What are the problems with dairy Effluent and how to Treat them?
Dairy industry is among the significant players in the world food supply chain offering various dairy products. On the other hand, it produces large amounts of wastewater usually referred to as dairy effluent that if not handled and treated correctly may cause environmental pollution and health hazards. This page discusses problems with dairy waste water and suggests effective treatments of dairy effluent.
Challenges of Dairy Effluent
High Organic Load:
The main challenge of dairy effluent is its high organic content, which consists of mainly milk residues, fats, proteins, and lactose. This organic load can cause the growth of unwanted bacteria and oxygen depletion in receiving water bodies.
Nutrient Imbalance:
Nutrient concentrations, mainly nitrogen and phosphorus, are often high in dairy wastewater. When these nutrients are released into the environment, they may result in eutrophication of water bodies, leading to algal blooms and poor water quality.
High Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD):
The high COD of dairy effluent shows the amount of oxygen needed to decompose it. Increased COD causes a decrease in dissolved oxygen in water bodies, which may negatively affect aquatic life.
Pathogens and Bacteria:
Untreated dairy wastewater contains pathogens and hazardous organisms which can compromise public health and environmental safety.
Treatment Methods for Dairy Effluent
Screening and Pre-Treatment:
Physical screening is carried out first in most cases to take off big chunks of solid and materials from the dairy effluent. Some pre-treatment processes such as equalization and pH adjustment might need to be used to stabilize other characteristics of the effluent.
Primary Treatment:
The first step is the separation of solids and liquids. Suspended solids, as well as a part of fats and proteins can be effectively removed by sedimentation tanks or dissolved air flotation units.
Biological Treatment:
The organic components of dairy effluent need to be broken down during biological treatment. Common biological methods include:
Aerobic Treatment: Organic matter consumption by microorganisms in activated sludge or aerated lagoons.
Anaerobic Treatment: Organic substance can be converted into biogas and stabilized sludge using anaerobic digestion.
Nutrient Removal:
The BNR process can be used to balance out on the nutrients by taking out nitrogen and phosphorus among others from the effluent.
Advanced Treatment:
Where stringent discharge standards are in force, advanced treatment methods like membrane bioreactors (MBRs) or chemical coagulation can be required to tertiary treating the effluent.
Disinfection:
In addition, dairy effluent ought to be disinfected before being released to eradicate pathogenic organisms. Standard methods include chlorination or UV disinfection.
Reuse and Resource Recovery:
Treatment of dairy effluent may include resource recovery, where biogas is extracted for energy production and treated effluent is used for irrigation.
Conclusion
Dairy effluent has to be effectively treated to reduce the environmental effects in the dairy industry and safeguard consumers’ health. Such challenges necessitate a mixture of various treatment approaches involving physical, biological,and advanced treatments to address the high organic loads, nutrient imbalances and pathogenic bacteria. Tominimise ecological footprints in the dairy industry, proper selection of dairy effluent treatment processes could go a long way in enhancing sustainable wastewater management practices. In addition, resource recovery and reuse strategies can convert an impending waste stream to a resource and bring both economic and ecological benefits to the industry.
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