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Sugar mill effluent treatment using Spirulina for recycling of water, saving energy and producing protein

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Abstract

Water security may be regarded as a first step toward achieving food and energy security. Efficient use of fresh water resources and recycling of wastewater after proper treatment are viewed as tools to achieve water sustainability. Sugar industry can have good potential to treat and reuse its effluents. This potential is not realized by prevailing effluent treatment technologies because of high capital and operation cost of treatment process. More upon, these technologies require substantial amount of energy (electricity) as well as chemicals and labors. We have therefore focused on the development of a technology that would help to overcome these limitations. The alga—Spirulina—was our choice to (1) treat the effluent and (2) use the sugar mill effluent as its growth medium. Experiments using Spirulina at secondary treatment stage showed 91 % reduction in chemical oxygen demand in 108-h treatment time. Further, biochemical analysis of Spirulina harvested from the sugar mill effluent treatment tanks revealed that the harvested biomass has high protein levels. Spirulina is well known for its usage as a protein supplement and therefore can be used as an additional source of revenue generation.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Vasantdada Sugar Institute for funding the present research, Dr Latey for his guidance to improve the language of the manuscript and the following industries for providing effluent used in this study: Yashwant Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Limited, Theur, District Pune, Maharashtra; Sant Tukaram Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Limited, Kasarsai-Darumbre, District Pune, Maharashtra; Shri Nath Mhaskoba Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Limited, Rahu, Daund District Pune, Maharashtra.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, Vasantdada Sugar Institute, Manjari (Bk), Haveli, Pune, Maharashtra, 412307, India

    A. B. Deshmane, V. S. Darandale & D. S. Nimbalkar

  2. Department of Botany, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, 411007, India

    T. D. Nikam

  3. Academic Cell, National Institute of Virology, Pashan, Pune, Maharashtra, 411021, India

    V. S. Ghole

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  1. A. B. Deshmane
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  2. V. S. Darandale
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  3. D. S. Nimbalkar
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  4. T. D. Nikam
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  5. V. S. Ghole
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Correspondence to A. B. Deshmane.

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Deshmane, A.B., Darandale, V.S., Nimbalkar, D.S. et al. Sugar mill effluent treatment using Spirulina for recycling of water, saving energy and producing protein. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 13, 749–754 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-015-0891-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-015-0891-1

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