Sludge Load Out System for Koch Foods Fairfield, OH

Plant Name and Location

Koch Foods
Fairfield, OH

General Description

Koch Foods is one of the top poultry processers in the US and focuses on producing top quality products and unmatched service throughout the poultry growing, processing and distribution. The Fairfield, OH plant opened in 1999 and now has seven lines with state-of-the-art equipment and 1,050 employees. Koch Foods products include chicken of all kinds, including tenderloins, tenders, strips and boneless wings.

As part of a recent plant expansion, excess wastewater needed to be processed for reuse or disposal. WM Dolphin Services, a division of Waste Management, was contracted by Koch Foods to provide a process for treating the wastewater. Removing solids from the wastewater is a critical step and typically requires the use of centrifuges. The solids produced by centrifuges must be stored and conveyed to trucks for load out and disposal. WM Dolphin and KWS partnered to provide a sludge load out system for the plant. The timeline on the project was critical.

Sludge Load Out System for Koch Foods in Fairfield, OH - KWS Manufacturing

Koch Foods is One of the Top Poultry Processers in the US

Design Parameters

Product Type: Sludge
Material Density: 60 to 70 Lbs. per Cubic Foot
Max Capacity: 1,000 Cubic Feet per Hour
Duty: 7 days a week, 24 Hours per Day

KWS Advantages

With the largest engineering team in the industry, KWS responded to the needs of Koch Foods and WM Dolphin for this time sensitive project. The plant had to be in full production in less than 12 weeks from the day that KWS was contacted. Using a large repository of design standards and Inventor 3D design software, KWS designed a 300-cubic foot hopper with structural supports, a twin-screw feeder, leveling screw and inclined load out screw conveyor in less than one week. The design was immediately approved by WM Dolphin and KWS then manufactured the complete job in less than 8 weeks. No other manufacturer could meet this challenge.

Special Features

KWS has thousands of highly engineered bulk material handling applications installed all over the US. The 300-cubic foot hopper was designed using mass-flow design techniques to eliminate bridging of the sludge in the hopper. The complete system provided by KWS was constructed from 304 stainless steel to provide long life and prevent corrosion in the wet environment. The twin-screw feeder accurately meters wet sludge to the inclined shaftless load out screw conveyor.

The twin screws are shafted with ribbon flights to prevent the sticky sludge from adhering to the flight surface. The inclined shaftless load out screw conveyor could easily load 30-cubic yard trucks in less than an hour. KWS provided a complete load out system to WM Dolphin including all necessary chutes and supports. The on-site crews were able to assemble and erect the KWS load out system in less than 4 days, again saving time. The system started up and has been running for over 9 months with no problems.