The Mahou-San Miguel plant in Alovera, Guadalajara, Spain has a total surface area of 430,000 m2 and a production capacity of 7 million hectolitres of beer per year. The plant has 11 packaging lines (5 for returnable packages and 6 for non-returnable packaging).
In 2007, the brewhouse consumed 60% of the total thermal energy of the plant, which was 219 kWh/t. In 2012, the wort vapour recovery system was installed and the total consumption of thermal energy was reduced by 25% reaching the value of 164 kWh/t. Likewise CO2 emissions were reduced from 45 kg/t to 34 kg/t (Mahou-San Miguel, 2013).
Figure: Wort vapour recovery in the Alovera plant
Table 9: Figures of recovery system installed in the Alovera plant (Mahou-San Miguel, 2013)
Source: Mahou-San Miguel (2013), Personal communication, September-December 2013.