Operational data was used to identify sources of red meat processing wastewaters and their quality and quantity. The current water and energy consumption in Australian red meat processing plants was mapped, and specific processes where significant water and energy saving can be achieved were identified.
Selected wastewater streams were paired with treatment technologies to produce water that met quality standards for specific reuse or recycling applications. Waste streams were ranked and selected based on their contaminant loads and volumes.
The operating conditions of the treatment process trains for the proposed water reuse/recycling options were evaluated and optimised. BioWin and WAVE Reverse Osmosis (RO) modelling tools were used to determine the operating parameters required to meet the recycled water’s quality whilst minimising capital and operational expenditures.
It was advised that to achieve significant water savings, red meat processing plants need to consider potable water recycling. The environmental impacts arising from adoption of these treatment trains were evaluated via a Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) and assessed using economic feasibility through Net Present Value (NPV) and Return on Investment (ROI) calculations. Two potable water recycling options were compared against the base case scenario of not recycling water, to contrast the environmental and financial cost-benefits.