Treatment of

Slaughterhouse
Wastewater
Mike Lawrence
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

75

$5,200

3.5

150

$6,400

4.5

300

$8,000

5.5

400

$10,000

6.5

500

$12,000

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
40
50

to
to
to

30
50
60

Dissolved

30
60
80

%
%
%

BOD removal
SS removal
grease removal

Air Flotation, DAF

to 35 % BOD removal
% SS removal
% 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)

Hydraulic

Retention 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,
30 ft
Completely Mixed

Clarifier
Flocculator,
Deglassifier

10 ft

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