Patent ID: 8221617

Claim:
A modular transportable unit for cleaning hot process water, the unit comprising: (a) a screening tank adapted to receive a flow of hot dirty process water from an animal processing facility of the type containing contaminates selected from the following group; (i) macroscopic solids, (ii) particulate matter, (iii) pathogens, (iv) animal waste and (v) animal blood, the screening tank including a screen for removing macroscopic solids to produce screened tank water, (b) a settling tank for receiving screened tank water having an outlet which is positioned above the bottom of the settling tank so that solids may settle to the bottom of the settling tank, the water leaving the settling tank being tank water, (c) a means for controlling the temperature of the tank water, (d) at least a recycle pump communicating with the outlet of the settling tank which receives tank water and pumps the tank water out through a pump discharge at an elevated pressure, (e) at least one ceramic filter unit containing a multitude of ceramic channels having porous walls, the at least one filter unit having an intake which is in communication with the discharge of the recycle pump and a discharge which is in at least indirect communication with the intake of the recycle pump, the at least one ceramic filter unit having collection channels on the other side of the porous walls for collecting permeate and a permeate discharge for discharging filtered permeate from the ceramic filter unit, (f) a purge tank in communication with the permeate discharge of the at least one ceramic filter unit for receiving filtered permeate, (g) a means for returning the filtered permeate from the purge tank to the animal processing facility for reuse as clean hot process water, (h) a purging means for forcing permeate from the purge tank to flow into the permeate discharge of the at least one filter unit in order to flow into the ceramic channels of the at least one ceramic filter unit, whereby contaminates obstructing the ceramic channels of the at least one ceramic filter unit are purged into the discharge of the at least one ceramic filter unit.