After you understand your wastewater and its composition, you can begin with your customised slaughterhouse wastewater treatment plant design. The right process technology depends above all on the amount of wastewater and the contaminant load it contains. The typical processes for wastewater treatment in slaughterhouses includes dissolved air flotation and biological wastewater treatment using fixed-bed technology. Both processes, as stand-alone solutions, or combined processes, guarantee a reliable and robust treatment for various discharge and wastewater management options.
Slaughterhouse wastewater treatment plant design
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Chemical-physical and biological treatment of slaughterhouse wastewater
Contents:
On this page you will find all the information you need for your customised slaughterhouse wastewater treatment plant design. We present the individual wastewater treatment processes technologies and show you which treatment steps are possible with them. In doing so, we present the individual types of pollution in detail, and explain how the appropriate treatment process works. However, as wastewater from slaughterhouses is specific in its composition and pollutant load, a precise analysis of individual samples is necessary to determine the perfect solution.
Discharge options for slaughterhouse wastewater
On the previous pages we have already described the main discharge options for wastewater from slaughterhouses. These include direct discharge to the environment, discharge to a municipal wastewater treatment plant and reuse in individual areas. Each discharge option requires different treatment standards. While discharge into the municipal sewage system usually only requires pre-treatment, direct discharge and reuse require stricter standards. Here you will find a detailed overview of the discharge options for wastewater from slaughterhouses.
Pollutants in slaughterhouse wastewater
Three main categories of pollution are mixed into the wastewater from slaughterhouses: Firstly, solids (feathers, bristles, skin residues and litter), secondly suspended substances (oils and fats) and thirdly soluble substances (blood, urine, and cleaning chemicals). Coarse solids can be removed by screening. Flotation is best suited for suspended substances, while biological treatment is usually used for dissolved substances. Depending on the further use, disinfection or ultrafiltration are recommended.
Pre-treatment of slaughterhouse wastewater
An absolutely necessary step in the pre-treatment of slaughterhouse wastewater is mechanical screening. This removes coarse impurities so that they do not enter the treatment plant. Without screening, the system can become clogged. This means that the trouble-free functioning of the plant is no longer guaranteed, which can lead to a long-term failure of the cleaning performance.
To avoid this, three pre-treatment processes are suitable for wastewater from slaughterhouses. In case of a higher load of bristles, feathers, skin residues or bones, a coarse bar screen is suitable. This draws the impurities over spaced bars and thus separates the liquids from the solids.
If there are finer solids and fat, oil and grease remaining s in the wastewater, a drum screen is the suitable process. Depending on the size and width of the mesh, different components can be screened out of the wastewater.
The third pre-treatment process is an industrial grease separator. This is used when there are particularly many fats, oils and organic substances in the wastewater. The grease separator prevents oils and greases from entering the sewage system, where they can lead to blockages.
Chemical-physical treatment of slaughterhouse wastewater
After the slaughterhouse wastewater has been screened, it first flows into mixing and equalisation basins. In meat processing plants the wastewater often accumulates in batches, such as from end of shift CIP, so the inflow peaks have to be balanced. Further treatment depends on the individual composition. In the case of a higher concentration of suspended matter, biological treatment is usually not sufficient. This is especially the case with a high fat content. Therefore, for efficient purification of abattoir wastewater, dissolved air flotation is the best solution.
Dissolved air flotation for meat, paltry and slaughterhouses is a purification step that removes the suspended substances from the wastewater with a high efficiency of up to 99 per cent. Firstly, the pH is adjusted, and then the wastewater is flocculated. Then the wastewater enters the flotation reactor for separation of pollutants. The flotation system runs automatically and adapts to the inflow of the abattoir wastewater. This pre-treatment step makes the wastewater suitable for discharge into the sewer system.
Based on our extensive experience in purifying wastewater from slaughterhouses, we have optimised our flotation plants and made certain adjustments for this special type of wastewater. Therefore, we achieve excellent purification results:
Biological treatment of slaughterhouse wastewater
Biological treatment of slaughterhouse wastewater is particularly suitable if there are fewer suspended solids in the wastewater or if these have already been removed in advance by flotation. Therefore, it is suitable either as a stand-alone treatment step or as a supplement to flotation. The decisive factor is the source and the individual composition of the abattoir wastewater.
Wastewater from slaughterhouses is usually characterised by a good ratio between N (nitrogen) and COD (chemical oxygen demand) after pre-treatment. Therefore, biological treatment processes with nitrification and denitrification are particularly suitable. External additions for denitrification are usually not necessary, provided that no pre-degradation of carbon compounds takes place.
For reliable and robust biological treatment that can handle overload and underload without issue, we have developed a modified cascaded FBBR process. We have tested it extensively with various wastewaters from the meat processing industry and adapted the cascades accordingly. All process variants have been extensively tested by independent testing institutes and certified with outstanding purification performance. For the removal of COD, BOD5 phosphorus, nitrogen and ammonia from abattoir wastewater, our fixed-bed system shows outstanding results.
By treating the abattoir wastewater through our biological fixed-bed system, any desired degree of purification can be achieved. Below you will find the purification standards we have achieved in various projects in the meat processing industry:
Ask us which process technology is best for your slaughterhouse
Biological treatment of slaughterhouse wastewater is a natural process that does not require the use of chemicals. The wastewater from slaughterhouses has a high organic content. Therefore, microorganisms develop which, with the controlled addition of oxygen, break down the biological contaminants.
Your slaughterhouse wastewater treatment plant design
We can support you in completing the correct slaughterhouse wastewater treatment plant design for your project with our extensive experience. We can help you reduce disposal costs, and we can guarantee your effluent discharge standards. Our solutions and know-how are ideally suited for wastewater treatment in slaughterhouses.
Using our in-house laboratory, we have the possibility to test your wastewater for its contaminant load and concentration. Our senior chemist can determine the exact composition of your wastewater using various tests and then select the correct process technology to meet your cleaning requirements.
We have developed tests specifically for abattoir wastewater. Not only do we provide you with a full report, we also give you a proposal for a fully integrated solution based on our slaughterhouse wastewater treatment plant design.
Our tests are the only way to be 100% sure that the process technologies you select for cleaning your wastewater are correct and will achieve the required cleaning standards.
This special service is available to any customer worldwide and is completed within one week.
Contact us to arrange for your wastewater to be tested. We guarantee a rapid response on all inquiries.
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