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An Integrated Treatment Technology for Blended Wastewater of the Sugar Industry and Ethanol Distillery

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Abstract

This study was designed to evaluate physicochemical properties of the sugar industry and ethanol distillery wastewater, and treat the blended wastewater of the two industries using anaerobic digestion followed by adsorption of bagasse fly ash (BFA). The wastewater samples of the two industries were collected using composite and grab- sampling techniques. The application of the integrated treatment method was performed using an initial COD concentration of 10,000 mg/L, at the hydraulic retention time of 10 days, pH 7 and a constant temperature (37 °C) of the bioreactor, whereas the adsorption treatment was operated at the optimum point of BFA dose (4 g in 100 mL) and contact time (4 h) obtained in previous studies. Most of the physicochemical parameters of the two wastewaters were above the effluent discharging limits, which have the potential to cause adverse effects on the environment by interfering with physicochemical and biological processing. Under anaerobic treatment, maximum COD reduction of 65% and color removal of 79% were recorded, whereas after adsorption treatment, COD reduction of 62% and color removal of 58% were observed. However, the integration of the two aforementioned treatment technologies resulted in an average COD reduction of 76% and color removal of 83%, which indicates a promising option to mitigate pollution of untreated wastewater and enhance the practices of reusing the treated wastewater at the industrial scales. Finally, it can be concluded that the treated effluent can also be reused for irrigation of sugarcane which will contribute to sustainable water utilization in the sector.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for the research fund under the USAID/HED grant in the Africa-US Higher Education Initiative – grant numbers, HED 052-9740-ETH-11-01. My great appreciation and thanks also goes to Dr. Helmut Kloos for editing and language scanning of this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Engineering, Addis Ababa Science and Technology University, P.O.Box 16417, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Jemal Fito & Nurelegne Tefera

  2. Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Ghent University Campus Kortrijk, Graaf Karel de Goedelaan 5, 8500, Kortrijk, Belgium

    Stijn W. H. Van Hulle

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  1. Jemal Fito
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  2. Nurelegne Tefera
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Correspondence to Jemal Fito.

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Fito, J., Tefera, N. & Van Hulle, S.W.H. An Integrated Treatment Technology for Blended Wastewater of the Sugar Industry and Ethanol Distillery. Environ. Process. 6, 475–491 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40710-019-00366-x

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