Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Award Date

1978

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department / School

Civil Engineering

First Advisor

Dwayne A. Rollag

Second Advisor

James N. Dornbush

Abstract

The total number of eggs produced.in the United States has increased from 40 billion in 1940 to approximately 70 billion in 196 7 (1-265). It is expected that the demand for processed eggs will increase from ten percent of the total production in the 1960's to over 30 percent in the 1970's (2-805). The increase in use of processed eggs will undoubtedly result in an increase in production wastes. To estimate the water pollution potential of egg wastes and to provide the information necessary for procurement of waste discharge permits, knowledge of the volume, strength and treatability of egg-processing wastes is essential. The studies described herein are the results of an in-plant waste survey of a major egg-processing company. The information obtained from these investigations should provide reasonable estimates of the volume and strength of egg-processing wastes for use by the egg-processing industry in evaluating the potential for waste reduction and by engineers who design the required waste treatment facilities. These investigations were conducted at the Milton G. Waldbaum Company, Wakefield, Nebraska. This facility is one of the world's largest plants incorporating all major egg-processing operations under one roof. During the study a major building expansion and remodeling program was in progress. The Waldbaum Company produces shell eggs and liquid and inedible egg products. Liquid egg products are dried or frozen for storage and sale as whole eggs, yolks, whites, sugared or salted yolks, and various other egg products. Inedible egg products are used for dog food and other nonhuman consumption. The major consumers of egg products are noodle makers, bakeries, confectioneers [sic] and makers of mayonnaise and salad dressings (3-6). Characterization of the wastes from individual washing, breaking, processing and grading operations are presented so that results may be applied to plants incorporating one or more of these operations. The wastewater from the egg-processing plant is discharged to the Wakefield, Nebraska disposal system and comprises ab0ut 88 percent of the community's total organic waste load (4). Recognizing that waste reduction in the plant will reduce treatment requirements, dry clean-up and other waste-preventative practices have been adopted and one source of waste has been eliminated from discharge to the municipal sewer. The objectives of the investigations described herein are as follows: 1. to identify sources of liquid waste in an integrated egg-processing plant, 2. to measure the quantity of waste from each source, 3. to characterize each waste stream, 4. to correlate waste production with egg-product output, and 5. to suggest possible in-plant modifications for the reduction of wastes.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Egg products industry -- Waste disposal

Format

application/pdf

Publisher

South Dakota State University

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