Treatment of

Slaughterhouse
Wastewater
Mike Lawrence
NDSU
Fall 2006
 Overview
 Challenges

 Wastewater Parameters
 Treatment Options

 Process Modifications

 Typical On-site Treatment Options

 Design Problem
 Challenges of Slaughterhouse
Wastewater
 Wastewater contains large amounts
of blood, fat, and hair
 Wastewater is above municipal
standards which leaves two options;
on site treatment or pay to be
treated elsewhere
 On site treatment with low capital
and maintenance costs is desirable
 Wastewater Parameters
 BOD approx. 1,000 to 4,000 mg/L
 COD approx. 2,000 to 10,000 mg/L

 SS approx. 200 to 1,500 mg/L

 High Oil and Grease content

 Possible high chloride content from

salting skins
 Treatment Options
 Discharge to sewer to be treated by
municipal treatment plant
 Land application of wastewater for
irrigation
 Reduce amount of wastewater and/or
concentrations with the wastewater by
changing the processes
 On site Treatment
– Flow Equalization, Screening, Dissolved Air
Flotation, Primary Sedimentation
– Aerobic Treatment
– Anaerobic Treatment
 In-Plant Modifications to Reduce
Pollution
 Main goal should be to prevent product
from entering the waste stream and using
the least amount of water possible
 Reduce the amount of water used, saves
money in two ways
 Use high pressure and just enough

 Proper detergents

 Lower volume of water helps equipment

 Reuse as much water as possible

 Line Separation
 Separating the various waste
streams as much as possible
 Sanitary lines should be discharged
directly to the city sewer
 Grease waste streams and non
grease waste streams can help
reduce treatment costs
 Separate Blood line
 Blood Recovery
 Blood has ultimate BOD of 405,000 mg/L
 One head of cattle contains 49 lbs. of
blood which equals 10 lbs. BOD, compared
to 0.2 lbs. discharged per person per day
 All blood should be recovered in a
separate line draining to a tank
 Blood is then dried, commonly a
continuous drier is used
 Profitable end product
 Stockpen Area
 Stockpen waste and other manure
should be hauled away as a solid
 Cleaned periodically with as little
water as possible
 Ideally this water would go to a
separate tank
 From the tank it would be emptied
into a truck and land applied
 On-Site Treatment
 Costs of treating on site or letting
the municipality treat the waste
should calculated
 Maintenance and operation should be
also put into cost analysis
 Flow equalization is usually a very
good first step in on-site treatment
 Hydrasieve

 BOD Removal 5-20%

 TSS Removal 5-30%
 Hydrasieve
Width Height Capacity Estimated
(ft) (ft) (gpm) Price
2 5 75 $5,200
3.5 5 150 $6,400
4.5 7 300 $8,000
5.5 7 400 $10,000
6.5 7 500 $12,000
7 7.3 1000 $20,000
14 7.3 2000 $40,000
21 7.3 3000 $60,000
28 7.3 4000 $80,000
35 7.3 5000 $100,000
 SS and Grease Removal
 Grease removal could be very
profitable
 Skimming operations
– 20 to 30 % BOD removal
– 40 to 50 % SS removal
– 50 to 60 % grease removal
 Dissolved Air Flotation, DAF
– 30 to 35 % BOD removal
– 60 % SS removal
– 80 % grease removal
 Skimming Operation (Primary
Sedimentation)
 Detention time 1.5 to 2.5 hr
 Overflow Rate 800 to 1200 gal/ft2*d
 Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF)

 Hydraulic Loading Rate

– 1.5 to 5.0 gpm/ sq. ft.
 Solids Removal Rate
– 1.0 to 2.0 lbs/hr/sq. ft.
 Anaerobic Lagoons
 Ideally the lagoon would be covered, odor &
gas production contained, heat retention
 Not well suited for colder climates

 Detention time 20 to 50 days

 BOD5 loading= 200 to 500 lb/ac.-d

Anaerobic Contact Reactor (ACR)
 HydraulicRetention time 0.5-5 days
 Organic Loading rate of 1.0-8.0 kg
COD/m3-d

Flocculator or
 Anaerobic Sequencing Batch
Reactor (ASBR)
 HRT 6 to 24 hours
 SRT 50 to 200 days
 98% removal with
1.2kgCOD/m3-d
 92% removal with
2.4kgCOD/m3-d
 Possibly rates to
5 kgCOD/m3-d
 Effluent SS range
between 50 – 100mg/L
depending on HRT
 Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket
(UASB)
 Proteins and fats
may cause problems
in formation of
granules.
 Loading rates of
4-12 kg sCOD/m3-d
 Retention times of
7-14 hours
 Design Problem
 Flowrate:120,000 gpd, 83 gpm, Max
300 gpm
 TSS=1500 mg/L

 COD=5000 mg/L

 sCOD=3000 mg/L

 BOD5=2,000 mg/L

 Reduce levels to municipal levels and

discharge into sewer
 Screening
 Hydrasieve

 Use prior to flow equalization to save

on pumps and buildup in the tanks
 Design for max flow of 300 gpm

 4.5 by 7 foot model will handle flow

 Approximate cost of $8,000

 Primary
 Loading Rate of 600 gal/ft2-d
 Final Design
– 8 ft. wide, 25 ft. long, 10 ft. deep
– 8 ft. of weir w/ loading rate of 15,000
gpd/ft
– HRT = 3 hours

10 ft
8 ft
25 ft
 Anaerobic Lagoon
 Covered for heat retention
 Side depth = 8 feet

 Final Design 540 lb BOD5/ac-d

 HRT=80 days Plan View

400 ft

400 ft
 Anaerobic Contact Reactor
 Final Design HRT=5 days
 Loading Rate 1.0 kg COD/m3-d

 Clarifier design based on 24m/d

settling velocity
56 ft
16ft

Anaerobic Contact Reactor, 10 ft

30 ft Clarifier
Completely Mixed
Flocculator,
Deglassifier
Aerated Sequencing Batch Reactor
 Two reactors of same size
 Feed 8 hr, react 37.5 hr, settle 2 hr, drain
.5 hr
 Feed 8 hr, react 13.5 hr, settle 2 hr, drain
.5 hr
24 ft

46 ft
Supernatant Drain 11.5
ft above bottom
Sludge waste
at bottom
 Upflow Aerated Sludge Blanket
Reactor
 Loading Rate of 10 kg sCOD/m3-d
 Two tanks, operated in parallel

 Diameter = 4.5 m, Height= 7 m,

2.5 m for gas storage

4.5 m

7m
 Final Design
 Include Hydrasieve: effectiveness and
low capital, O & M costs
 Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket
Reactor
 Tank is smaller than most of the others
due to high organic loading rate
 Provides constant source of methane
gas