This project introduces a modular technological solution to recover and reuse the water generated during the cooking of ham at a plant located in Santiago, Chile. This water, previously discarded after use, contains a complex mix of fats, soluble proteins, salts, and nitrogen compounds, making it a high-load effluent that is difficult to treat. The proposed intervention aims to close the water loop within the process by integrating advanced physical treatment that operates without the need for chemicals, using electromagnetic separation technologies, thermal stabilization, and advanced oxidation processes (AOP) for disinfection. The recovered water meets the required quality parameters for reuse in non-potable internal operations, such as tray cleaning, surface pre-washing, and indirect thermal system supply.
Applying the Volumetric Water Benefit Accounting (VWBA 2.0) and Water Quality Benefit Accounting (WQBA) methodologies, the project delivers measurable benefits through the reduction of freshwater intake and the decrease in total organic load discharged into the treatment system or the receiving environment. Additionally, it enhances operational resilience, reduces costs associated with water consumption and effluent discharge, and stands as a model of circular water management within the agri-food sector.
The ham cooking stage consumes large volumes of potable water, typically heated between 75 °C and 85 °C to ensure product pasteurization. This generates a residual liquid effluent with a complex contaminant matrix: high Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), emulsified animal fats, dissolved proteins, brine-derived chlorides, and nitrogen compounds from meat residues. Discharging this hot effluent not only represents a loss of water and thermal energy but also places significant pressure on the plant’s primary treatment system.
The current treatment, limited to homogenization and decantation, is insufficient to remove key contaminants or leverage the energy value of the hot water. This leads to costly discharge, tightly regulated, and poses environmental risks if not properly managed. Simultaneously, the Metropolitan Region and the Maipo River Basin face increasing water stress due to overexploitation of aquifers, sustained surface water decline, and stricter abstraction permits. This critical scenario highlights the need for circular and innovative water solutions.
At the operational level, the lack of a recirculation or heat recovery system in the cooking process results in high water consumption and unutilized thermal losses. In short, the absence of a reuse strategy limits optimization of mass and energy balances, missing key opportunities for water and industrial efficiency.
The proposal includes the installation of a modular treatment system that captures post-cooking water, cools it, removes organic matter, and disinfects it without chemicals through an inline process optimized for thermal and variable load conditions. The system integrates multiple technologies, including gravity separation assisted by electromagnetic induction, which destabilizes fat emulsions and colloidal proteins, enabling their removal without external flocculants or coagulants.
Next, the water undergoes controlled cooling and a final disinfection stage via AOP or high-intensity UV radiation, ensuring pathogen elimination without producing harmful byproducts. The regenerated water reaches the required quality for safe reuse in non-potable tasks such as tray cleaning, non-contact surface pre-washing, and secondary thermal systems.
The system operates fully autonomously and includes sensors for flow, conductivity, COD, turbidity, temperature, and microbiological load, all integrated into a SCADA system for real-time monitoring. Full traceability is ensured through historical digital records, facilitating both internal management and external auditing. Its modular and compact design allows rapid installation without disrupting the existing production line or compromising food safety protocols in line with Chilean regulations and international standards (HACCP, ISO 22000).
Applied Technologies: The proposed system combines various treatment technologies adapted to the complex nature of the effluent generated in the ham cooking process. The first stage involves thermo-physical separation through temperature-assisted decantation and centrifugal separation devices, allowing for the removal of coarse solids, floating fats, and denatured proteins. This step improves the efficiency of subsequent stages by reducing the initial organic load.
A chemical-free electromagnetic coagulation module follows. This technology uses alternating electric fields to destabilize fat emulsions and colloidal proteins, forming flocs that settle or float for easy mechanical extraction. This approach eliminates the need for chemical reagents, reduces sludge volume, and eliminates the risk of toxic byproducts.
Disinfection is achieved through high-intensity UV systems or advanced oxidation processes (AOP), using activated peroxides or radiation combined with catalysts to destroy pathogens and persistent organic compounds. These technologies ensure safe treated water without residual chemicals.
The entire system is interconnected via a SCADA architecture that enables real-time monitoring of key physicochemical parameters: flow rate, temperature, conductivity, turbidity, COD, and TKN, along with automated alarms for operational deviations.
Monitoring Plan: The monitoring plan follows a full traceability approach, with sensors placed strategically at system inlets and outlets. Ultrasonic flow meters measure the exact volume of treated and reused water. Water quality sensors continuously record turbidity, conductivity, COD, total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), and temperature. Monthly validation is performed through external laboratory analysis to ensure compliance with Chilean reuse standards.
Digital traceability is ensured via the Aqua Positive platform, where real-time operational data is recorded, including volumes of reused water, reduced pollutant loads, and system efficiency. This information is complemented by semi-annual external inspections to verify additionality and permanence of benefits, in line with VWBA 2.0 and WQBA guidance.
Implementation Partnerships: The project implementation is supported by a collaborative framework. The plant operator leads system integration within the production line. The technology provider supplies the treatment modules, tailored to the specific configuration and flow of the ham cooking process.
An independent certification body will verify the benefits in terms of recovered water volume and water quality improvement, using internationally recognized methodologies. Partnerships are also anticipated with CORFO and the Sustainability and Climate Change Agency for innovation funding and project scaling.
The plant, located in the Metropolitan Region of Santiago (Chile), is a specialized facility dedicated to the production of cooked ham and other value-added processed meat products. During its daily operations, one of the processes that demands the highest volume of water is the thermal cooking of hams, where large quantities of hot water are used to ensure the pasteurization of the product, guaranteeing its microbiological safety and organoleptic quality. As a result, this process generates an effluent with a high thermal load, organic matter (animal fats, soluble proteins), salts (mainly chlorides), and nitrogenous compounds. This mixture constitutes a wastewater stream that is difficult to treat using conventional technologies, representing both a significant loss of water and an environmental challenge due to its pollution potential.
Currently, the plant operates with a basic pretreatment system that only allows for the primary removal of solids and oils, without any capacity for water reuse or recovery. In response to this scenario, the project proposes a circular economy solution based on the recovery of post-cooking water for subsequent treatment and recirculation within the same industrial process. The proposal includes a modular and scalable technological solution, tailored to the complex nature of the effluent and designed to operate continuously without disrupting the plant’s production dynamics.
The proposed treatment system integrates several synergistic stages: a physicochemical separation to remove suspended solids and fats, followed by a coagulation module induced by electromagnetic fields to destabilize emulsions and colloidal proteins. Subsequently, the water undergoes thermal stabilization and is disinfected through ultraviolet (UV) processes or advanced oxidation technologies (AOP), which ensure the elimination of microorganisms without the use of chemical agents. The regenerated water is then used for internal industrial activities such as cleaning trays, floors, and feeding heating systems, meeting the required technical and sanitary quality standards, and without contact with food or critical surfaces.
The system is equipped with real-time monitoring through integrated sensors that measure flow, temperature, chemical oxygen demand (COD), conductivity, total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), and turbidity, generating continuous and auditable records. This technical traceability enables the validation of benefits using recognized methodologies such as VWBA (Volumetric Water Benefit Accounting) and WQBA (Water Quality Benefit Accounting), providing objective metrics on the volume of water reused and the contaminant load avoided.
From a sustainability perspective, this project is strategically aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 13 (Climate Action).
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