Characterisation of aerobic bio treatment of meat plant effluent

Primary treated meat processing plant effluent was characterised for the calibration of the ASM 2 model. The total COD of the wastewater was 500-2,000 mg L^-1. The wastewater contained 15-18% of RBCOD. RBCOD of the meat processing wastewater was from short chain fatty acids (SCFA). Acetic and iso-valeric acids contributed 50% of the total SCFA COD. The inert soluble and particulate COD fractions were each 4%. The COD exerted by carbohydrate was 5% of the total COD. Fat and protein contributed 51% and 44% of the total COD of the wastewater respectively. The average concentrations of ammonia, total phosphorus, total suspended solids and alkalinity were 75 mg L^-1, 34 mg L^-1, 450 mg L^-1 and 275 mg L^-1 CaCO3 respectively. Maximum specific growth rates of heterotrophs and autotrophs were between 1.2-2.5 day^-1 and 0.65-0.8 day^-1. The heterotrophs yield coefficient was 0.63 on a COD basis.