Poultry carcasses are chilled in water to lower the temperature rapidly. Water quality in the chiller is maintained by overflow and freshwater makeup. This in‐plant study evaluated reconditioning of chiller overflow by ultrafiltration for reuse in place of freshwater makeup. Trials with hollow fiber and spiral polymeric membrane modules were conducted to verify microbial rejection and to obtain flux characteristics.
Microbial challenge trials conducted by using chiller overflow with artificially enhanced microbial levels reduced microbial counts by more than 5.4 log cycles. The rejection of chemical oxygen demand was over 73% and the reduction in turbidity was over 99.2%. These results verified that ultrafiltration produces water acceptable for reuse in the chiller to partially replace freshwater makeup.
Concentration scans, pressure scans, velocity scans and time scans produced satisfactory permeate fluxes. Membranes cleaned easily after the trials. A 380‐L/min (100‐gal/min) spiral ultrafiltration system was designed assuming a 34‐L/m2h (20 gfd) average permeate flux based on flux characteristics observed during the trials. Economic assessment of the system operation indicated a 2.4‐year simple payback with possibilities for further improvement.
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