An industry based collaborative project referred to as The EXEMPLAR Project was
successfully completed in the summer of 2018. The project investigated the use of novel
wastewater treatment methods in a meat slaughtering plant in ABP Food Group,
Kilcommon, Co. Tipperary. The project focused on the reduction of ammonia levels, solids in
the wastewater effluent and new methods to reduce energy consumptions. Recently PhD
student Brian Brennan published the results from the project which focused on the use of
hydrophobic membranes to remove ammonia from the rendering wastewater. The project
showed that by introducing hydrophobic membranes into the cleaning procedure it would
allow for the energy costs of the plant to be reduced. It was also found that the ammonia
rich wastewater could be used to produce an ammonium sulfate fertilizer which is a
valuable product for farmers to enrich their land with nitrogen and sulphur. The research
was led by Dr. Jenny Lawler and can be found at The International Journal of Molecular