I. Malcolm’s research while affiliated with Alfred State College and other places

Ultrafiltration (UF) and nanofiltration (NF) were tested as potential methods of treating poultry abattoir chiller tank effluent for recycling. Various ultrafiltration and nanofiltration membranes were tested for their fouling propensities as well as for their ability to produce a permeate which meets Agriculture and Agri-food Canada's guidelines for recycling: total plate count of less than 1,000 organisms/mL; total coliform counts of less than 10 organisms/mL; total E. coli counts of less than 2 organisms/mL; total organic carbon less than 100 mg/L; and light transmittance of greater than 90%. Several UF membranes removed all bacteria and achieved the required 90% light transmittance but failed to meet the total organic carbon (TOC) target. However, the TOC effluent criterion was met by NF membranes. Both of the commercial thin film composite membranes not only produced permeate with less than 100 mg/L of TOC but also gave a reasonable flux of 46-66 L·m-2·h-1 . It should therefore be possible to develop a recycling system for chiller tank effluent using any of the above nanofiltration membranes. Recycling would reduce water consumption and wastewater disposal and has the potential to reduce energy costs by reusing pre-chilled water.