A custom oxygen booster system from Linde, known as the SOLVOX® oxygenation system, proved effective in dramatically lowering biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) for an on-site wastewater treatment facility for Koch Foods poultry deboning plant in Morristown, Tennessee.
The SOLVOX system was designed and retrofitted for an existing 225,000 gallon aerobic equalization (EQ) tank feeding a dissolved air flotation (DAF) unit. Dissolved air flotation (DAF) systems are widely used to separate 95-99% of fats, oils and greases (FOG) and total suspended solids (TSS) in organic wastewater treatment plants. Yet they are less effective in lowering BOD, which is, sometimes necessary to reduce odors and meet municipal discharge requirements.
Key to success of the new system was control of soluble BOD (sBODs). The poultry processing plant produces more than 70 million pounds of cut wings, and boneless chicken nuggets, tenders and breasts every year. While aeration systems may follow DAF pretreatment and are almost always part of publicly operated wastewater treatment facilities, oxygenating the wastewater before the DAF unit was suggested by consultant Larry W. Moore, PhD, Professional Engineer, a professor of environmental engineering at the University of Memphis. Dr. Moore analysed the wastewater treatment complex on behalf of the City of Morristown and the Tennessee Manufacturing Extension Program (TMEP), and reviewed BOD treatment options.
“Oxygenation before DAF may be counterintuitive since water can only hold so much oxygen. But Koch Foods’ wastewater was well below oxygen saturation concentrations because of the level of soluble BOD that remained after screening solids. The presence of the EQ tank before the DAF unit made O2 pretreatment possible and cost effective,” he said. TMEP does not endorse or warranty any specific method, product, process or service. It is an industrial assistance program designed to help industries make sound decisions regarding environmental management.
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