Characterization of Dairy Milk House Waste Water in Kentucky

This study focuses on characterization of milk house waste water from eight different farms in Kentucky. The farms were separated into three groups based on the number of cows: small (20-30), medium (30-60), and large (over 60 cows). Samples were collected once a month from four farms and twice a month from the remainder. Samples were analyzed for chemical, biochemical, and microbiological characteristics. Results indicated a large and significant variation in the chemical and microbiological characteristics between the farms. Farm size had a significant effect on the nutrient content of the waste water. Though samples exhibited seasonal variation, there was no trend. Based on the results we will investigate the use of anaerobic-aerobic-anoxic-aerobic sequencing batch reactor (SBR) to treat milk house waste water on a pilot scale