SANS TITRE

Although Chile is an important world supplier of marine products, several processing factories have not applied clean technology to improve productiv- ity and reduce the environmental impact of dumping their effluents to coastal seawater. To achieve these goals they need to evaluate their processes and management of effluents. A case-study of a factory independen- tly processing crustacea, jack mackerel, salmon and fishmeal was carried out. It was found that this type of factory could diminish effluents by saving an average 31.8% in water consumption. Segregation of streams by organic load and flow allowed salvaging of reusable organic matter from the most loaded streams and the design of a combined anaerobic-aerobic treatment for effluents. Final effluents complied with future legal regulations (0.15 kg COD m-3 and 0.05 kg total nitrogen m-3) for their disposal in marine outfalls. Estimated installation costs for the equipment required for organic matter recovery and effluent treatment (primary and secondary) were US$ 37.3 per tonne of product. Recovered organic matter incorporated to the fishmeal process can provide an extra 5.5 tonnes day- 1 of the product, which represents savings of at least US$ 308000 per year which could partly pay for the secondary treatment cost of the effluents.