Processing waste more efficiently.

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Somerset-based Grampian Country Pork is now able to efficiently process all of its effluent discharges on-site, including waste which was previously tankered off-site, following the installation of an effluent treatment system that was designed, manufactured in the UK and installed by Micromac Filtration.

One of the factors impeding Grampian Country Pork's growth has been the restrictions placed on the factory's waste output by regional utility, Wessex Water.

The utility had instructed Grampian that it could not discharge above a certain flow rate since the local sewerage treatment works would become overloaded.

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After consultation with Micromac Filtration, Grampian Pork redeveloped its effluent treatment system, allowing it to significantly increase processing volumes through the installation of an extra processing line on site and still remain under discharge consent limits.

Whereas the factory had been producing effluent with a chemical oxygen demand of more than 800ppm, today that figure is below 400ppm.

Although the factory is producing a greater volume of effluent, it is being cleaned much more efficiently by the new Micromac treatment system.

The effluent treatment system installed by Micromac comprises of a new 300m3 balance tank with a Helixor aeration and mixing system, new pump systems to provide metered discharge and a new control system with intuitive diagnostic display and control panels. Two new RunDown Screens replace an ineffective and unreliable Rotary Screen.

"This project has not only met our expectations but exceeded them considerably," said Jim Lennie, engineering manager at Grampian Country Pork.

"Today, we process our waste more efficiently and reliably than before, and we have made substantial savings in other waste transport costs, since we can now process that waste in-house.

"We used to send much of our meat processing waste for disposal offsite. We now drain this waste to our effluent plant and the new screens and effective aeration (provided by helixors) process this well. We would never have been able to do this with our old plant. This saves us approximately 50,000 [pounds sterling] per year and we are well under our Wessex Water consent limits also."

Contact Micromac Filtration on tel 01237 478014 or visit www.micromacfiltration.ltd.uk