Wastewater from agriculture and food processing has significant characteristics that distinguish it from ordinary municipal wastewater managed by public or private wastewater treatment plants around the world: it is biodegradable and non-toxic, but has high biological oxygen demand (BOD) and suspended solids (SS). The composition of food and agricultural wastewater is often difficult to predict due to differences in BOD and pH levels in wastewater from vegetable, fruit and meat products, as well as food processing methods and seasonality.
It takes a lot of good water to process food from raw materials. Washing vegetables produces water that contains a lot of particulate matter and some dissolved organic matter. It may also contain surfactants and pesticides.
Aquaculture facilities (fish farms) often emit large amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus, as well as suspended solids. Some facilities use drugs and pesticides that may be present in wastewater.
Dairy processing plants produce conventional contaminants (BOD, SS).
Animal slaughter and processing produce organic waste from body fluids, such as blood and intestinal contents. Pollutants produced include BOD, SS, coliform, oils, organic nitrogen, and ammonia.
Processed food for sale creates waste from cooking, which is often rich in plant-organic materials and may also contain salts, flavorings, coloring materials and acids or bases. There may also be large amounts of fats, oils and greases (” FOG “) that in sufficient concentrations can clog drains. Some cities require restaurants and food processors to use grease blockers and regulate the handling of FOG in sewer systems.
Food processing activities such as plant cleaning, material handling, bottling and product cleaning produce wastewater. Many food processing facilities require on-site treatment before operational wastewater can be used on land or discharged into a waterway or sewer system. High suspended solids levels of organic particles can increase BOD and can result in high sewer surcharges. Sedimentation, wedge-shaped screens, or rotating strip filtration (microsieving) are commonly used methods to reduce the load of suspended organic solids prior to discharge. Cationic high-efficiency oil-water separator is also often used in food plant oily sewage treatment (high-efficiency oil-water separator for containing anionic chemicals or negatively charged particles of sewage or wastewater, whether used alone or with inorganic coagulant compound use, can achieve rapid, effective separation or purification of water purposes. High efficiency oil and water separator has synergistic effect, can accelerate flocculation speed, reduce the cost of using products).
Post time: Feb-24-2023