JOINT TREATMENT OF
MEAT-PACKING AND MUNICIPAL WASTEWATER
BY FULL-SCALE AWT FACILITIES
Mark C. Rooney, President
Rooney Consultants, Inc.
Wauconda, Illinois 60084
Min Hwang Wu, Project Engineer
Black & Veatch Consulting Engineers
Detroit, Michigan 48243
The village of Hebron is a small rural community located in northeastern Illinois. The
only major industry in the village, in terms of wastewater loadings, is a beef slaughtering
plant owned by Kenosha Beef International. Prior to construction of its new wastewater
facility, the village owned and operated two treatment plants. All municipal sanitary sewage
was treated at a trickling filter plant. Packinghouse wastes were pre-treated by Kenosha Beef
and then pumped to a lagoon system for secondary treatment. Effluent from both plants
failed to comply with the Illinois Pollution Control Board's water quality and effluent
standards.
Engineering studies, initiated in 1976, included wastewater characterization, evaluation of
both existing treatment plants, and cost-effective analyses of various alternative treatment
methods. The most cost-effective alternative was determined to be joint treatment of both
waste streams, utilizing the existing lagoon system, supplemented by AWT facilities. The
trickling filter plant would then be retired.
Construction of new facilities was begun in August, 1978 and substantially completed
in July, 1980.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate start-up performance of the new facility.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Meat Packing Wastes
Kenosha Beef International currently slaughters approximately 375 cattle per day, 5 days
per week. No processing or rendering is conducted at the plant. Prior to initiation of engineering studies, wastewater flows from Kenosha Beef were approximately 110,000 gpd, at a
kill rate of approximately 240 head per day. A water use study was conducted and recommendations were made which resulted in a reduction of flow to 70,000 gpd. A design flow
of 90,000 gpd was used for new facilities, allowing for some expansion.
Packinghouse wastes receive on-site primary treatment in a conventional rectangular settling basin, before being pumped to a lagoon system for secondary treatment.
Typical characteristics of the packinghouse wastes are presented in Table I.
Village Wastewater
The village wastewater is essentially domestic, sanitary waste, contributed by a population of approximately 800. Major water users in the village are a car wash, a laundromat
and four small industries. Current wastewater flow is approximately 55,000 gpd. A design
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