The beverage industry (also known as the drink industry) manufactures drinks and ready to drink products. Examples are bottled water, soft drinks, energy drinks, milk products, coffee and tea-based products, nutritional drinks, and alcohol products.
The beverage industry is traditionally a market with specific high demands with regards to hygiene and its related technologies.
Exquisite hygiene is needed to maintain the high-quality standards and shelf life of the end product, whether it is mineral/drinking water, lemonade, fruit juice, beer, wine, or (sparkling) wine.
Water is an important element in all processes of the beverage industry: it is an ingredient for beverage preparation, the most important medium for cleaning and sterilizing equipment and processing plants and an unavoidable source for heating, cooling and powering process plants.
As a result of industrial processes, industrial wastewater is created that contains substances that need to be removed before being discharged into a public collector or natural recipient.