Egg Breaking and Processing Wastes Control
And Treatment
W.J. JEWELL, Associate Professor
W. SIDEREWICZ, Research Specialist
R.C LOEHR, Professor
H.R. DAVIS, Associate Professor
Department of Agricultural Engineering
R.R. ZALL, Associate Professor
Department of Food Science
OF. JOHNDREW, JR., Associate Professor
Department of Poultry Science
Cornell University
Ithaca, New York 14853
J.W. WITHEROW, Research Sanitary Engineer
Environmental Protection Agency
Corvallis, Oregon 97330
INTRODUCTION
Control of wastewaters from many food processing facilities are complicated because
of their location and the highly contaminated wastes which they produce. Food processors
may be located in rural areas where the pollution control facilities may have difficulty handling complex food wastes. Due to lower tax bases and less organized government structures in small communities, the organizational structures required to respond to pollution
control planning may not be effective. The egg processing industry is an example of a food
processor that is often located in rural areas and has difficult wastewater control problems.
A two phased approach to determine the maximum waste that could be conserved by in-
plant control followed by treatment of the resulting wastewater was the approach of this
study.
Objectives
This study of the egg breaking industry was divided into three sections: a review of the
characteristics of the industry as a whole, characterization and control of wastes in five egg
breaking plants and investigations into the treatability of wastewaters from egg breaking
facilities. The data are applicable to a wide range of plant capacities, since the detailed industry analyses included the largest and most complex egg breaking facility, as well as for
facilities with one, two or three egg breaking machines. Although the waste problems associated with processing eggs to bring them to the shell egg market were not evaluated, the
first steps in shell egg handling are similar to those used in egg breaking plants. Therefore,
portions of the data developed in this study could be used to approximate the waste
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