Rare Earth Density Modifier for Animal Wastewater Sludge Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
The food processing industry faces significant challenges in efficiently treating animal processing wastewater streams, leading to high costs and environmental impact due to the volume of waste sludge that needs to be disposed of.
Innovation Solution
The use of a rare earth density modifier, such as lanthanum, cerium, or praseodymium salts, is injected into the wastewater stream to enhance the separation of waste solids from the wastewater, reducing the volume of sludge by up to 50% and allowing for further processing into animal feed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If conventional wastewater treatment methods are used, then wastewater can be treated, but the volume of waste sludge requiring disposal remains high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by modifying the density characteristics of the wastewater stream through chemical treatment. Specifically, it adjusts pH levels and uses density modification techniques to separate solids from liquids more effectively, thereby reducing the volume of sludge that requires disposal and transforming the physical properties of the waste stream to achieve better separation efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements extraction by removing and separating the solid waste phase from the liquid wastewater stream through density-based separation processes. This extraction of solids allows the liquid portion to be treated and potentially reused, while the separated solids volume is minimized through efficient separation, directly addressing the sludge volume reduction objective
2Object-generated harmful factors
If sludge is disposed of by spreading over land or landfilling, then waste removal is achieved, but transportation and disposal costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the physical parameters of the wastewater stream, particularly density and pH, to enable more efficient solid-liquid separation. This results in a concentrated solid phase that occupies less volume, thereby reducing transportation requirements and disposal costs while maintaining effective waste removal
3Manufacturing precision
If density modification is applied to enhance separation, then solid-liquid separation efficiency improves, but chemical additive usage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes parameter changes by adjusting pH and density characteristics of the wastewater stream through controlled chemical addition. These parameter modifications enable enhanced phase separation without requiring excessive chemical dosing, achieving efficient solid-liquid separation while maintaining cost-effectiveness
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method significantly reduces the volume of waste sludge, minimizing transportation and disposal costs, while also stabilizing the oxidation rate of the wastewater and enabling the recovery of valuable protein and fat for animal feed production.
Implementation Method 1
a rare earth density modifier (lanthanum, cerium, or praseodymium salts) which causes a modification to the protein phase density to enhance lipid fat phase separation from protein solids
Implementation Method 2
separating the density modified material that includes solids from the wastewater stream
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to the treatment of a wastewater stream that is generated from animal processing such as the processing of chicken, beef or pork. More particularly, the present invention relates to the separation of usable protein from an animal processing wastewater stream using a density modifier and a modification of the protein phase density to enhance lipid fat phase separation from protein solids.