Throughout the food and beverage industries, there is a constant requirement to monitor and control wastewater and effluent before discharge from the plant in order to comply with environmental regulations. In addition to this, process plants must also recognise that unless close control is exercised over all stages of waste treatment, the process itself can become ineffective.
At the Dairy Crest Davidstow cheese processing plant in Cornwall, considerable ffort is made to ensure that all wastewater and effluent associated with the manufacturing process is treated and analysed before being discharged into the River Inny. During 2003, the Davidstowcreamery underwent a multi-million pound expansion programme, which included an upgrade of the effluent treatment plant located approximately half-a-mile from the main site. The upgrade included the installation of an MBR system and an additional aeration tank (AT3) which provides the feed to the MBR system. These operate in parallel with the DAF (Dissolved Air Flotation) and AT2 aeration tank which feeds into the settlement and lockertex filter plant.