REDUCTION OF ENERGY AND WATER CONSUMPTION IN SOFT DRINKS PRODUCTION, AS A RESULT OF IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CLEANER PRODUCTION PRINCIPLES

Consumption of energy and water, which is used in the main processes as raw material, as well as in secondary processes (for rinsing and cleaning), makes up a significant part of the overall product costs in the soft drinks industry. [4]. Therefore, to achieve a costs reduction it is required to increase the utilization efficiency of energy and water, especially in cases when the price of energy is high. This study shows just how using available technologies lead to achieve a reduction of energy and water consumption, (mainly consumption of water in secondary processes). The challenge is to maintain the high levels of product quality, regardless of the cost production reduction, aiming at increasing production capacity. As the main production lines depend almost entirely on the consumption of electricity and water, in this study is shown how can be achieved a reduction in energy consumption product unit, by using the maximum capacity of production lines through automation of technological processes and maintenance of equipment in order to operate in optimal parameters, and by reduction of energy losses; as a result power reduction amounted to 13%.