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Water conservation in canned tuna (pet food) plant in Thailand

Article  in  Journal of Cleaner Production · May 2005

DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2003.12.003

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 Journal of Cleaner Production 13 (2005) 547e555
www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepro

Water conservation in canned tuna (pet food) plant in Thailand

Munlika Uttamangkabovorna, Poonsuk Prasertsanb, Aran H. Kittikunb,)
a
The Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, 91 Prachautit Road,
Bangmod, Thungkru, Bangkok 10140, Thailand
b
Department of Industrial Biotechnology, Faculty of Agro-Industry, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai 90112, Thailand

Received 11 April 2003; accepted 1 December 2003

Abstract

The common environmental problems of the fish industry in Thailand are high water consumption and high organic matter
content in wastewater. Water consumption in canned tuna (pet food) processing is 13.0 m3/ton of raw material. The major sources
of wastewater are spray cooling process (4.7 m3/ton) and equipment and floor washing (4.5 m3/ton). The biggest pollution source in
wastewater is from precooking, which has the COD, oil and grease, TS and SS of 66,222, 1,727, 57,192 and 7,000 mg/L, respectively.
The combined wastewater has the COD, oil and grease, TS and SS of 3,248, 216, 3,799 and 742 mg/L, respectively.
Water conservation measures were attempted at three processing steps. This included the installation of pressure spraying nozzles
for spray cooling; the use of hot water (60 (C) instead of cold water, and at reduced amount (opening the valve only 45 degrees) for
can washing (after seaming); and educating the plant personnel on water conservation for equipment and floor washing.
After the conservation measures were applied, water consumption at the three processing steps was reduced by 66, 55 and 14%,
respectively. The net water consumption was 8.8 m3/ton of raw material, representing a 32% reduction in overall water
consumption.
Ó 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Cleaner production; Water conservation; Canned tuna (pet food)

1. Introduction fish industry and found that each ton of raw material
required 17.8 m3 of water. Sardine canning industry has
Canned tuna is Thailand’s important export product, similar water consumption (9.0 m3/ton of raw material)
which has grown rapidly in recent years to 24,087 [4] as frozen fish industry (8.9 m3/ton of raw material)
million Baht (268,261 tons) in 2002 [1]. However, due to [5]. Although the water consumption in canned tuna
increasing economic pressure, global competition and (pet food) industry has not been investigated, it is
environmental awareness, the industry has to constantly believed to be equally high. The objectives of this study
innovate to improve its production procedure to make it were to examine the water usage in the tuna canning (pet
more sustainable and competitive. Efforts are needed to food) process and to introduce a cleaner alternative in
develop a cleaner process while maintaining the pro- order to reduce water consumption and wastewater
duction level, improving natural resource management, generation.
and minimizing the pollutants.
A common environmental problem in the canned
food industry in developing country is high water 2. Methodology
consumption. The Pollution Control Department [2]
reported that average water consumption of 12 canned 2.1. In-plant survey
fruit and vegetable companies was 18.0 m3/ton of raw
material. Nair [3] studied water consumption in canned A tuna canning factory in southern Thailand was
used as a model for our study. Background information
) Corresponding author. Tel.: C66-74446727; fax: C66-74212889. on the factory was gathered by interviewing and discus-
E-mail address: [email protected] (A.H. Kittikun). sing with its production and the engineering managers.

0959-6526/$ - see front matter Ó 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2003.12.003
548 M. Uttamangkabovorn et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 13 (2005) 547e555

2.2. Water consumption measurement and/or recycling potential of the process wastes and
emissions. The most important processing steps were
Water consumption was measured using a flow then chosen for further study.
meter. When it was impractical to install a flow meter, The next step was to develop alternative options for
container and stopwatch method [6] or calculation minimizing or eliminating the causes of waste generation
method was adapted. in the selected processing steps. The five prevention
techniques (product modification, input substitution,
 Cooling water (after sterilization). Generally, the
technology modification, good housekeeping and on-site
cooling water was recycled and used for all canned
reuse and recycling) were investigated as outlined by van
products in the plant for 6 days. Therefore, the
Berkel [9].
cooling water used for canned tuna (pet food)
product was estimated from the total amount of
cooling water.
 Ice used in the process was weighed and calculated 3. Results and discussion
as volume of water.
 Steam used in precooking and sterilization processes 3.1. General factory information
was calculated as volume of condensate [7].
The factory selected for this study is located in
2.3. Analysis of wastewater characteristics a southern province of Thailand. It produces canned
and frozen seafood. The canning factory works 8e12
A liter of wastewater from each processing step was hours/day and employs a total of 900 workers.
collected every hour for 8 hours and the hourly samples Production capacity is 32 tons of raw materials/day
were combined as composite samples. The standard or 847 containers/year (1300 cartons/container). The
methods for the examination of water and wastewater canned products manufactured in the factory are
[8] were adopted for the measurement of chemical canned tuna (human food and pet food), mackerel,
oxygen demand (COD), oil and grease (O&G), total saba, sardine, squid shrimp, mussel, white clam, crab
solid (TS) and suspended solid (SS). and seafood cocktail. Canned tuna (pet food), which
was selected for the cleaner production study, accounts
2.4. Material balance study for 77.5% of total canned products. The production
capacity of this product is 14.3 tons of raw material/
Material balance flowchart is shown in Fig. 2 day.

2.4.1. Mass balance

3.2. Water supply system
Average values of raw material inputs, and product
and waste outputs were calculated.
About 1300 m3/day of water is supplied to the
canning and freezing plants. The source of water supply
2.4.2. Water balance
is underground water, which is passed through a filtra-
Average volumes of water input were calculated
tion system and kept in a pond. The water is chlorinated
from overall water consumption, while average volumes
with sodium hypochlorite by an injector unit. The
of wastewater output in storage/thawing and precook-
treated water is kept in a clean pond (2000 m3) and is
ing processes were measured by the container and
passed through a carbon filtration system before being
stopwatch method. In other processing steps, except the
sent to the plants. The residual chlorine in the treated
can filling process, the quantity of water input was
water is maintained at 2e5 ppm. The cost of water
assumed to be equal to the quantity of wastewater
treatment is quite low (1.6 Baht/m3), compared to the
output.
price of tap water used in other canned tuna factories
[10], which is 21.0 Baht/m3. The treated water is
2.5. Generation of alternative cleaner production
separated into 3 supply lines:
(CP) options
 General use water: Water from this line is used for
The identification of the sources of waste generation washing, thawing and cooling of raw materials after
from each processing step was carried out. The five precooking.
basic factors (product specifications, input materials,  Soft water: The treated water is passed through resin
technical factors, operating practices and waste hand- softening tanks to reduce hardness to lower than 50
ling procedures) were used to identify the cause of ppm. Soft water is used for ingredient preparation,
waste generation in each step by considering whether product cooling, can cooling after sterilization and
these factors have an impact on volume, composition feeding to the boiler.
 M. Uttamangkabovorn et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 13 (2005) 547e555 549

 Cooling water: The soft water is passed through 3.4. Canned tuna processing
a chilling machine and kept in a clean tank. The
water is chlorinated with chlorine dioxide before use. The process for canned tuna (pet food) is shown in
Cooling water is used for ice making and cooling of Fig. 1.
raw materials after precooking.
1. Raw material receiving. The raw material for
canned tuna (pet food) is either frozen or fresh fish.
The fish used is skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis),
3.3. Wastewater treatment system the fresh one from the Gulf of Thailand and the
Andaman Sea, while the frozen one is from the
The newly installed wastewater treatment system is Pacific Ocean.
an anaerobic process followed by aerobic ponds. The 2. Storage. Storage conditions have great influence on
former opened anaerobic pond was replaced with the quality of the finished product. If there is a delay
a closed system in order to minimize the emission of before precooking, both frozen and fresh fish will be
obnoxious odor. The amount of wastewater from the stored with ice in big bins (1.5 m width ! 1.5 m
canning and freezing plants is about 1300 m3/day. The length ! 0.7 m depth) or ponds (1.6 m width ! 4.9 m
influent wastewater is passed through 2 screens to length ! 1.4 m depth).
prevent large solids from entering the treatment 3. Precooking. The fish is steamed to precook at 95 (C
system. The first screen has a 0.5 cm diameter and for 45e75 minutes, depending on the size of fish.
the second screen has a 0.05 cm width ! 0.05 cm The fish is loaded on to the trays, which are then
length. The oil and grease is removed by flotation. placed on the 11 shelves of the carts. Each
The effluent from the primary treatment is passed precooking container holds 1666e2000 kg and
through a closed anaerobic pond, which is constructed 1000e1200 kg for fresh fish and frozen fish,
with 23.0 m width ! 25.0 m length ! 3.8 m depth respectively. The temperature of the fish before
(2185 m3). The anaerobic digestion of organic matters precooking is kept at !10 (C. The condensate from
generates methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2), precooking contains soluble protein and fat released
which are released through the pipes at the top of the from the fish.
pond. The excess sludge is pumped out and used as 4. Cooling. The precooked fish is sprayed with water
fertilizer. The retention time in the anaerobic digester to cool it to about 45 (C before being cleaned. This
is O2 days before the effluent is released to aerobic step helps make the meat firm and remove the oil.
ponds. The removal of COD attained at this stage is 5. Cleaning. In this step head, tail, skin, viscera, bone
75%. There are 2 aerobic ponds, the first of which has and blood meat are separated.
the size of 53 m width ! 75 m length ! 2.5 m depth 6. Flaking, cutting and can filling. Cleaned tuna is
(9937 m3) and is equipped with 5 floating surface cut or flaked, both by machine and by hands. The
aerators. The retention time in the first pond is O7 cans (lacquer enameled, tin free, two pieces can
days before being released to the second pond, which size 307 ! 111) are then filled with the cut or
has the size of 53 m width ! 71 m length ! 1 m flaked fish and different kinds of sauces such as
depth (3763 m3) and 1 floating surface aerator. The gravy or jelly.
retention time is O3 days before the effluent is 7. Seaming. Removal of air from can contents
released to a polishing pond. The oxygen production before seaming is an important step to prevent
capacity of the aerators is 20 kg/aerator/day or 87 bulging of the cans, oxidation of the food, or
rpm, consuming 7.5 kWh per aerator. The removal of interior corrosion of the tin plate. The filled cans
COD attained at this stage is 66%. The polishing are passed through a steam exhaust box and
pond has the size of 45 m width ! 59 m length ! 2.5 steam is injected into the cans to replace head-
m depth (6637 m3) and 1 floating surface aerators. space gas. The cans are then sealed with automatic
The retention time is O5 days before being released to can sealers.
a reused water pond. The size of reused water pond is 8. Can washing. The sealed cans are passed through
45 m width ! 58 m length ! 3.5 m depth (9135 m3). a tank containing water to wash meat particles or
The average values of COD, BOD and SS of the sauce adhering to the cans. Two workers are re-
influent are 2500, 1966 and 359 mg/L, respectively. sponsible for can washing.
After the treatments, the COD, BOD and SS of the 9. Sterilization and cooling. The cans are sterilized and
effluent are 88, 18 and 44 mg/L, respectively. cooled in semi-automatic retorts. The retorts
Therefore, the overall COD, BOD and SS removal operate automatically but valves and drains are
efficiency is 96, 99 and 87%, respectively. The cost controlled manually. There are 8 retorts, each holds
of the wastewater treatment in this factory is 4.5 13,536 cans of 208 ! 107 size (3 oz). The ster-
Baht/m3. ilization time and temperature and the cooling time
550 M. Uttamangkabovorn et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 13 (2005) 547e555

Fig. 1. Processing flowchart of canned tuna (pet food).

 M. Uttamangkabovorn et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 13 (2005) 547e555 551

Fig. 2. Material balance of canned tuna (pet food) process.

are 45e70 mins at 119e122 (C, and 20e45 mins, 3.5. Water consumption in canned tuna
respectively. After sterilization, the cans are cooled (pet food) process
to !45 (C.
10. Drying. After sterilization and cooling, the cans are Water consumption in each processing step was
stored in a restricted area to dry. monitored for 3 days. Steam and ice were converted to
11. Labeling. The dry cans are finally labeled by volumes of water. The average production capacity
automatic labelers. during this period was 14.3 tons of raw material/day.
The results are shown in Table 1.
552 M. Uttamangkabovorn et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 13 (2005) 547e555

Table 1 3.5.5. Water consumption in can washing step

Water consumption in canned tuna (pet food) process before and after (after seaming)
the implementation of the water conservation measured
The factory understudy consumed 0.9 m3 of water/
Source Water consumption ton of raw material in the can washing step. In contrast,
(m3/ton of raw material)
H-Kittikun et al. [10] reported that can washing process
Before After in canned tuna industry with recycled water consumed
Thawing/storage 0.7 0.7 only 0.01 m3 water/ton of raw material. Chaiyasit [11]
Precooking 0.5 0.5 found that in pineapple canning industry the water for
Spray cooling (after precooking) 4.7 1.6
Can filling 0.4 0.4
can washing was sprayed from the nozzles without any
Can washing (after seaming) 0.9 0.4 applied pressure. The process consumed 0.2 m3 water/
Sterilization 0.6 0.6 ton of raw material. Therefore, the factory under study
Can cooling (after sterilization) 0.5 0.5 consumed more water in the can washing step because it
Storage (cleaned tuna) 0.2 0.2 used running water under pressure and the water was
Equipment and floor washing 4.5 3.9
Total 13.0 8.8
not recycled.

3.5.6. Water consumption in steam sterilization

3.5.1. Water consumption during storage The steam was passed through a 2-inch pipe with the
If there were delays before precooking when fresh fish pressure of 100e110 psi. This process consumed 0.6 m3
was used, the fish would be kept in ice with the ratio of water /ton of raw material.
fish to ice of 3:2. The ice was removed before precooking
with water spray. When the raw material was frozen 3.5.7. Water consumption in can cooling
fish, it would be taken directly to the precooking The water used for can cooling was recirculated. The
process. The water consumed by this processing step water from the cooling unit was pumped to the first
in this factory was less than that reported by Nair [3] storage tank, then to the cooling tower to reduce
(3.6 m3/ton of raw material). temperature. It was chlorinated with sodium hypochlo-
rite in the second storage tank. The treated water was
stored in the third storage tank before being redis-
3.5.2. Water consumption in precooking step tributed to the cooling system. The cooling water was
The 75-psi steam was passed through 2-inch pipe into recycled for 1 week before being discharged. This
the pre-cookers. The process consumed 0.5 m3 water/ton process consumed 0.5 m3 water/ton of raw material. In
of raw material. comparison, Proenca et al. [4] found that cooling water
consumption in canned sardine industry was 1.7 m3/ton
of raw material. They recommended an installation of
a heat exchanger and a cooling tower to achieve 100%
3.5.3. Water consumption in spray cooling step
water reutilization.
Water was sprayed from a perforated pipe to the
precooked fish to reduce its temperature. The spray
cooling time was not fixed; it depended on the pro- 3.5.8. Water consumption in the storage of cleaned tuna
duction plan. If there were delays before cleaning, the When cleaned tuna had to be kept in ice due to delays
water would be sprayed continuously to the precooked in processing, the ice:tuna ratio was 2:1.
fish to prevent surface dehydration. This process con-
sumed the most water (4.7 m3/ton of raw material). 3.5.9. Water consumption in equipment
H-Kittikun et al. [10] reported that the spray cooling in and floor washing
another factory consumed only 1.1 m3water /ton of raw Equipment and floor were washed using the following
material. The difference could be due to the fact that the procedure:
size of the holes on the spray pipe used by the factory 1. Floor. When needed, the floor was washed with
under study was big (1.66 mm in diameter). Also, an general use water. At the end of each shift, the floor
improper production plan resulted in a longer spray was cleaned with brush and detergent, then washed
cooling time, thus more water was consumed. with general use water. The washing was done with
water from the hose. The floor was disinfected with
chlorinated water (200 ppm) during lunch break,
3.5.4. Water consumption in can filling step every 2 hours during the operation, and after each
Water is one of the ingredients in canned products. shift.
The quantity of water in each product depends on 2. Sewage drain. After each shift, cover sieves from
product specifications. Canned tuna (pet food) con- sewage drains were taken out and washed, using
sumed 0.4 m3 of water/ton of raw material. brush and detergent, then rinsed with treated water.
 M. Uttamangkabovorn et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 13 (2005) 547e555 553

The washing was done with water from the hose, The wastewater from storage/thawing, precooking
followed by disinfection with chlorinated water (200 and spray cooling steps had much higher COD, TS and
ppm). SS, as compared to the wastewater from can washing
3. Precooking machines. After each shift, precooking and storage (cleaned tuna) steps (Table 2). The high
machines were washed, using brush, sponge and pollution load was likely from blood and damaged parts
detergent, and then rinsed with treated water. The of fish, which were washed into the wastewater. The
washing was done with water from the hose. O&G of the spray cooling wastewater (167 mg/L)
4. Baskets, trays and knives. At the end of each shift, was higher than that of the storage/thawing wastewater
the equipment was soaked in water in a big bin and (25 mg/L). Some moisture from fish has been reported
washed, using brush, sponge and detergent. The to evaporate during spray cooling, making the muscle
equipment was then rinsed and dipped in chlori- and meat firm and some oil released. The highest pol-
nated water (100 ppm). Before the next shift and lution load was found in precooking wastewater. The
during the operation, equipment was again dipped fish released liquid during steaming which contains high
in chlorinated water (50 ppm). organic matters.
5. Bins and carts. After each shift, bins and carts were Compared to the wastewater from storage/thawing,
washed, using brush, sponge and detergent, and precooking and spray cooling, the wastewater from can
rinsed with treated water. The washing was per- washing (after seaming) had low pollution load. Little
formed with water from the hose. Disinfection was organic matters from fish or sauce adhered to the out-
done by pouring chlorinated water (100 ppm) over side of cans.
them and then rinsed with treated water. Similarly, the wastewater from the storage of cleaned
6. Doors and curtains. At the end of each shift, doors tuna had low pollution load, since ice did not come in
and curtains were washed, using brush, sponge and direct contact with the tuna, which was packaged in
detergent, and rinsed with treated water. The plastic bags.
washing was performed with water from the hose. Nair [3] reported that COD and SS in combined
wastewater of the canned tuna and seafood industry
The average water consumption in the equipment and
were 1950 and 520 mg/L, respectively. These values were
floor washing was 4.5 m3/ton of raw material. In
lower than those from the factory under study. This was
comparison, Proenca et al. [4] and Nimnu [5] found
due largely to the fact that the factory under study used
that water consumption for equipment and floor
less water for washing (13.0 m3/ton of raw material)
washing in canned sardine and frozen fish industries
than the one studied by Nair (17.8 m3/ton of raw
was 3.1 and 2.8 m3/ton of raw material, respectively.
material). Therefore, the wastewater from Nair’s facto-
Therefore, the total water consumption in canned
ries was more diluted than that from the factory cur-
tuna processing in the factory chosen for this study was
rently studied.
13.0 m3/ton of raw material. H-Kittikun et al. [10] and
the Pollution Control Department [2] showed water
consumption in their studies of different factories to be
3.7. Material balance
44.9 and 18.0 m3/ton of raw material, respectively. The
factory under study consumed less water mainly because
Material balance of the canned tuna (pet food) is
no thawing and butchering of the fish was needed.
show in Fig. 2. Each day, 18,094 kg of tuna was
processed, generating solid wastes of 6948 kg from head,
tail, skin, viscera, bone, and blood meat. The storage/
3.6. Wastewater characteristics thawing and precooking steps consumed 12.49 and 8.87
m3 water/ton of raw material, respectively, releasing
Wastewater from each processing step was collected 12.51 m3 and 13.63 m3 wastewater, respectively. The
every hour for 8 hours and combined as composite increase of the mass in wastewater was due to the blood
samples. The sampling points are shown in Fig. 1. and other organic matters released from tuna.

Table 2
Wastewater characteristics in canned tuna (pet food) process
Parameters Storage Precooking Spray cooling Can washing Storage (cleaned Combined
tuna) wastewater
pH 7.4 6.4 7.4 8.4 8.8 7.3
COD (mg/L) 4364 66,222 7911 45 16 3248
O&G (mg/L) 25 1727 167 20 0 216
TS (mg/L) 4688 57,192 6750 308 302 3799
SS (mg/L) 752 7000 599 34 16 742
554 M. Uttamangkabovorn et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 13 (2005) 547e555

3.8. Cleaner production options for water conservation Cost of wastewater treatment = 4.5 Baht/m3
Savings on wastewater treatment = 13,299 m3/year
The possible causes of high water consumption ! 4.5 Baht/m3 = 59,846 Baht/year
were investigated by considering each processing step. rTotal savings = 21,278 C 59,846 = 81,124 Baht/
The five prevention techniques, i.e. product modification, year
input substitution, technology modification, good house- Net annual saving = 81,124 e 680 ÿ 1872 = 78,572
keeping and on-site reuse and recycling were considered Baht/year (18.3 Baht/ton of raw material)
for water conservation. The alternative options were Payback period = 6960/78,572 = 0.09 years w 1.1
chosen and applied to the processes, as follows. months
When the pressure spray nozzles were used, it was
3.8.1. Spray cooling noticed that the temperature of 30% of the precooked
This process consumed the major portion of water fish, which were placed on the bottom racks of the cart
about 36% of the total water consumption because the took longer to decrease. This delayed the production
hole size of spray cooling water pipes was too big (1.66 line and disrupted its continuity. Therefore, the compa-
mm diameter). The chosen option was to replace the ny planned to install more spraying nozzles to increase
pipe with pressure spraying nozzles. When the spraying the cooling efficiency. This would increase the consump-
nozzles (0.5 mm diameter) were installed, a pump was tion of cooling water. It has been estimated that if 90
required to generate pressure. As a result, the water nozzles are installed, the pay back period will increase to
consumption was reduced by 66%. Economic analysis 5 months.
shows that the payback period was less than two months
(Table 3). 3.8.2. Can washing (after seaming)
Economic analysis: Can washing after seaming consumed 0.9 m3 water/
Installation cost = pump 3500 Baht C (60 spraying ton raw material, which represented 7% of total water
nozzles ! 55 Baht) C labor cost 160 Baht = 6960 consumption. The cans were washed in a container with
Baht running water and the water was not recycled. The first
Depreciation cost = 6800/10 = 680 Baht/year option to save water was by reducing the opening of the
Operating cost = electricity cost 0.3 kW ! 2.6 Baht/ water valves to 45 degrees and discharging the used
kWh ! 8 hours/day ! 300 days = 1872 Baht/year water every 4 hours. However, after the washing the
Savings on water consumption (66%) = 3.1 m3/ton cans were still dirty and the two workers had to spend
Average tuna input = 14.3 tons/day more time to clean them before retorting. The washing
Cost of water treatment = 1.6 Baht/m3 efficiency was greatly enhanced when warm water (up to
Total water saved = 3.1 m3/ton ! 14.3 tons/day ! 60 (C) was used [6]. The water consumption was
300 days = 13,299 m3/year reduced by 55%. Although the energy cost for heating
Savings on water = 13,299 m3/year ! 1.6 Baht/m3 = the water to 60 (C had to be taken into account the
21,278 Baht/year payback period was less than one month since no
worker was required (Table 3).
Can washing with hot water was frequently inter-
Table 3
rupted by the accumulation of the cans as hot water
Economic analysis after CP implementation for canned tuna (pet food)
plant water conservation softened the brushes, rendering them unable to move the
cans forward. Therefore, the brushes have to be replaced
Spray Canned Equipment
cooling washing and floor with heat resistant ones.
washing
Installation cost (Baht) 6960 430 e 3.8.3. Equipment and floor washing
Depreciation cost 10 years 680 39 e One third of the water consumed was for cleaning
(Baht/year)
equipment and floors. The spray hoses appeared to be
Operation cost (Baht /year) 1872 2880 e
Water saving (m3/year) 13,299 2145 2574 too big (0.5e1.0 inch in diameter), and the workers had
Water saving (Baht/year) 21,278 3432 4118 no water conservation awareness. A selected remedial
Wastewater treatment saving 59,846 9653 11,583 option was to educate plant personnel on the need for
(Baht/year) water conservation. The workers were trained to use
Total saving (Baht/year) 81,124 13,085 15,701
brooms rather than water to sweep and remove the
Net annual saving (Baht/year) 78,572 9736 15,701
Payback period (month) 1.1 !1 e solids and wastewater to the drains. Consequently, the
water consumption was reduced by 14%. The net
Conditions for calculation: tuna input 14.3 tons/day, 300 working
days/year, water treatment cost 1.6 Baht/m3, wastewater treatment annual saving up to this step was 15,701 Baht/year
cost 4.5 Baht/m3, electricity cost 2.6 Baht/kWh and labor cost 160 (Table 3). As chlorinated water (200 ppm) was used in
Baht/day. some cleaning and washing steps, the workers have to be
 M. Uttamangkabovorn et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 13 (2005) 547e555 555

made aware of this toxic substance. Chlorine could King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi,
generate chloramine if it comes in contact with protein Bangkok. The scholarship for Ms. M. Uttamangkabo-
and ammonia, which is hazardous to aquatic environ- vorn, also provided by the JGSEE, is highly appreciat-
ment [12]. ed. The authors thank Prof. Buncha Oraikul for helpful
The implementation of the cleaner production alter- comments.
natives in the processing of canned tuna (pet food) at the
three steps outlined above saved 4.2m3 water/ton of raw
material. In one year these alternative options could
save the company more than 104,000 Baht (2600 US$) References

[1] National Food Institute. Import and Export Statistics. Available

4. Conclusion on line: http://www.nfi.or.th/import-export, 2002.
[2] Pollution Control Department. Project of Environmental Bench
a. The tuna canning process (pet food) in the factory Marking. Bangkok, Thailand: Ministry of Science Technology
and Environment; 2000.
chosen for this study consumed 13.0 m3 of water/ton [3] Nair C. Pollution control through water conservation and
raw material. The major steps that consumed the wastewater reuse in the fish processing industry. Wat Sci Tech
most water were spray cooling (4.7 m3/ton raw 1990;22(9):113e21.
material) and equipment and floor washing (4.5 m3/ [4] Proenca AC, Nunes ML, Barata F. Clean technologies in sardine
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This work was supported by the grant from the Joint growth and respiration rates of larval lobsters (Homarus
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