Summary
For four years, a major food processor in Wisconsin has been utilizing ACCELL to treat its process wastewater in its aeration tanks. The company has obtained 45% to 55% reductions in BOD and TSS on a consistent basis. Due to these positive results, the food processor decided to use ACCELL to eliminate grease build-up in the plant drain lines. The company normally required three to four costly drain pump-outs per year. The cost of each pump-out was approximately $7,000. Since the use of ACCELL began four years ago, the lines have remained grease free and no pump-outs have been required.
Plant Conditions
The food processing plant covers 440,000 square feet. Approximately 35% is office and warehouse space and 65% is used for food processing, bottling, and packaging. Soybeans, wheat and other ingredients are used in the process and these materials contribute a great deal of oily water to the waste drain water. As the oils congeal inside the drain lines, they form greasy deposits that accumulate over a three to four month period increasing odors and eventually reducing the free flow of the water they were designed to transport. The amount of water flowing through the drain varies from 100,000 to 300,000 gallons per day.
Product Use
The product is provided in a 55-gallon drum and a peristaltic pump is calibrated to deliver four gallons of ACCELL daily into the drain line at the beginning of the process flow. The water then flows through the rest of the processing area drain line to the aeration basin outside the plant. The volume of ACCELL added is based on the volume of material necessary to keep the drain lines free of grease build up and the amount of ACCELL necessary to accomplish the desired level of treatment in their wastewater treatment plant. The firm also treats all the other drain lines throughout the facility on a once weekly basis to maintain an odor free environment.
Results
Within a few days, ACCELL eliminated odors in both the food processing sector drain lines as well as the other drain lines. Over a period of several days, ACCELL worked with resident bacteria to metabolize the grease encrusting the inside of the drainpipe. The grease is digested and not passed on to the pre-treatment aeration basin and subsequently to the municipal collection system. In this particular plant’s case, ACCELL continues to work with the bacteria in the aeration basin. The net result has been a 45% to 55% reduction in BOD and TSS loading. The plant is well within municipal compliance requirements and has realized significant wastewater surcharge savings for the past several years.