Thermax’s AFBC boiler helps an Indian distillery comply with environmental norms while efficiently managing spent wash disposal

Project overview

A distillery faced the challenge of meeting stringent environmental regulations by moving away from conventional spent wash disposal to a more sustainable thermal treatment method. The requirement was to manage difficult fuel characteristics while ensuring stable, efficient, and compliant operations.

Thermax partnered with the customer to deliver a customised and robust solution designed to address these challenges through an optimised combustion approach and reliable boiler performance. The project enabled environmentally responsible operations while maintaining efficiency and operational continuity.

Challenges

A distillery needed a solution to comply with environmental regulations by thermally destroying spent wash instead of conventional disposal. Challenges included handling the high moisture and low calorific value of spent wash, which complicates combustion and lowers thermal efficiency, as well as preventing slagging and fouling in the furnace and heat transfer surfaces due to high ash and volatile content.

Solution

Thermax provided a 25 TPH spent wash-fired AFBC boiler with the following specifications: • Pressure: 45 Kg/cm²g • Temperature: 400 °C • Main fuel: Spent wash (55% concentration) • Supporting fuels: Indian coal + bagasse/briquettes

Result

The solution enabled efficient thermal destruction of spent wash, minimised effluent discharge, and ensured reliable operation with reduced risk of slagging and fouling, helping the distillery meet environmental norms while maintaining high thermal efficiency.

Explore our case studies