Archive for the
‘Wastewater Treatment’ Category

Many industrial units in India treat their waste in Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP). They avoid having an on-site wastewater treatment facility due to high capital and operating costs. Many industries don’t have access to the water body even through the pipelines; hence they rely on municipal wastewater treatment plants to recycle the effluent.

Every year, India generates almost 62 million tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW), roughly half of which is organic. This organic waste, when decomposed, produces methane when disposed off irresponsibly. Rather than emitting this toxic gas directly into the air, it can be used in biogas production to help curb pollution, improve livelihoods and enhance the quality of life. Many industrial sectors treat their wastewater with the help of biological processes. The anaerobic process produces biogas that can run the operations at the treatment plant. This helps in saving costs on electricity and fossil fuels.

With the rise in the economy, meat consumption in India has grown. Nearly 70% of people in India prefer nonvegetarian food. In 2020, the population of India had consumed over six million tonnes of meat. According to the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, India accounts for 2.18 per cent of global meat production. It ranks sixth after China, The United States of America, Brazil, Russia and Germany.

The brewery industry is the most traditional industry that manufactures alcoholic beverages. Beer production requires a large quantity of water, especially in the brewing and filling processes. Even though the production process varies in the different breweries, these industries discharge significant effluents. The brewery industry is considered an important economic segment of the country. However, the byproducts generated, including mashing and yeast surplus, are responsible for causing pollution when mixed with the effluents such as sugar, soluble starch, ethanol and volatile fatty acids. 

The dairy industry is the largest polluter of water generating an estimate of 2.5 to 3 liters of wastewater for every liter of milk processed. The efficiency of wastewater treatment management for dairy industries is based on the daily volumetric loading and flow rates. However, it becomes complicated as each milk product requires separate technological cues, resulting in regular effluent composition change.

With the alarming rate at which groundwater is disappearing, water is becoming a critical component. Clean water has become more critical than ever in today’s world. We know water covers 70% of our planet, and we always think it is plentiful. However, freshwater, i.e. the water we drink, bathe in and irrigate our farm fields with, is incredibly rare. Only 3% of the world’s water is freshwater, two-thirds of which are frozen glaciers or unavailable for our use. Around 1.1 billion people worldwide lack access to water, and a total of 2.7 billion find water scarce for at least one month of the year.