Study of physio-chemical characteristics and biological treatment of molasses-based distillery effluent

Author(s): Anupama Chaudhary*, Sharma A. K., Birbal Singh

Abstract

Molasses based distilleries are recognized as of major polluting industries with a large amount of annual effluent production. Modi Distillery, located at Modi Nagar in western Uttar Pradesh, is a molasses-based distillery with a capacity of 26 KLPD. Being an alcohol-processing unit, we estimated capacity and efficiency of Modi distillery that discharges highly polluted effluent to small drainage with a very high biological oxygen demand (BOD) (42,000-51,000mg/ltr) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) (85,000-1,00,000mg/ltr) levels. Analysis of physio-chemical properties of distillery effluent showed higher temperature and proportion of dissolved organic and inorganic compounds. Presence of oxidized dissolved solids and acids lowered pH of effluent and increased toxicity. We measured quality of effluent as per standard recommendations. Investigation of water consumption in different processes of distillery and detailed evaluation of characteristics of effluent generated from above processes was analyzed. Towards management of polluted byproduct, we treated distillery effluent with bacterial consortium of Pseudomonas grimonti, Bacillus sp. MH-I6 and Staphylococcus sp. CSA strain. Treated effluent showed a significant decrease in BOD (76%) and COD (62%) levels. Present study represented an account of physio-chemical characteristics of discharges effluent from sugarcane molasses-based Modi distillery and its biological treatment towards optimization of effective management of distillery byproduct.

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