Members Spotlight: Alfa Laval

Members Spotlight: How Alfa Laval's Optiwia™ technology helps a Spanish coffee producer reuse 5,700 litres of water every day. 

At Prosol's coffee production site in Palencia, Spain, water once flowed in one direction only. High-speed centrifuges in the separation phase needed continuous cooling, and the freshwater used to keep them running went to the drain after a single pass. The figure was 240 litres an hour, or 5,700 litres a day. 

For a company that produces more than 13 million cups of coffee a day and is a signatory to the UN Global Compact, that level of waste stood out. "We have always promoted sustainability," says Francisco Javier Cantero, technical and process manager at Prosol. "And today, it's not an option. It's a responsibility." 

Prosol turned to Alfa Laval, an FMTE member, and installed Optiwia™, a plug-and-play upgrade that recovers cooling water for reuse within the centrifuge process. "Before, it was going to waste," explains Juan Miguel Comillas of Alfa Laval's Global Technology Business Development. "Now, we are collecting it in a tank and reusing it." 

The recovered cooling water now stays on site. Around 2,040 litres a day go to flushing the machine after each discharge, and the rest feeds back into the cooling supply. In total, Prosol reuses 5,700 litres a day. 

How the technology works 

Optiwia™ is designed for cold-media applications across brewery, beverage and dairy processes. According to Alfa Laval, it can reduce total water consumption on a centrifuge by up to 70%. The unit collects cooling water in a tank and feeds it back into the system, with no connection to the plant's control system required, which keeps installation simple. 

Developed and tested between 2021 and 2022, the equipment entered use at Prosol in 2024. For producers in regions facing repeated droughts in recent years, like the Iberian Peninsula, reliable water supply has also become a key factor in safeguarding production line uptime. 

Want to see how our members are driving sustainability in food manufacturing technologies? Visit our members page.