In the heart of the Port of Antwerp-Bruges stands the world’s largest malting plant. Boortmalt, the global leader in malt production, has relied on Pantarein Water for wastewater treatment since 2017.
The collaboration began in 2018 with the construction of a new water treatment plant based on MBR technology. This aerobic treatment with biological phosphorus removal delivers a stable effluent quality (COD: 150–200 mg/l), tailored to the specific composition of malting wastewater. A smart feeding and aeration strategy keeps the process resistant to filamentous growth and ensures good sludge filterability.
For sludge separation, Boortmalt applies micromembrane filtration, contributing to consistently high effluent quality. Since 2018, Pantarein Water has also managed the plant’s daily operation, offering Boortmalt complete peace of mind, so they can focus on what truly matters: delivering world-class malt to brewers worldwide.
In 2024, the project was expanded, driven by two factors: Boortmalt’s ambition to reuse water and the tightening of effluent standards. From late 2024, the permitted COD value was halved from 200 to 100 mg/l.
Conventional solutions (such as activated carbon or chemical precipitation) proved technically unfavorable or financially unsustainable. Pantarein Water therefore designed a smart approach that combines water reuse and COD reduction.
The new system integrates advanced reverse osmosis (CCRO technology) on the MBR effluent, concentrating COD to ±750–1000 mg/l. The concentrate is then treated with nanofiltration, which blocks large organic molecules and further concentrates COD up to ±2500 mg/l. The result? A much smaller stream requiring physico-chemical treatment, and a permeate flow ready for direct water reuse.
With continuous online monitoring (COD, phosphates, flow), the system autonomously optimises efficiency, ensuring only what is strictly necessary is treated.
Boortmalt financed the project itself, while Pantarein Water is responsible for full operation. The system reduces drinking water intake by 50%, saving more than 500,000 m³ per year and cutting costs by over €250,000 annually.
Commissioned in December 2024, the new facility not only ensures compliance with discharge standards but also secures a future-proof water strategy.
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