Dairy processors generate high-COD wastewater from product residues and cleaning cycles, streams that are costly to treat and produce large volumes of sludge with conventional treatment. Aquature’s BASE platform converts these organics into green hydrogen and cleaning chemicals while drastically reducing sludge and installation footprint, enabling customers to cut operating costs and turn waste into revenue.
A leading European dairy processor was struggling with high-COD wastewater from milk residues, whey and cleaning operations. Existing treatment was expensive, generated copious amounts of sludge to be trucked off, and contributed nothing to the plant’s decarbonisation or circularity targets. Aquature’s BASE platform changes that by transforming these streams into clean water and low carbon chemicals such as hydrogen and caustic for CIP to use in their processes.
At a glance
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The Challenge
- High-COD wastewater from whey, milk losses and CIP cycles
- Energy-intensive aerobic treatment driving up electricity bills
- Large sludge volumes requiring frequent dewatering and offsite disposal
- Increasing pressure to reduce emissions and enable future water reuse
Wastewater was treated purely as a cost and compliance issue, with little room for innovation.
Aquature’s Solution
Aquature deployed a modular BASE polishing unit on a high-COD side stream:
- Treated lactose- and whey-rich wastewater using microbial electrolysis
- Converted organics into green hydrogen and Caustic for CIP instead of sludge
- Integrated as a containerised skid with minimal disruption to existing operations
The system was operated in parallel with the existing line to provide real-world performance data under normal production conditions.
Results
- COD reduction >85%
Lower downstream load and easier compliance with discharge limits. - up to 90% less sludge
Fewer sludge truck movements, lower disposal costs and less operator time. - Green molecules unlocked
Demonstrated potential for on-site use of hydrogen and Caustic for CIPcaustic for CIP. - Improved energy balance
BASE operated as an energy-generator as opposed to the purely energy-consuming conventional aerobic treatment.
Business Impact
For a typical mid-size dairy processor (≈200 m³/day):
- 15–25% reduction in total wastewater treatment costs
Driven by lower energy use and sludge handling. - Stronger ESG and circularity story
Wastewater shifts from a compliance burden to a visible source of green value.
Aquature’s BASE platform enables dairies to turn wastewater into a strategic resource by generating clean water, energy and green chemicals from streams that were previously a pure cost.
