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Isabel Teubes, Nederburg’ s viticulturist, says the investment in the new automated biological wastewater treatment technology is helping to boost the self-sufficiency of the famous Paarl winery, as well as its climate resilience. And should it become necessary, she says, it could increase its land planted to vineyards by 8 % without having to increase its water consumption by a drop.
HOW BIOLOGICAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT WORKS
Biological wastewater treatment uses micro-organisms, in this case a combination of bacteria, to break down organic and certain inorganic matter. The bacteria consume organic pollutants in the wastewater as their food source, converting them into new cells, carbon dioxide, and water.
The locally developed, trademarked technology used by Nederburg has been in place since January 2024. Highly cost-effective, it uses no additional electricity, making it an essential tool in meeting HEINEKEN’ s goal of achieving carbon neutrality. It also requires no filtration or use of membranes.
Essentially, the biological wastewater treatment involves a round-the-clock release of 43 specifically sequenced bacteria strains into the Nederburg cellar’ s effluent water. The special microbial mix breaks down particulate organic matter and even metallic and other inorganic matter and absorbs dissolved organic matter as well as inorganic forms of nitrogen and phosphorus present in the water.
The precision-operated system continually recalibrates the concentration of the biological mix to cope with the fluctuating concentration of particulate matter in the water. This it treats and cleanses to human safety-grade drinking water standards exceeding South Africa’ s Department of Water & Sanitation guidelines.
DES 2025 | JAN 2026 GROND TOT MOND 61