Reconditioning and reuse of chilled water for poultry and food processing

Abstract

This invention is directed to a novel automatic process for effectively, reliably and economically reconditioning for direct reuse various waste waters and particularly those in the nature of poultry and food processing such as the overflow waste water from poultry carcass chill tanks without the use of added chemicals and filter-aid compounds. The invention specifically refers to the removal of gross entrained materials, by screening, floatable solids by static flotation, and, emulsified and haze producing particulates which consist primarily of the proteins, lipids and the bulk of the micro-organisms by a continuous self-cleaning microfilter capable of operationg in a tangential and filter mode with cyclic gaseous liquid backwashing for release and removal of the collected and deleterious contaminants. The integrity of the reconditioned water is continuously monitored by a turbidity sensor, the turbidity indication of which is directly correlated to correspond to associated levels of solids and microorganisms. This invention presents a fully-automated process to provide reconditioned water essentially free of micro-organisms and of acceptable clarity to meet current United States Department of Agriculture regulations for chiller water reuse.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.