Abstract
This review article addresses wastewater treatment methods in the red meat processing industry. The focus is on conventional chemicals currently in use for abattoir wastewater treatment and energy related aspects. In addition, this article discusses the use of cleaning and sanitizing agents at the meat processing facilities and their effect on decision making in regard to selecting the treatment methods. This study shows that cleaning chemicals are currently used at a concentration of 2% to 3% which will further be diluted with the bulk wastewater. For example, for an abattoir that produces 3500 m3/day wastewater and uses around 200 L (3%) acid and alkaline chemicals, the final concentration of these chemical will be around 0.00017%. For this reason, the effects of these chemicals on the treatment method and the environment are very limited. Chemical treatment is highly efficient in removing soluble and colloidal particles from the red meat processing industry wastewater. Actually, it is shown that, if chemical treatment has been applied, then biological treatment can only be included for the treatment of the solid waste by-product and/or for production of bioenergy. Chemical treatment is recommended in all cases and especially when the wastewater is required to be reused or released to water streams. This study also shows that energy consumption for chemical treatment units is insignificant while efficient compared to other physical or biological units. A combination of a main (ferric chloride) and an aid coagulant has shown to be efficient and cost-effective in treating abattoir wastewater. The cost of using this combination per cubic meter wastewater treated is 0.055 USD/m3 compared to 0.11 USD/m3 for alum and the amount of sludge produced is 77% less than that produced by alum. In addition, the residues of these chemicals in the wastewater and the sludge have a positive or no impact on biological processes. Energy consumption from a small wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) installed to recycle wastewater for a meet facility can be around $500,000.
Highlights
The meat processing industry is a major user of fresh water and there is an anticipation that the water use in this industry will further increase
When red meat processing industry wastewater is discharged to a water course it may lead to a rapid depletion of dissolved oxygen which will damage aquatic lives
Some studies have shown that this energy costs can be offset especially when the membrane technology is used for recycling water to be used with the meat processing unit [21]
Summary
The meat processing industry is a major user of fresh water and there is an anticipation that the water use in this industry will further increase. Taking Australia as a case study in this article, the Australian red meat processing industry is a significant consumer of fresh water and producer of wastewater. In case the wastewater is aimed to be reused in the facility the cost of treatment can be higher by many folds due to the high-water quality required. DAF combined with chemical coagulants (polymers) is currently popular and in use at many wastewater treatment plants. Energy accompanying meat processing wastewater treatment can be high due to variety aspects such as highly advanced treatment required for an improved effluent quality driven by stringent environmental regulations and powerful pumping associated with activities such as water recycling and sludge transferring from one stage to another [6]. This review is an attempt to help the Australian and global meat processing industry in decision making
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