DAIRY EFFLUENT/ WASTE WATER TREATMENT

The very nature of the different operations involved in dairy, irrespective of the products size, generate waste water of different magnitude. The dairy is one of the major contributors among the food industry both in terms of value and effluent. The biggest share comes from cheese and ice cream factories. The relatively high concentration of organic matter in the dairy effluent makes it peculiar in its class and this results in a higher biological oxygen demand (BOD). This kind of effluent should not be allowed to mix up with the municipal waste as it will result in a shock load. -in, lactose, lactic acid, minerals, detergents and sanitizers. The majority of the pollutants are dissolved in either organic or inorganic form. Equipment cleaning along with whey and butter milk contributes to the majority of the organic load. The unavoidable waste generation process include rinsing, cleaning and sanitizing of pipelines and equipment start up, product change over and shut down of HTST and UHT processes, losses during the filling operations, spill over of lubricants from pipelines, joints, valves and pumps etc.

Composition of waste water / effluent obtained in a dairy plant Cheese Milk receiving and Casein Butter, Butteroil S.No Constituents plant pasteurization section plant and ghee section 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Total solids Color Chlorides Volatile solids Suspended solids Phosphates pH Calcium carbonate Absorbed oxygen BOD 2250 White 100 25 600 12 6.7 480 480 2150 3620 White 95 75 1300 10 8.2 500 400 1620 650 Clear 70 55 100 5 7.7 460 10 200 3400 Brown 100 65 2200 2 7.1 420 85 1250 Pooled Dairy Effluent 1650 White 115 60 650 10 6.1 530 -810

11 12 13

COD Oil and Grease COD:BOD

3130 520 1.46

2600 690 1.43

370 -1.85

3200 1320 2.56

1340 290 1.65

What are the methods available to treat dairy waste water? They are classified as physical, chemical and biological methods. The selection of a particular method depends on different factors including the physico-chemical nature of the effluent, biological oxygen demand load, quantum of the effluent to be treated, location of the treatment plant, degree of purification required and the economy of a treatment method adopted. PRETREATMENTS Equalization Neutralization Separation / Clarification SECONDARY TREATMENTS Biological Methods Activated sludge process Aerobic process Oxidation ditch / trickling filters Rotating biological discs Anaerobic digestion

Great care has to be exercised while discharging the dairy waste water into the general pool as they impose relatively high oxygen demand. Lactose is converted into lactic acid resulting in decrease in its concentration, when dissolved oxygen is insufficient for oxidation. This in turn will lower the pH to a point when casein is precipitated (The isoelectric point of casein is at pH 4.6). Due to economic reasons involved in the effluent treatment, the dairy industry is very slow in taking up the treatment aspects. With increasing social awareness about the environment, the dairy industry is forced to treat its effluents effectively and efficiently before disposal into the public drainage. Source of dairy waste The degree of waste produced in a dairy plant varies depending upon the products prepared and the home keeping practices. The dairy waste consists mainly of raw materials lost during handling and processing and cleaning materials carried into the processing water. The composition involves a substantial concentration of fat, milk, prote-