Dairy Processing Waste Water
Ground Effects has successfully treated dairy processing water with high BOD and bacteria allowing the water to be available for reuse or disposal.
The Situation
Water used in a dairy processing establishment could be broadly classified into the following major categories:
i. Process water: Water used for direct preparation of products, cleaning purposes and various technical purposes. Examples are: washing / cleaning of equipment, transport of product, dissolution of ingredients, water remaining in the final product etc.
ii. Cooling water: Cooling water is the water used for removal of heat from process streams and products. The quality requirements for cooling water used in plate heat exchangers to cool milk is critical, since with this type of equipment there is a risk of failure and leakage of cooling water to product. In such situations cooling water should be of drinking water quality.
iii. Boiler feed water: Boiler fed water is required for steam production.
Depending upon product mix, dairy processing plants can use substantial volumes of water for cleaning, cooling towers, boilers and other processes. Typical
water usage can be as high as 1:1 during processing.
The Solution
Ground Effects successfully treated a variety of complex waste streams produced by dairy processing facilities. Of specific concern was the parameters
for BOD, bacteria including thermophiles, and total suspended solids. The successfully treated of these waste streams allows the water to be
available for reuse within the processing facility or to be disposed of, while exceeding the criteria for both uses.
Example of Complex Waste Stream and EPT EOX Results
The Results
The patented EPT EOX treatment process can treat a multitude of waste water streams, from the relatively simple to the highly complex and variable. With dairy processing facilities producing large quantities of waste water through a variety of process streams, the EPT EOX is capable of treating all streams simultaneously for a wide range of parameters, meeting and often exceeding criteria.
Due to the unique nature of the dairy waste stream, bacterial activity can be difficult to control and eliminate. The EPT EOX easily eliminates all types of bacteria, including thermophiles that thrive and are often resistant to heat.
The initial biological analysis was completed using the BART system. The following image indicates that the treated samples remain negative (last three tests) where a blue color is seen throughout the test, while the initial sample went positive, where the blue color has bleached out indicating high biological activity.
| Parameter | Unit | Initial | Post EPT EOX |
|---|---|---|---|
| TSS | mg/L | 3300 | <10 |
| BOD | mg/L | >20,000 | <4000 |
| Heterotrophic Bacteria | CFU/ml | >5,400,000 | <10 |