A combined activated sludge-filtration-ozonation process for abattoir wastewater treatment

Abstract

Current industrial livestock production has one of the highest consumptions of water, producing up to ten times more polluted (biological oxygen demand, BOD) wastewaters compared to domestic sewage. Additionally, livestock production grows yearly leading to an increase in the generation of wastewater that varies considerably in terms of organic content and microbial population. Therefore, suitable wastewater treatment methods are required to ensure the wastewater quality meets EU regulations before discharge. In the present study, a combined lab scale activated sludge-filtration-ozonation system was used to treat a pre-treated abattoir wastewater. A 24-h hydraulic retention time and a 13-day solid retention time were used for the activated sludge process, followed by filtration (4–7 μm) and using ozone as tertiary treatment. Average reductions of 93% and 98% were achieved for chemical oxygen demand (COD) and BOD, respectively, obtaining final values of 128 mg/L COD and 12 mg/L BOD. The total suspended solids (TSS) average reduction reached 99% in the same system, reducing the final value down to 3 mg/L. Furthermore, 98% reduction in phosphorus (P) and a complete inactivation of total coliforms (TC) was obtained after 17 min of ozonation. For total viable counts (TVC), a drastic reduction was observed after 30 min of ozonation (6 log inactivation) at an injected ozone dose of 71 mg/L. The reduction percentages reported in this study are higher than those previously reported in the literature. Overall, the combined process was sufficient to meet discharge requirements without further treatment for the measured parameters (COD, BOD, TSS, P, TC and TVC).