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79 CHARACTERIZATION AND TREATMENT OF WASTES FROM BLUE CRAB PROCESSING FACILITIES Timothy D. Harrison, Graduate Research Assistant Department of Civil Engineering Gregory D. Boardman, Associate Professor Department of Civil Engineering George J. Flick, Professor Department of Food Science and Technology Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, Virginia 24061 INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES In the 1970s, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed documents which defined effluent limits for segments of the seafood processing industry.' The regulations were then adopted by the states. Compliance with these limits was obtained, in most cases, with minor plant modifications that did not require large capital investments and operating costs. During the last decade, citizen and environmental groups have encouraged more stringent legislation in an effort to achieve a cleaner environment. Individual states have established waste disposal standards that exceed current U.S. EPA requirements. The restoration of water quality in the Chesapeake Bay has become a goal of states which border the Bay and its tributaries. In Virginia, the State Water Control Board (SWCB) has initiated a vigorous program to remove pollutants from the Bay. As a result, new standards for the disposal of liquid and solid wastes have been established. Many blue crab processors have reported serious waste disposal problems as they are unable to consistently comply with their current allowable pollutant discharge limits. The objective of this project was to characterize process effluents, identify ways to reduce waste quantities and strengths, and determine viable effluent treatment methods at three blue crab processing facilities. MATERIALS AND METHODS Plant Processes The waste streams of each individual process in three blue crab processing plants were characterized. Characterization of effluents from conventional blue crab processes can be found in the literature,2-6 but few data are found on mechanized processes. For the purposes of this paper, the processing facilities will be designated plant #1, #2 and #3, respectively. Two trips were made to plants #1 and #3. Three trips were made to plant #2. The typical steps for processing live blue crabs and the wastes generated by each process are shown in Figure 1. The unrefrigerated live crabs are usually delivered by boat or truck to processing plants. The crabs are weighed, washed (optional), and then dumped into large stainless steel baskets where they are placed into horizontal or vertical retorts, and cooked by steaming for 7 to 23 minutes at 121 °C and 15 psig. Approximately 1,000 to 1,800 pounds of live crab are cooked in each retort. The crabs are then moved to a room where they are air-cooled to ambient temperatures within thirty minutes and then moved to a cooler (33°F to 40°F) until picking. If the crabs are to be hand processed, each picker backs, declaws, and removes all meat from each crab. Picking meat from the crab is labor intensive and is sometimes supplemented in a few large plants by mechanized picking. The Harris Claw machine combines hammer mills with brine-tank flotation to remove the meat from claws. The Quik-Pik machine uses high speed vibration to remove body meat from the crab. The Quik-Pik process may also include a bobber which mechanically cuts 47th Purdue Industrial Waste Conference Proceedings, 1992 Lewis Publishers, Inc., Chelsea, Michigan 48118. Printed in U.S.A. 775
Object Description
Purdue Identification Number | ETRIWC199279 |
Title | Characterization and treatment of wastes from blue crab processing facilities |
Author |
Harrison, Timothy D. Boardman, Gregory D. Flick, George J. |
Date of Original | 1992 |
Conference Title | Proceedings of the 47th Industrial Waste Conference |
Conference Front Matter (copy and paste) | http://e-archives.lib.purdue.edu/u?/engext,43678 |
Extent of Original | p. 775-788 |
Collection Title | Engineering Technical Reports Collection, Purdue University |
Repository | Purdue University Libraries |
Rights Statement | Digital object copyright Purdue University. All rights reserved. |
Language | eng |
Type (DCMI) | text |
Format | JP2 |
Date Digitized | 2009-12-10 |
Capture Device | Fujitsu fi-5650C |
Capture Details | ScandAll 21 |
Resolution | 300 ppi |
Color Depth | 8 bit |
Description
Title | page 775 |
Collection Title | Engineering Technical Reports Collection, Purdue University |
Repository | Purdue University Libraries |
Rights Statement | Digital copyright Purdue University. All rights reserved. |
Language | eng |
Type (DCMI) | text |
Format | JP2 |
Capture Device | Fujitsu fi-5650C |
Capture Details | ScandAll 21 |
Transcript | 79 CHARACTERIZATION AND TREATMENT OF WASTES FROM BLUE CRAB PROCESSING FACILITIES Timothy D. Harrison, Graduate Research Assistant Department of Civil Engineering Gregory D. Boardman, Associate Professor Department of Civil Engineering George J. Flick, Professor Department of Food Science and Technology Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, Virginia 24061 INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES In the 1970s, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed documents which defined effluent limits for segments of the seafood processing industry.' The regulations were then adopted by the states. Compliance with these limits was obtained, in most cases, with minor plant modifications that did not require large capital investments and operating costs. During the last decade, citizen and environmental groups have encouraged more stringent legislation in an effort to achieve a cleaner environment. Individual states have established waste disposal standards that exceed current U.S. EPA requirements. The restoration of water quality in the Chesapeake Bay has become a goal of states which border the Bay and its tributaries. In Virginia, the State Water Control Board (SWCB) has initiated a vigorous program to remove pollutants from the Bay. As a result, new standards for the disposal of liquid and solid wastes have been established. Many blue crab processors have reported serious waste disposal problems as they are unable to consistently comply with their current allowable pollutant discharge limits. The objective of this project was to characterize process effluents, identify ways to reduce waste quantities and strengths, and determine viable effluent treatment methods at three blue crab processing facilities. MATERIALS AND METHODS Plant Processes The waste streams of each individual process in three blue crab processing plants were characterized. Characterization of effluents from conventional blue crab processes can be found in the literature,2-6 but few data are found on mechanized processes. For the purposes of this paper, the processing facilities will be designated plant #1, #2 and #3, respectively. Two trips were made to plants #1 and #3. Three trips were made to plant #2. The typical steps for processing live blue crabs and the wastes generated by each process are shown in Figure 1. The unrefrigerated live crabs are usually delivered by boat or truck to processing plants. The crabs are weighed, washed (optional), and then dumped into large stainless steel baskets where they are placed into horizontal or vertical retorts, and cooked by steaming for 7 to 23 minutes at 121 °C and 15 psig. Approximately 1,000 to 1,800 pounds of live crab are cooked in each retort. The crabs are then moved to a room where they are air-cooled to ambient temperatures within thirty minutes and then moved to a cooler (33°F to 40°F) until picking. If the crabs are to be hand processed, each picker backs, declaws, and removes all meat from each crab. Picking meat from the crab is labor intensive and is sometimes supplemented in a few large plants by mechanized picking. The Harris Claw machine combines hammer mills with brine-tank flotation to remove the meat from claws. The Quik-Pik machine uses high speed vibration to remove body meat from the crab. The Quik-Pik process may also include a bobber which mechanically cuts 47th Purdue Industrial Waste Conference Proceedings, 1992 Lewis Publishers, Inc., Chelsea, Michigan 48118. Printed in U.S.A. 775 |
Resolution | 300 ppi |
Color Depth | 8 bit |
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