The effectiveness of flocculants on inorganic and metallic species removal during aerobic digestion of wastewater from poultry processing plant

Authors: Lovanh, Nanh; Loughrin, John; Cook, Kimberly - Kim; Sistani, Karamat; Silva, Philip - Phil

Submitted to: American Chemical Society National Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/10/2015
Publication Date: 3/22/2015
Citation: Lovanh, N.C., Loughrin, J.H., Cook, K.L., Sistani, K.R., Silva, P.J. 2015. The effectiveness of flocculants on inorganic and metallic species removal during aerobic digestion of wastewater from poultry processing plant. American Chemical Society National Meeting. Abstract.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Large amount of water is used for processing of our food supplies, especially in meat processing plants. The resulting amount of wastewater cannot be discarded freely back into natural settings due to regulatory mandates, whether the sinks would be rivers, ponds, or other natural systems. These wastewater streams need to be treated first before they can legally be discharged to our already polluted water sources. One of the most commonly used treatment processes is the physicochemical treatment of wastewater. Physicochemical operations such as coagulation and flocculation are important processes in removing pollutants from water and wastewater treatment plants. During the physicochemical treatments, target pollutants precipitate out from water and wastewater streams due to coagulation and flocculation processes. During the coagulation processes, ions of metal salt or catalytic polyelectrolyte are used to destabilize and neutralize charged particles in waste streams. Then, the successful agglomeration of these destabilized particles occurs by the hydraulic shear force in the rapid mixing during flocculation processes. In this study, the characterization of the efficiency and the efficacy of flocculants on removing inorganic substances from poultry processing plant’s wastewater stream was carried out. Sodium aluminate was utilized and compared to other polymer electrolytes for its effectiveness in removing inorganic substances from wastewater stream during aerobic digestion processes. Based on our results, sodium aluminate was as effective as other polymer electrolytes in removing ammonium (>85% removal), phosphate (>90%), aluminum (>90%), and iron (>90%), but was not effective in removing other inorganic substances such as sulfate or nitrate and whole host of metallic substances. Thus, it is important to consider other types of flocculants in targeting the removal of specific pollutants from wastewater streams, especially wastewater from meat processing plants.