Recipient Organization
Mountain Meadow Wool Co. Inc.
(N/A)
Buffalo,WY 82834
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
During the past ten years there as been a significant decline in the amount of wool processed within the United States. From 1994 to 2003, U.S. wool mill consumption decreased by 72% and raw wool exports increased by 289.2%. The American wool industry is facing major economic changes, which include a greater dependency upon foreign markets. Increased energy and transportation costs are significantly reducing the profit margins of American wool producers as they ship their wool thousands of miles away to be processed. These costs can, however, be reduced by ensuring the sustainability and prosperity of regionally located-small to mid-sized-wool-processing facilities within the U.S. that can establish the vital link between American wool producers and American wool consumers. However, the prosperity of these wool processing facilities is being hindered by their inability to economically treat the high organic pollutant loadings from a wool mill's effluent wastewater, and also by a wool mill's dependency upon vital natural resources such as water and energy, which are often scarce in dry, rural areas. The purpose of this research is to determine if on-site treatment of wastewater from wool processing facilities can improve the economic incentives for small to mid-sized processing facilities and also reduce their dependency upon external energy and natural resources. Achieving this will give small to mid-sized facilities a competitive edge in the global market, and in turn preserve the cultural and economic identity of this vital American industry.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
The primary objective of Phase I is to prove that a major step toward the preservation of the American wool industry can be achieved by increasing the economic benefits of operating a wool-processing facility through on-site treatment of wool-scouring wastewater. This study will address the environmental impacts of treating the effluent wastewater, and it will investigate alternatives to a facility's dependence upon external energy and natural resources. Two primary questions will be addressed: 1) can a wool-processing facility reduce the environmental impacts of its wool scouring effluent in an economically feasible manner, and 2) can a wool processing facility increase its economic success through reducing its dependence upon external energy sources and upon vital natural resources? The goal of these objectives is to determine a method of on-site treatment, coupled with a means for recovering useful energy from the treatment process, that will reduce a wool-processing facility's costs for processing wool and recover the startup costs for this system. It is expected that this Phase I grant will successfully show that on-site treatment of wastewater from a small to mid-sized wool-processing facility can be achieved in a manner that is economically beneficial to the company. This will be obtained through a reduction in operating costs by using alternative means for energy and by maximizing the efficient use of natural resources, while simultaneously reducing the environmental impacts by providing on-site treatment. Successfully completing these objectives will result in socially and environmentally prosperous and sustainable wool-processing facilities throughout the U.S., leading to the preservation of the American wool industry as a vital and sustainable agricultural industry.
Project Methods
The proposed effort will encompass two main approaches. First, a small to mid-sized on-site treatment system will be analyzed to optimize the following: its performance in removing organic pollutants, the cost-to-benefit ratio (including social, economic, and environmental benefits), and optimal re-use and recycling of water and energy through the treatment process. Second, a laboratory-scale analysis will be used to determine the potential for recovering energy from the treatment process that can be used to reduce the system's dependency upon external energy sources. An economic analysis will be performed, and key performance parameters that make these methods economically feasible will be determined. Three treatment methods will be analyzed including: partial on-site treatment, partial on-site treatment with maximum water re-use, and full-scale on-site treatment. Design schematics and optimal operational parameters will be determined for each method and will assist in evaluating and ranking each method based upon its financial, economic, social, cultural, and environmental characteristics. The laboratory-scale treatability tests will analyze the energy potential from wool-scouring effluent under various conditions and a laboratory-scale reactor will be created to simulate and test various operating characteristics. Economic feasibility of recovering energy from the treatment tests will also be determined including lifecycle and component costs. Each of these studies will then be combined to determine a final recommendation as to the feasibility of on-site wastewater treatment including recommended design and operational characteristics.