This thesis is an investigation on water reuse in the fresh-cut fruits and vegetable industry. Fresh water is used intensively in washing, cutting/peeling processes and disinfecting fruits and vegetables, as a result washwater with heavy solids is generated. Effective removal of solids is needed to allow for water reuse. Thus dissolved air flotation (DAF) and centrifuge with coagulation and flocculation process were explored for solid removal capabilities; some settling analysis was also conducted.
Bench scale studies show DAF and centrifuge produce waters of similar quality (Turbidity). DAF is able to produce waters with higher UV transmittance and can work better with membrane filtration and UV disinfection. While centrifuge showed higher reduction in pathogen levels, it can be cost effective and compact in design. Membrane filtration feasibility showed that high quality waters (low turbidity) can be produced, but were unable to remove pathogens. Collimated beam results show UV disinfection can further be used to completely eliminate pathogens and allow for water reuse. This allows the processors to reduce their water foot-print, increase sustainability of their operations, and meet the increasing demand for fresh-cut fruits and vegetables.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:OGU.10214/7737 |
| Date | 03 January 2014 |
| Creators | Mundi, Gurvinder |
| Contributors | Zytner, Richard |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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