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Richmond Dairies, part of the Longley Farm group of companies based out of the UK, processes milk from its own direct-supply farms, and from other milk processors, to produce a range of dairy ingredients including frozen milk products, specialty powder, and bulk liquid milk products.
The company has invested generations of skill and expertise into the creation of a global dairy manufacturer. Richmond Dairies, located in Casino, Northern New South Wales, Australia, is committed to controlling quality at each and every stage of production, which is why the company trusted ADI Systems to treat its wastewater.
Richmond Dairies operates its production plant seven days a week, with wastewater volumes ranging anywhere from 20-180 m3/d (5,300-45,500 gpd). The company had been treating this wastewater through a dissolved air flotation (DAF) plant and discharging it to the sewer; however, the system was not meeting Richmond Dairies’ treatment needs.
The existing treatment facility continually created odor problems, which were particularly troublesome because the plant is located within 50 m (164 ft) of a residential area. Richmond Dairies wanted to solve the odor issues to improve the quality of life for the local community.
Moreover, high concentrations of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) made it challenging to treat the dairy wastewater effectively. Increasingly stringent standards for disposal at the city’s municipal plant made it necessary for Richmond Dairies to re-examine its approach to comply with these regulations. The cost of chemicals used in the DAF plant and sludge disposal factored into Richmond Dairies’ decision to explore a more innovative treatment system.
Anaerobic treatment was the ideal solution for treating the high-strength industrial wastewater at Richmond Dairies.
A low-rate ADI-BVF® reactor now effectively treats the wastewater at this dairy. The BVF® reactor effluent then flows into an ADI® aerobic sequencing batch reactor (SBR) that removes additional organic materials and suspended solids, further polishing the wastewater. The high-quality treated wastewater is currently sent to the city’s treatment works but can be used for land irrigation at a nearby golf course, if desired.
With its new on-site wastewater treatment facility, Richmond Dairies’ chemical costs are negligible, and disposal costs for sludge are nearly eliminated. The substantial cost savings for the dairy plant certainly justify Richmond Dairies’ investment; the yearly savings, excluding the cost of the plant, are in excess of $250,000.
The plant is now able to meet discharge requirements, allowing Richmond Dairies to remain environmentally compliant. The quality of the wastewater coming from the new treatment system far exceeds the BOD, chemical oxygen demand (COD), suspended solids (SS), and Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN) requirements for discharge into the municipal sewer. ADI Systems’ wastewater solution also eliminated all the odor issues that were occurring at the processing plant, thereby improving the company’s overall reputation in the local community.
