91    OPERATING EXPERIENCE: ANAEROBIC TREATMENT AT
PACKERLAND PACKING
Terry W. Stebor, Senior Project Engineer
Craig L. Berndt, Manager, Environmental Process Engineering
Stephen Marman, Senior Project Engineer
Foth & Van Dyke and Associates, Inc.
Green Bay, Wisconsin 54307
Richard Gabriel, Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator
Packerland Packing Co., Inc.
Green Bay, Wisconsin 54302
INTRODUCTION
Anaerobic pretreatment of industrial wastewaters has become increasingly popular in recent years.
This is due to the vast amount of development work that has been done to commercialize the concept,
to stricter environmental regulations, and to the increasing cost and decreasing availability of energy.
Anaerobic pretreatment used either in advance of existing on-site aerobic systems or prior to discharge
to a municipal sewer system has been shown to be a cost-effective method for wastewater treatment. It
is especially attractive when there are high municipal treatment fees or when a production facility
intends to expand.
The favorable economics that accrue from anaerobic treatment, as opposed to aerobic treatment,
result from the positive aspect of combustible biogas generation by the anaerobic system and the
elimination of the oxygenation requirement of aerobic treatment. The value of the biogas will usually
be much greater than the operating costs of the treatment facility resulting in a net positive cash flow
that can be used to recover the capital cost. While anaerobic wastewater treatment systems may not
always be considered an attractive investment by industry standards, it will usually be more cost
effective than aerobic treatment.
One of the initial applications of anaerobic treatment is the Farmstead Foods system at Albert Lea,
Minnesota. The Farmstead Foods anaerobic treatment plant was constructed in 1956 and was the first
system of its type in the United States. The process design was based on extensive pilot plant scale
studies conducted by George A. Hormel and Company and the American Meat Institute.1,2 This
facility continues to operate well today.
The anaerobic contact treatment process is the wastewater treatment method pilot tested and
implemented at Packerland Packing Company in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The impetus for the project
is the operating cost savings obtained with anaerobic treatment and the ultimate biological and
residual solids disposal obtained with solids digestion and rendering of the residuals.
PROJECT BACKGROUND
Packerland Packing Company, Inc., a high volume beef processor, currently maintains the following primary and secondary production activities at its Green Bay, Wisconsin facility:
• Beef processing at a rate of 265 head per hour, mostly Holstein-type feeder cattle.
• Hide cleaning and curing.
• Casing production for sausage producers.
• Tripe production for export sales.
• Rendering for high quality tallow production.
• Scrap meat and by-product processing for pet food.
44th Purdue Industrial Waste Conference Proceedings, © 1990 Lewis Publishers, Inc., Chelsea, Michigan 48118.
Primed in U.S.A.
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