Enhancing Effluent Treatment Resilience for Refresco Drinks UK
Key Information
Client
Refresco Drinks UK Ltd. Kegworth
Location
United Kingdom
Sector
Soft Drinks & Beverage Manufacturing
Project
Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) Upgrade (Design & Build)
Project Overview
Refresco is the world’s largest independent bottler of soft drinks and fruit juices, producing 12 billion litres annually across 75 manufacturing plants in 13 countries. In the UK, Refresco Beverages operates six sites, Bridgwater, Kegworth (HQ), Nelson, Bondgate, Wrexham, and Macduff, supplying retailers and brand owners across the country.
The Challenge
The ETP was built in 2017 and was performing well, however due to rising production demands at the Kegworth site had begun to outpace the capacity of the existing Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) divert tank.
With limited storage capacity, the tank offered insufficient protection to the wider treatment process, leaving the plant exposed during toxicity events and other abnormal influent conditions. This created a real operational risk: without adequate buffer capacity, the site’s ability to manage sudden shifts in effluent quality and to protect the biological treatment process from disruption was constrained.
Rather than reacting to a failure, Refresco took a proactive approach identifying an opportunity to upgrade the plant’s resilience and operational flexibility ahead of future demand.
The Solution
Refresco appointed Glanua Industrial as Design and Build Contractor for the ETP upgrade. The scope centred on two key additions:
- A new, larger self-bunded divert tank, providing significantly increased storage and retention capacity
- A Total Organic Carbon (TOC) analyser, giving the operations team enhanced real-time visibility of effluent quality
The larger divert tank allows the plant to isolate effluent during peak flows or potential toxicity events, giving conditions time to stabilise before the flow is returned to the main treatment process in a controlled, gradual manner. The result is a more resilient plant that can absorb variability in influent without compromising the biological treatment process downstream.
Given site space constraints and a requirement for additional environmental containment, Glanua specified a self-bunded (GLS) tank design which integrated secondary containment directly into the tank rather than requiring separate bunding infrastructure. This simplified installation while strengthening environmental protection.
Our Approach
The project scope included:
- Installation of the new aerated, self-bunded divert tank
- Associated process pipework, valves, and instrumentation
- New discharge pumps
- A HACH TOC analyser for enhanced process monitoring
Glanua worked closely with Refresco and the on-site operations team throughout, coordinating shutdown windows and tie-in works to integrate the new tank’s feed and discharge connections into the existing ETP infrastructure with minimal disruption to ongoing production.
Following installation, the system underwent full testing and commissioning, including verification of:
- Controlled, gradual return of diverted effluent to the existing balance tank
- A bypass arrangement enabling direct feed to the aeration/bioreactor tank during balance tank maintenance or shutdown
The Results
The upgrade delivered a meaningful improvement in operational resilience. The benefits were felt immediately upon commissioning in which the expanded storage capacity, improved monitoring, and controlled-return system gave the operations team greater flexibility to manage variable influent conditions from day one.
Customer Feedback
The team at Refresco expressed clear satisfaction with the completed works, acknowledging that the project was delivered safely, efficiently and to a high standard.
The success of this project has laid the groundwork for a continued relationship between Refresco and Glanua.