Oxidation Pond Studies on Evisceration
Wastes from Poultry Establishments
J. STEVEN ANDERSON, Assistant Engineer
and
A. JOEL KAPLOVSKY, Director
Water Pollution Commission
State of Delaware
Dover, Delaware
INTRODUCTION
This paper will present an interim report of data collected to date by the
Water Pollution Commission, state of Delaware, in its effort to study, primarily, the effectiveness of oxidation ponds to treat a comparatively heavy
loading of highly nutrient wastes from a poultry processing plant.
The initial purpose of this investigation was to determine the effectiveness of heavily loaded oxidation units for removing an existing odor problem
and to establish criteria for a more economical design applicable to existing
conditions within Delaware. In short, the poultry industry may be classed as
having a moderately small capital investment with a sizeable soluble waste
discharge.
Prior to the growth of evisceration, poultry was processed as New York
Dressed. The latter involved operational wastes largely adaptable to primary
treatment. With the onset of evisceration, the resulting wastes showed marked
increases in blood, fat, entrails, and volume which dictated the need for
secondary treatment. However, economics becomes a major deterrent for the
smaller poultry establishments, in view of the relatively large volume and
concentration of the wastes. The oxidation pond procedure appeared a promising solution, due to its hydraulic flexibility, provided the commonly accepted levels of loadings could be materially increased. Space limitations at
the particular installation studied necessitated accepting a design loading far
exceeding the conventional surface loadings of 20 to 100 lbs of BOD per acre
per day. The problem was to stabilize satisfactorily a highly colored blood-
type waste at surface loadings as high as 250 lbs of BOD per acre per day.
The important consideration was to maintain an aerobic system. It is
conceivable a modified distribution of loading could result in increases applications without incurring a deterioration of the system. In a recent publication (9), Pipes has concluded, from theoretical considerations, that "aerobic
conditions should be maintained for as great a fraction of time as possible and
anaerobic conditions should be limited to a few hours at a time." This observation is of particular interest and may prove of considerable importance
when applying unusually high loadings into stabilization ponds.
In contrast, an oxidation pond at Cabool, Missouri (13), with a water
surface area of 7.5 acres, was placed in operation in November 1958, for a
poultry processing plant. The design basis was 34 lbs of BOD per acre. Another pond was constructed at Noel, Missouri (13), to accommodate a chicken
processing plant's waste of 34 lbs of BOD per acre per day. The latter covered
20.2 acres. This lagoon was placed in operation during January 1960. Both
the above loading designs appear very conservative and reflect the position
taken by many regulatory agencies to date.
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