Institute for Wine Biotechnology

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Browsing Institute for Wine Biotechnology by browse.metadata.advisor "Cloete, Thomas Eugene"

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    Influence of winemaking practices on the chemical characteristics of winery wastewater and the water usages of wineries.
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015-04) Conradie, Adel; Sigge, G. O.; Cloete, Thomas Eugene; Du Toit, Maret; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Agrisciences. Dept. of Viticulture and Oenology. Institute for Wine Biotechnology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The production of wine globally has increased over the past years, increasing the volume of water used and wastewater generated for every litre of wine produced. In the past, the small volumes of winery wastewater that were produced by wineries had little effect on the immediate environment. However, with the increasing wine production all around the world, winery wastewater is a rising concern for the contamination of soil and subsurface flow. In order to fully understand the impacts of winery wastewater, it is important to establish the volumes and chemical characteristics of the wastewater, before considering possible treatments. The first aim of this study was to determine the influence of certain winemaking practices on the water usage. Two wineries in the Stellenbosch Winelands District were monitored during two harvests and one post-harvest season. It was evident through this study that water plays a vital role during the production of wine and that water is needed at virtually all the winemaking steps. However, the volume of clean water needed differs immensely during the course of the production process. It was noticed that throughout the harvest period at both wineries the clean water demand was highest and decreased during the course of the post-harvest period and steadily increased again towards the end of the year. The harvest period contributes between 30 and 40% of the yearly water usage at the respective wineries. It was also noticed that certain winemaking practices including filtering with a bulk filter, washing of barrels and bottling contributes heavily to the water usage throughout the year. Activities that increase water usage during harvest include the washing of the press and processing a combination of red and white grapes on the same day. Furthermore, it was identified that one of the wineries used a smaller volume of water on a daily basis and per tonnage during harvest than the other, indicating that the cleaner production strategy established 10 years earlier has a positive impact on their water usage. The second aim of this study was to monitor the raw and treated winery wastewater from the two wineries during a period of 15 months, including two harvests and one post-harvest season. This was done to investigate the characteristics of the raw and treated wastewater. Firstly, to determine the impact of the different winemaking practices on the chemical composition of the wastewater and secondly, to determine the efficiency of the existing constructed wetlands on the wastewater and the characteristics of the treated wastewater. From this study it was possible to make two main observations concerning the chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentrations of the two wineries. Primarily, it was observed there were variations in the raw wastewater characteristics of the two wineries and above all, that both wineries showed a decrease in the COD of the raw wastewater produced. Not only did the decrease in the raw wastewater COD over this period show promising results when a cleaner production plan is established and managed it also seems to show a decrease in the volumes of water used by the respective wineries and increase in quality.