Project Snapshot
IDEA’s process team partnered with a prominent gin distillery in England to carry out a comprehensive review aimed at improving operational efficiency through enhanced heat integration. The goal was simple: stop throwing useful heat away, reduce unnecessary water use, and create a practical pathway that supports the site’s longer term Net Zero ambitions.
Client profile
Our client is an established gin producer operating a mature distillation process with high standards for quality, consistency, and brand reputation. Like most distilleries, they rely on dependable utilities and repeatable operating routines. That matters because any improvement must respect the realities of production, not just look good on a spreadsheet.
Location and operating context
The site operates within the typical constraints of UK manufacturing, where energy costs, water stewardship, and carbon reporting expectations continue to tighten. The team wanted solutions that can be implemented sensibly, without turning the distillery into a construction site for months.
What success looked like
Success meant three things:
- Reduce the energy required per batch through smarter heat reuse
- Reduce reliance on town water for macerator preheating
- Keep modifications minimal but meaningful, with clear payback logic and an operable design
In other words, a solution that the operators would actually like, not one they would have to tolerate.
The Challenge
Distilleries are energy intensive and majority of the energy is associated with process heating. The problem is that most of it leaves the process and disappears into the atmosphere, especially from condenser duties. That is like paying for a pizza and throwing half of it straight in the bin. Why would you do that?
Energy lost as low grade heat
A distillation system rejects heat during condensation. That heat is not “bad” heat. It is still usable, especially for preheating steps that do not need extremely high temperatures.
But without deliberate heat integration, that energy usually ends up dumped to cooling systems, vents, or other losses.
Water use tied to preheating
The client also used town water as part of the macerator preheating arrangement. Town water is a valuable utility. Using it as a heat transfer medium can feel harmless day to day, but over a year it adds up, both in cost and in sustainability impact.
Rising sustainability expectations
Sustainability in spirits is no longer a nice to have. Customers, investors, and regulators all keep pushing in the same direction: lower carbon, better water efficiency, and clear improvement plans. The distillery wanted to stay ahead of that curve.
Why Heat Integration Matters in Distilling
If you think of a distillery as a human body, heat is its metabolism. It is always moving, always being generated, and always being lost. Heat integration is basically teaching the body to waste less energy.
Distilleries as heat rich sites
Distilleries inherently generate large amounts of heat as part of normal operations. Condensers, hot product streams, and utility systems carry thermal energy that is often rejected because no one “connected the dots” between heat sources and heat users.
Small changes, big compounding savings
The magic of integration is that you do not always need a massive new system. Sometimes it is a smart tie in, a heat exchanger, a control tweak, and a clear operating philosophy.
Small changes compound. Every batch saved adds up across the year.
Optimisation before electrification
There is a lot of industry conversation about moving away from fossil fuel boilers to greener alternatives. That conversation is important. But here is the catch: if you electrify an inefficient process, you just end up buying expensive electricity to fund waste.
Energy optimisation becomes even more valuable with electric heat sources because electricity often costs more per unit of energy than fossil fuels. Reduce demand first, then size the new heat source smaller. It is the difference between buying a sensible car or buying a truck because your boot is full of things you do not need.
Our Approach
This project was not a desk based theory exercise. It started where the real answers live: on the plant floor, with the people who run the process.
Site visit and operator interviews
Following an insightful site visit and detailed discussions with on site personnel, we built a practical understanding of:
- How the distillery actually runs day to day
- What constraints matter most to operators
- Which parts of the process are stable, and which vary
- Where there is appetite for change, and where there is not
Operators usually know where the waste is. They just need an engineering partner to translate that knowledge into a robust design.
Data gathering and validation
We collected the key information required to model energy flows, including typical operating conditions, heating and cooling duties, and utility arrangements. Then we sanity checked the data with the team on site.
If data does not match reality, the model is just a fancy fiction. Validation is everything.
Mass and energy balance model
IDEA conducted an energy balance analysis to identify opportunities for heat recovery. This is where we quantify what is happening, not just describe it.
The energy balance gives you:
- Where heat is entering the process
- Where it is being used
- Where it is being rejected
- How much is available for recovery
- Which temperature levels make recovery feasible
Opportunity screening and prioritisation
Not every opportunity is worth doing. We screened options based on:
- Technical feasibility
- Likely impact
- Complexity of tie ins
- Operability and control needs
- Implementation practicality and downtime requirements
The best solutions are usually the ones that are boring to implement and exciting to measure afterwards.
What We Found During the Review
Where the waste heat was going
The condenser system was rejecting a meaningful amount of heat to the environment. It was doing its job perfectly, just not in an integrated way.
That rejected heat represented a consistent, dependable source that could be harnessed for a preheating duty elsewhere on site.
Which process step needed heat most
On the demand side, macerator preheating stood out as a clear heat user. It requires heat input, and it is a step where moderate temperature heat can provide real value.
Constraints that shaped the solution
The site needed:
- Minimal disruption
- Straightforward operations
- A design that is maintainable and safe
- Clear separation where required to protect product integrity
We treated those constraints as design inputs, not obstacles.
The Proposed Heat Recovery Concept
Here is the heart of the case study.
By capturing waste heat from the stills’ condensers and reusing it to preheat the macerators, we demonstrated substantial energy saving potential for the distillery.
Think of it like this: instead of letting the condenser heat drift away like steam from a kettle, we reroute it into something useful. Same energy, better outcome.
Capturing condenser waste heat
We proposed a heat recovery arrangement that takes heat from the condenser duty and transfers it via an engineered interface to a usable heating circuit. The key is selecting the right heat transfer approach that matches temperature levels, hygiene requirements, and operational stability.
Reusing it to preheat macerators
The recovered heat is used to preheat the macerators, reducing the requirement for other heat inputs. The effect is a direct reduction in site heat demand, which translates to energy savings and emissions reduction, regardless of the site’s primary heat source.
How the tie in stays minimal
Although minimal, the modifications are strategic. That is the point. We focused on:
- Targeted equipment additions rather than wholesale changes
- Clear isolation and bypass options
- An operable control philosophy
- Practical installation planning aligned with normal shutdown windows
Minimal does not mean simplistic. It means efficient engineering.
Water Reduction Built Into the Design
Energy savings are great. But this project also tackled a second big lever: water.
Beyond the energy efficiency gains, the proposed design eliminates the need for town water in macerator preheating.
Removing the need for town water preheating
By changing how heat is delivered to the macerator preheat duty, town water no longer needs to be used as part of that heating arrangement. That reduces water intake and associated treatment, handling, and discharge impacts.
Annual water savings explained in plain terms
The estimated potential annual water saving is over 4,500 m3.
Numbers can feel abstract, so let us make it real: that is the equivalent of almost two Olympic swimming pools of water saved each year.
That is not just a sustainability headline. It is operational efficiency you can measure every month.
Estimated Benefits
This case study shows how good engineering turns hidden waste into measurable value.
Energy savings and efficiency uplift
By reusing heat already available in the process, the distillery can reduce the external heat input required for macerator preheating. That means:
- Lower fuel or electricity consumption
- Reduced carbon emissions
- Improved overall thermal efficiency
- Less load on utility systems
And importantly, these benefits apply whether the heat source is a traditional boiler or a greener alternative. An optimised process saves energy either way.
Water savings of over 4,500 m3 per year
Eliminating town water use for macerator preheating offers:
- Reduced water costs
- Lower environmental impact
- Better alignment with water stewardship commitments
- Reduced dependency on supply constraints
Operational improvements and resilience
Heat recovery can also improve resilience by:
- Reducing peak utility demands
- Making the process less sensitive to utility price swings
- Supporting smoother transitions to electrification or low carbon heat supply in the future
Engineering Considerations
Hygiene and product quality
Any heat recovery concept must respect hygiene and quality requirements. Our approach considers appropriate separation between process fluids and utility circuits, along with materials selection and cleanability expectations where relevant.
Control philosophy and operability
Operators should not have to fight the system. A good control philosophy ensures:
- Stable macerator preheat temperatures
- Safe start up and shutdown behaviour
- Clear modes of operation
- Simple response to process variability
Maintainability and access
Maintenance is where good projects live or die. We consider isolation, bypass, access for cleaning, and sensible spares strategy to keep uptime high.
Safety and compliance checks
All changes must be assessed through the lens of safe operation, including process safety, mechanical integrity, and any required regulatory or internal compliance checks.
Implementation Strategy
A smart solution also needs a smart delivery plan.
Quick win vs phased delivery
This concept lends itself to a quick win approach because the modifications are limited and targeted. Depending on the client’s capital planning and outage windows, it can be delivered in a single package or phased to reduce risk.
Integration with planned shutdowns
We typically align tie ins with planned shutdowns to avoid production disruption. That includes clear isolation planning and pre fabrication where possible to reduce site time.
Commissioning approach
Commissioning is where savings become real. Our approach focuses on:
- Clear commissioning plans with success criteria
- Operator involvement and training
- Performance verification against the energy balance model
- Handover that supports long term reliability
Why This Matters for Net Zero Roadmaps
Heat recovery is not just an efficiency tweak. It is a foundational step in decarbonisation.
Cutting demand is the first decarbonisation lever
Before you change your heat source, reduce how much heat you need. That reduces:
- Fuel consumption today
- Emissions today
- Future equipment sizing and cost
Lower CAPEX for electric heat sources
Electrification often drives higher CAPEX, particularly if large heat loads must be met with electric boilers, heat pumps, or other electric technologies. By reducing heat demand first, the required duty of the new heat source can be smaller.
Smaller duty often means smaller equipment, simpler integration, and better economics.
Reduced electrical infrastructure upgrades
Electrification can also require upgrades to electrical infrastructure to support higher loads. Optimisation reduces the electrical duty required, which can reduce:
- The scale of electrical upgrades
- Associated CAPEX
- Project risk and delivery timelines
In plain terms: waste less heat, buy less equipment.
How IDEA Supports Clients
IDEA can support your journey toward Net Zero with practical engineering that starts with understanding your current system.
Mass and energy balances
Our expertise lies in evaluating systems by conducting comprehensive mass and energy balance assessments. This provides the foundation to identify and quantify energy optimisation opportunities with confidence.
Heat recovery and integration thinking
We apply structured heat integration thinking to connect heat sources and heat users in a way that makes sense technically and operationally.
Practical design that respects operations
We design solutions that respect the reality of operating plants, including maintainability, safety, and the human factor. The best improvement is the one that gets adopted and sustained.
Want to find out how much useful heat your site is currently throwing away?
Book an energy optimisation and heat integration review with IDEA. We will help you identify practical opportunities to reduce heat demand, improve water efficiency, and build a lower risk pathway toward decarbonisation.
If you are exploring electrification, heat pumps, or wider Net Zero projects, this is also a smart first step. Optimise first, then invest.
Speak to our process team about heat recovery
Conclusion
This case study shows what happens when you combine real plant understanding with disciplined energy analysis. By capturing waste heat from still condenser duties and reusing it to preheat macerators, the distillery can unlock meaningful energy savings with minimal modifications. On top of that, eliminating town water use for macerator preheating offers potential annual savings of over 4,500 m3, almost two Olympic swimming pools. It is a reminder that sustainability is not always about big shiny projects. Sometimes it is about smart connections, thoughtful engineering, and making the system work harder for you.
FAQs
1. Do heat recovery projects only make sense if we are moving to electric heat sources?
No. Heat recovery reduces energy demand regardless of whether you use gas, steam, electric boilers, or heat pumps. It often becomes even more valuable with electricity because the unit cost is typically higher.
2. Will heat integration changes disrupt production?
Not necessarily. Many solutions can be designed for minimal tie ins and installed during planned shutdown windows. The key is early planning and operability focused design.
3. How do you calculate the energy saving potential?
We build and validate a mass and energy balance model based on real operating data. That allows us to quantify where heat is rejected and how much can be recovered at usable temperature levels.
4. Why is water saving included in a heat integration project?
Because utilities are connected. If town water is used as part of preheating, changing the heat delivery method can reduce water intake while also improving energy performance.
5. What information do we need to start an energy optimisation review?
A general process description, utility data where available, and access to operators during a site visit is often enough to begin. We can help identify what additional measurements or data would strengthen the assessment.