we partnered with pump manufacturer, Grundfos, to assess how our control systems could deliver more water to the production plant at a better quality, with less energy – all aligned to our Healthier Planet goals of building a more resilient Britvic through the responsible use of natural resources.
Using data gathered by Grundfos’ Energy Check Advanced programme, the team installed speed-controlled e-Pumps that work to manage pressure and bring consistent flow to incoming water. The pumps would also deliver UV disinfection units for chlorine control.
Installed at our factory in East London in Beckton, we worked closely with Grundfos to facilitate a precise swap over of the water treatment plants, ensuring that no production time or energy was lost.
Now in place, the Grundfos systems double the flow through Britvic’s water treatment system to 240 cubic metres an hour, while keeping consistent water pressure. They increase efficiency, meaning we only need to use the minimum levels of energy, pressure and flow rates and less intervention is needed by the team to keep the system running.
As a result:
- We have reduced energy consumption at the water process plant by 60% – or 630 megawatt hours.
- Chlorine levels have also been reduced by 1-1.5 ppm to 0.2-0.3 ppm, improving the longevity of the de-alkalisation beds.
- The upgrades ensure increased visibility about what the plant is doing and allow for data trending to optimise the plant even further in the future.
The Grundfos system has greatly improved our control of our water supply. We can now run what we need to, at the precise pressures and flow rates required, significantly reducing water and energy waste as a result. What’s more, we are able to monitor and trend the flows, enabling ongoing improvements on our processes, as we continue to protect our water resources, cut carbon and increase efficiency for the healthy future of our planet.
Calvin Winch | Head of Supply Chain Sustainability
