Effluent Flow and pH Monitoring System for Beverage Manufacturing

A high-volume beverage manufacturing facility in Twinsburg, Ohio operates continuous production that generates process wastewater requiring treatment and monitoring. The plant must maintain compliance with city discharge requirements for both flow and pH, making reliable instrumentation essential to daily operations.

Around 25 years ago, the facility contacted Control Associates Inc. (CAI) to evaluate and replace their effluent flow and pH monitoring system. The existing system did not provide the level of reliability needed for regulatory reporting or for controlling chemical feed within the plant's treatment process.

This type of instrumentation failure creates multiple problems for industrial wastewater operations:

• Compliance Risk: Unreliable monitoring creates operational uncertainty and potential for costly city fines related to discharge violations.
• Chemical Dosing Issues: Because the pH probe directly influences how much chemical is injected into the effluent stream, inaccurate readings could lead to overdosing chemicals or falling out of compliance.
• Equipment Wear: Unnecessary chemical feed increases pump wear and maintenance costs.
• Integration Requirements: Need for a system that communicates directly with the manufacturing process and PLC for automated control.
• Long-Term Stability: Requirement for minimal drift and easy maintainability under continuous production conditions.

CAI performed a full assessment of the plant's effluent system and designed an upgraded monitoring solution to meet the facility's performance and compliance expectations. This solution offered several critical advantages:

• Industrial-Grade Instrumentation: Procurement of new flow measurement and industrial pH instrumentation designed for continuous manufacturing environments.
• Robust System Design: Design and fabrication of a complete monitoring system with proper enclosures, wiring, and signal handling.
• Real-Time PLC Integration: Direct integration of flow and pH signals into the facility's PLC for real-time chemical feed control.
• Professional Installation: Full installation and commissioning under active production conditions without disrupting operations.
• Calibration and Verification: Comprehensive procedures to ensure measurement accuracy and stability from day one.

This system provided the facility with a reliable feedback loop between pH monitoring and chemical dosing, significantly improving process efficiency and eliminating compliance uncertainty.

Following assessment, design, and installation of the complete monitoring system, the implementation included:

• On-site evaluation of existing effluent monitoring equipment
• Specification and installation of new sensors, transmitters, and supporting hardware
• Panel design, wiring, and field installation by CAI
• SCADA/PLC integration for automated dosing control
• Instrument calibration, signal testing, and real-time validation
• Final commissioning and operator training

Ongoing Support:

CAI continues to support the system with monthly on-site visits to verify operation, calibrate instrumentation, test communication with the PLC, and ensure all components remain within compliance tolerances. This routine service helps prevent drift, reduce chemical waste, and maintain reliability throughout continuous manufacturing cycles.

The facility now experiences:

• Consistent Compliance: Reliable monitoring meets city discharge requirements for both flow and pH.
• Optimized Chemical Usage: Accurate, stable pH readings feed directly into the plant's chemical control process, reducing chemical costs.
• Reduced Equipment Wear: Optimized dosing eliminates unnecessary pump wear and maintenance.
• Eliminated Violation Risk: Stable operation prevents out-of-spec discharge fines.
• Long-Term Reliability: The system has been in service for decades with CAI providing ongoing support.
• Operational Confidence: Increased confidence for plant operators through monthly system verification and calibration.

Effluent monitoring represents a critical compliance and cost control point for beverage manufacturing and food processing facilities. Unreliable systems create cascading problems: regulatory violations, excessive chemical costs, equipment damage, and operational uncertainty.

Modern industrial facilities require monitoring systems that:

• Provide accurate, stable measurements under continuous production conditions
• Integrate directly with plant control systems for automated chemical dosing
• Maintain calibration stability with minimal drift over time
• Support regulatory reporting and compliance verification
• Reduce operational costs through optimized chemical usage

The Twinsburg facility required a dependable, accurate effluent monitoring system to protect operations from compliance issues, unnecessary chemical usage, and equipment strain. CAI delivered a fully integrated, long-term solution from assessment and system design to installation and ongoing monthly service, ensuring stable operation and regulatory compliance for more than two decades.