Levantamiento de la línea base ambiental, asociado al uso y consumo de agua en la planta de helados New Brands, en el municipio de Chía Cundinamarca. (ACO-NUTRESA).

Abstract

Sustainability is understood as the use of current resources without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, ensuring a balance between economic growth, social equity, and the conservation of natural resources, This project consisted of evaluating the management and use of water resources in the production process of the New Brands ice cream and sauces plant in the municipality of Chía Cundinamarca and focused on structuring the company's water saving and efficient use program, by means of a water balance of the production process and a general water balance of the plant. The volume of water required by the plant for its optimum operation was determined and the actual volumes and percentages of water consumption were specified, classifying them by area and line of operation. To this end, qualitative and quantitative data were collected on the ice cream and sauces production process, validating factors directly and indirectly involved in the manufacture of the product, such as raw materials used, chemical agents and the quantities of water required for production, cleaning and disinfection of machines, areas and utensils used in the operation. Subsequently, the need for the resource was determined from the calculation of the productive water balance and the company's general water balance. The determination of the water balance is based on the validation of the gauging of each supply point located in the plant. The times and frequencies of water use at each point, by area and by process line, were validated to determine the volumes required by the plant for its daily production. The data obtained were validated with the average daily consumption reported by the plant meters. These data show that 88% of the daily resource consumption is for cleaning and disinfection and that the remaining 12% corresponds to the resource required for the product. Of this last percentage, 78% is destined to the production process while the remaining 22% is consumed in the different industrial services of the company. Finally, proposals were made to establish the baseline for the company's water saving and efficient use program.