Operational Improvement of a Chiller to Reduce Water Usage in the Cooling of Turkey Cuts

Cleaner production is the application of an environmental strategy that seeks to integrate the production processes with products and services so as to reduce the risks to humans and the environment. This work gathers data from a study conducted in a slaughterhouse for birds in the production of turkey leg quarters. An improvement opportunity was identified in the water consumption of the sanguine fluid removal process of the turkey leg quarters with a particular technological chiller. The area of intervention was chosen because of its history of higher-than-expected water consumption in relation to the acceptable limit negotiated with the local Federal Inspection Service. The evaluated criteria were water flow per kilo of leg quarter and the structure of the adsorption equipment used in the industry. The results of these analyses were directly linked to water savings and changes in equipment, increasing knowledge about the implementation of cleaner production in the slaughterhouse industry, aligned to the continuous improvement of the process. The control of the water flow and the direct changes made in the chiller resulted in water savings of 83,435 L/week and 1,001,220 liters/year, based on the production of the slaughterhouse under study, in addition to savings of R$ 289.52 per week or R$72,959.04 per year.