Chicken processor uses dewatering system for drier waste and sustainable gains

A major Australian supplier of poultry and protein products has adopted the KDS liquid-separator technology to enhance efficiency while reinforcing its environmental credentials with its food and retail industry customers.

The clog-free automatic KDS liquid-to-solid waste separator from CST Wastewater Solutions is being used throughout Australia and New Zealand for compact dewatering applications ranging from food processing, food waste, grease trap and waste oil through to municipal wastewater sludge, livestock manure and agribusiness processes.

The energy-saving and water-saving technology — which also typically halves the cost of transporting its drier and lighter output, for recycling or disposal — is being used by this chicken processor (which cannot be named due to commercial confidentiality reasons) to process three cubic metres of wastewater every hour.

Designed for efficiency, sustainability and conservation of resources in small- to medium-sized applications, the energy-efficient KDS separator consumes as little as 0.06 kW/h of electricity and uses no washwaster. The simple-to-maintain separator has a high throughput within a small body, with the smallest model being just under 350 mm wide and weighing 50 kg. The compact rotational oval plate structure achieves high transportation and separation efficiencies, while the simplicity of the machine’s overall structure provides for low maintenance, which is claimed to achieve cost and WHS benefits through less handling being required to clear otherwise potentially hazardous materials, including, in this case, mixed poultry waste and process effluent.

Drier waste produced from the KDS dewatering system.

“The KDS installation dramatically reduces waste disposal and landfill costs while reducing this customer’s environmental footprint, so it’s a win-win,” said Michael Bambridge, Managing Director, CST Wastewater Solutions.

The KDS separator — which is also available skid-mounted for operational versatility and relocation — is designed to use a fraction of the power of a centrifuge and requires no water usage during operation, unlike alternatives such as a belt press or a screw press.

Used for thickening of dissolved air flotation sludge — a common application throughout wastewater operations — it achieves solids capture of 97% with thickened sludge at a dryness of 17%. Waste activated sludge dryness levels are typically 15–25%. Thickened sludge dryness at this chicken processing facility has achieved this same range even with the elevated levels of fat and oil involved in the application.

The self-cleaning action of the KDS separator, which is available in hydraulic capacities from 1000–18,600 L/h with input solids content of 2%.

The KDS reduces the amount of sludge to be removed by at least 50% — and opens up potential for re-use in composting and energy recovery, rather than straight disposal. “Plus, there is no operator required, and the whole installation is enclosed, so odours don’t escape,” Bambridge said.

Bambridge added that, because it produces drier and lighter waste, the KDS avoids the problem faced by many food and primary production plants of tons of sodden, sticky, unhealthy and potentially environmentally hazardous wastewater sludge by-product that must be expensively transported to costly processing and disposal facilities.

The wet cakes of by-product from farms, food processors, kitchens, manufacturers and primary producers can cost upwards of AU$150 (NZ$160+) a ton to move by specialised transport from the places where effluent is produced to centres where compacting, drying, recycling or disposal can take place in controlled environments where they don’t threaten groundwater.

The compact KDS multi-disc roller separator also saves money and downtime by featuring a self-cleaning dewatering and conveying system with oval plate separation and transfer structure that prevents clogging and permits automatic continuous operation that handles oily and fibrous material with ease.

Applications for which the separator is designed include: food processing waste, including snackfoods, kitchen and restaurant waste, raw wastewater (primary screening) and sludge; sewage treatment, including raw wastewater (primary screening) and sludge to landfill; abattoir, feedlots, and dairy farm wastewater and sludge with cattle manure cake dryness of 25–35% typically achieved; pig farm raw manure and sludge, with cake dryness of 20–30%; barrel polishing water, water-based paint wastewater, grease trap waste, dyeing wastewater, waste oil and plastic recycling; and seafood processing.

Top image credit: iStock.com/LauriPatterson