Brewing Industry In China

The brewing industries constitute an important economic segment of any country. In fact, beer is the fifth most consumed beverage in the world behind tea, carbonates, milk and coffee and it continues to be a popular drink with an average consumption of 23 litres/person per year. In the food industry, the brewing sector holds a strategic economic position with the annual world beer production exceeding 1.34 billion hectoliters in 2002 [22]. Typical beer brewing process is illustrated in Figure 1-2. The brewing industry has an ancient tradition and is still a dynamic sector open to new developments in technology and scientific progress. Beer brewing involves two main steps, i.e., brewing and packaging of the finished product. The by-products

Modern beer brewing was not introduced into China until the end of 19th century, when Russians, Germans and Czechoslovaks established breweries in Harbin. In recent years, the global beer production and sales have maintained continuous growth and a total production in 2011 reached 192.7 million kiloliters, a year-on-year rise of 3.82% in China, and made it one among the top five largest beer-producing countries in the world. Harbin is a major beer producing hub in China with many beer industries and the most famous one being the Harbin Beer. Modern beer brewing introduced into China by the end of 19th century, by Russians in Harbin. China is the largest producer of beer in 2014 with 492.19 million hectolitres, with nearly 25% of the world beer production [25]. It has more than 200,000 breweries and for the production of 1m3 of beer, 10-20m3 of water is consumed, and 90% of the water is discharged into sewer systems. Harbin is a major beer producing hub in China [26]. So the objective behind choosing this wastewater for the study is the availability and also a major pollutant in Harbin city. Beer industry wastewater is considered to be compatible for methane generation due to its food-derived nature and it is also rich in organic contents like carbohydrates, protein and starch. Beer wastewater can be considered an apt source for anaerobic treatment as it has high COD and carbohydrate content