Koch Foods is one of the largest chicken producers in America, and operates a
large number of processing facilities. Their Montgomery, AL plant had a problem – its
wastewater was discharged to the city and the surcharges were becoming painful.
Koch Foods is one of the largest chicken producers in America, and operates a
large number of processing facilities. Their Montgomery, AL plant had a problem – its
wastewater was discharged to the city and the surcharges were becoming painful. So, they
engaged Clearwater Consultants, of Starkville, MS to design a pretreatment system to
reduce both the BOD and ammonia discharged to the city. The dual aims were to minimize
future charges and to demonstrate Koch Foods’ commitment to the environment.
Clearwater designed an anaerobic-aerobic system, incorporating a very
large aerobic lagoon followed by a similar aerobic lagoon To provide oxygen in that
second lagoon they envisioned the use of floating high efficiency fine bubble diffusers
and evaluated at least three possible suppliers. Bioworks worked with the Engineer to
optimize the system’s performance, and was selected as the aeration system supplier
based upon factors that included performance, efficiency, equipment quality & expected
life, ease of maintenance, and price.
The new wastewater treatment plant went into operation in early 2012 and has
exceeded expectations. The core of the system is the Bioworks OXIWORKS ® high
efficiency aeration system, equipped with OXIRISE ® to make maintenance as easy as
possible.
The plant effluent is well within design objectives for both BOD and ammonia, making
Koch Foods’ investment a financial and environmental success.