International Journal of Advanced in Management, Technology and Engineering Sciences ISSN NO : 2249-7455

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF DAIRY WASTEWATER TREATMENT

BY TWO DIFFERENT METHOD

KOZE ZANGGO MODIa, BIDYALAXMI DEVI YUMNAMb* & YAMEM TAMUT c

a
Graduate student (ESE), Department of Civil Engineering, NERIST, Nirjuli, Arunachal Pradesh, India
Email: kozezanggo@gmail.com
b
Assistant professor, Department of Civil Engineering, NERIST, Nirjuli, Arunachal Pradesh,
Email: bidya.nerist@gmail.com (Corresponding Author)
c
Assistant professor, Department of Civil Engineering, NERIST, Nirjuli, Arunachal Pradesh, India
Email: parong@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

The dairy farming is one of the major food industries in India nowadays and it produces dairy products such as ghee, cheese, butters,
etc. and it also produces large amount of animal waste and pollute the natural environment such as water and soil. The dairy wastewater is
characterized by high BOD, COD, pH, turbidity, alkalinity, oil and grease, etc. In order to study the quality of wastewater discharge by the
Lakhimpur Dairy Farm, this project has been undertaken. Dairy farm has many milk containers and pipeline systems for the processing and
packaging of milk. The floor area of the processing unit is also required to be washed for every milk processes. Therefore, the containers,
pipeline systems and floor areas were washed with caustic soda every day and the same was washed with sulphuric acid twice a month. The milk
containers and pipeline systems were run to wash with around 100-120 litres of hot water with a temperature of about 80C for 15-20 minutes.
Both the caustic soda and acid washed wastewater of the farm were directly discharged to the nearby soil which ultimately pollutes the nearby
streams. After caustic washed, some physical and chemical parameters of wastewater such as turbidity, BOD, TS, TDS, SS, pH, alkalinity and
chloride content were tested and their values were found as 348 NTU, 6056 mg/L, 1090 mg/L, 901 mg/L, 189 mg/L, 12.37, 1770 mg/L and 996
mg/L respectively. Such wastewater has to be treated before discharging it into land or water bodies in order to restrict the pollution.

The dairy wastewater collected from the study area was treated in the laboratory scale in two different methods namely sand-gravel
layer filtration and activated carbon filtration method. The sand-gravel and activated carbon layers were placed in a circular plastic container
separately which has number of small pores for percolation and filtration. It was found that the percentage reduction of turbidity was 89.03% by
sand-gravel layer filtration process while that of the activated carbon filtration was 94.32 %. The percentage reduction of alkalinity was 31.98 %
by the sand-gravel filter media while that by activated carbon filtration it was 58.53 %. The percentage reduction of the chloride content by the
sand-gravel filter was 74.89% while that by activated carbon filter it was 82.93%. The total solids were reduced by 63.67% by the sand-gravel
filter and 68.35% by the activated carbon filter. The efficiency of BOD reduction by sand- gravel filtration was 80.79 % while that of activated
carbon filteration was 89.27 %. The result shows that the activated carbon filter is more efficient in reducing the wastewater characteristics than
sand-gravel filtration but both the treatment processes were not efficient in reduction of pH values. According to Standard Value of Uttar
Pradesh Pollution Control Board Dairy Milk Effluent, all the values after treatment by both the methods were found within the permissible limits
except pH and BOD value. Hence, some amounts of coagulants may be added during plain sedimentation process to reduce the BOD and some
amount of acids may be added during washing process to bring back pH to its permissible level. After the treatment wastewater can be
discharged directly to water bodies or land areas.

Keywords: Lakhimpur, wastewater characteristics, treatment process.

Volume 7 Issue 11 2017 129 http://ijamtes.org/

International Journal of Advanced in Management, Technology and Engineering Sciences ISSN NO : 2249-7455

INTRODUCTION
Dairy industry is one of the major food industries in India and India ranks first among the maximum major milk producing nation. The
dairy industry produces different milk products such as milk, butter, ice-cream, milk desserts, cheese, etc. The pipelines and equipments of the
processing units and also the floor area of the processing room of the farm is very much require to wash and clean with detergents at least twice
a day in hot temperate region and also it require to wash and clean with acid once in a week or twice in a month which produce large amount of
wastewater everyday. Thus, the amount of wastewater generated and discharged from these industries has also increased and polluting the
natural environment such as water and soil everyday.The characteristics of these effluents vary widely both in quality and quantity depending on
the type of processing units and methods of washing and cleaning . The amount of pollution is assessed by physico-chemical parameters of dairy
wastewater which includes determination of pH, temperature, acidity, alkalinity, TDS, SS, TS, fats, BOD, COD, etc. Ultimately, the untreated
dairy wastewater is discharged directly into the land or water bodies which pollutes the ecosystem and water bodies causing serious health
hazards and environmental problems. Due to the highly biodegradable nature of dairy wastewater its treatment requires urgent attention.

Study Area:
The study site was selected at Lakhimpur dairy farm in Borimuri village of Lakhimpur district in Assam, India. It is situated about 52
km from NERIST, Nirjuli where the laboratory setup and testing were done. The study area lies at 27.267706E and 94.125766N .

Figure 1. Milk Storing Chamber

METHODOLOGY
Sampling:
The sample bottles was rinse properly by the same wastewater and then the samples was collected from the outlet of the discharge
pipe where wastewater is being discharged into the drain. After the sample bottles were filled and stoppered, they were transported into the
laboratory.
Experimental Setup:
a) Sand and gravel treatment method:
To treat the wastewater, a sand-garvel filter was set up in laboratory scale. Three gravel sizes layers were used as filter media. Gravels passing
through 6.3 mm and retaining on 4.75 mm sieve were used in the lowest part of the filter layer. The gravels passing through 4.75 mm and
retaining on the 2.36 mm sieve were used in the middle part of the gravel layer. The gravels passing through the 2.36 mm sieve and retaining on
the 2 mm sieve were used in the top part of the gravel layer. Above the gravel layers, a sand layer was used. Sand particles passing through
600 sieve and retaining on 425 sieve were used. The gravel and sand layer was made 15 to 20 cm thick.

Volume 7 Issue 11 2017 130 http://ijamtes.org/

International Journal of Advanced in Management, Technology and Engineering Sciences ISSN NO : 2249-7455

Figure 2. Experimental sand filteration Figure 3. Experimental AC filteration

b) Activated Carbon Treatment:

Alternate beds of powdered and granular activated carbon were used. Powdered activated carbon passing through 300 sieve and retaining on
150 sieve were used. Granular activated carbon which passed through the 2 mm sieve and retained on 1 mm sieve were used. Permeable
membrane having pore size smaller than the powdered activated carbon was used to prevent the powdered activated carbon drain out along with
the treated wastewater. The activated carbon purchased from the Nirjuli market was of KENT brand. It was washed with water multiple times
before using it in the treatment process.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Turbidity: The turbidity of the dairy wastewater was found to be 348 NTU before treatment. The wastewater after passing through sand and
gravel filter layers, the turbidity was found to be 38.17 NTU. When treated with activated carbon filter layers, the turbidity value was reduced
to 19.76 NTU. The efficiency of turbidity reduction by sand and gravel filter layers is 89.03 % while that of activated carbon filter layers is
94.32 %.
Alkalinity: The alkalinity of the wastewater sample was found to be very high as all the systems was washed with caustic soda. The total
alkalinity of the wastewater before treatment was found to be 1770 mg CaCO3/L. The alkalinity after passing the wastewater through sand and
gravel layers was found to be 1204 mg CaCO3/L. While the alkalinity after treatment with activated carbon filter layers was erduced to 734 mg
CaCO3/L. Thus, the efficiency of alkalinity reduction by sand and gravel filter layers is 31.98 % and that of activated carbon filter layers is
58.53 %.
pH: The pH value of the wastewater sample was found to be 12.37 before treatment. After passing the wastewater through sand and gravel filter
layers the pH of the water reduced to 12.18. The pH of the wastewater after treatment with activated carbon filter layers was reduced to 11.88.
The efficiency of sand and gravel filter layers in reducing the pH is only 1.58% while that of activated carbon filter layers is 3.96%. This
implies that both the treatment methods are not efficient in reducing the pH value and its effect is negligible.

Volume 7 Issue 11 2017 131 http://ijamtes.org/

International Journal of Advanced in Management, Technology and Engineering Sciences ISSN NO : 2249-7455

Chloride content: The chloride content of the dairy wastewater was found to be 996 mg/L before treatment. After passing the wastewater
through sand and gravel filter layers, the chloride content was found to be 250 mg/L. When treated with activated carbon filter layers , the
chloride content was reduced to 170 mg/L. The efficiency of chloride content reduction by sand and gravel filter layers is 74.89 % while that of
activated carbon filter layers is 82.93 %.
BOD: The BOD of the dairy wastewater was found to be 6056 mg/L before treatment. After passing the wastewater through sand and gravel
filter layers, the BOD value was found to be 1163 mg/L. When treated with activated carbon filter layers, the BOD value was reduced to 650
mg/L. The efficiency of BOD reduction by sand and gravel filter layers is 80.79 % while that of activated carbon filter layers is 89.27 %.
Total solids: The value of TS of the dairy wastewater was found to be 1090 mg/L before treatment. After passing the wastewater through sand
and gravel filter layers, the value of TS was reduced to be 396 mg/L. When treated with activated carbon filter layers, the value was reduced to
345 mg/L. The efficiency of TS reduction by sand and gravel filter layers is 63.67 % while that of activated carbon filter layers is 68.35%.
Total dissolved solids: The TDS of the dairy wastewater was found to be 901 mg/L before treatment. After passing the wastewater through sand
and gravel filter layers, the TDS was found to be 342 mg/L. When treated with activated carbon filter layers, the TDS was reduced to 312 mg/L.
The efficiency of TDS reduction of sand and gravel filter layers is 62.04 % while that of activated carbon filter layers is 65.37 %.
Suspended solids: The SS of the dairy wastewater was found to be 189mg/L before treatment. After passing the wastewater through sand and
gravel filter layers, the SS was found to be 53 mg/L. When treated with activated carbon filter layers, the value of SS was reduced to 33 mg/L.
The efficiency of SS reduction of sand and gravelfilter layers is 71.96 % while that of activated carbon filter layers is 82.54%.

Table 1. Physico-Chemical parameters of dairy wastewater before and after treatment

Activated carbon
S.No Parameters Before treatment Sand-gravel filtration
filtration
1 Turbidity(NTU) 348 38.17 19.76
2 Alkalinity(mg/L) 1770 1204 734
3 pH 12.37 12.18 11.88
4 Chloride content(mg/L) 996 250 170
5 BOD(mg/L) 6056 1163 650
6 Total solids(mg/L) 1090 396 345
7 Total dissolved solids(mg/L) 901 342 312
8 Suspended solids(mg/L) 189 53 33

Figure 4. Effect on Turbidity

Volume 7 Issue 11 2017 132 http://ijamtes.org/

International Journal of Advanced in Management, Technology and Engineering Sciences ISSN NO : 2249-7455

Figure 5. Effect on alkalinity Figure 6. Effect on pH

Figure 7. Effect on Chloride contents Figure 8. Effect on BOD

Figure 9. Effect on Total Solids Figure 10. Effect on TDS

Volume 7 Issue 11 2017 133 http://ijamtes.org/

International Journal of Advanced in Management, Technology and Engineering Sciences ISSN NO : 2249-7455

Figure. 11. Effect on Suspended Solids

Summary and Conclusions

The wastewater discharged from the Lakhimpur Dairy Farm was found whittish in colour and highly alkaline in nature. The high alkalinity of
the sample is because of the pipelines to process the milk and also the floor area of the chambers were washed with caustic soda and thus
produced the alkaline wastewater. High turbidity and high total solids were present in the samples. The BOD of the wastewater was found
very high which indicates high pollution. Thus the wastewater has to be treated before it discharge into the environment.It was found that the
efficiency of the sand and gravel filteration in reducing the turbidity was 89.03% while that of the activated carbon filteration was 94.32. It is
also found that the efficiency in reducing the alkalinity was 31.98 % by the sand filteration while that by activated carbon filteration was 58.53
%. The chloride contents was also highly reduced by both the treatment methods. Efficiency in reducing the chloride contents by the sand
filteration was found 74.89% while that by activated carbon filteration was found 82.93%. The total solids were reduced by 63.67% by the sand
filteration and 68.35% by the activated carbon filteration. Both the treatment processes were not efficient in reducing the pH of the wastewater.
The result shows that the activated carbon filteration is more efficient in reducing the wastewater characteristics, although its effect on pH is
negligible.

REFERENCES
1.Rainwater, F.H., and Thatcher, L.L., 1960, Methods for Collection and Analysis of Water Samples, U.S. Geological Survey, Water Supply
Papers, 1454,1-301.
2. APHA-AWWA-WEF, 1992. Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater. 18th edition. American Public Health
Association. New York.
3. Tikariha, Ashish, and Omprakash Sahu. Stidy of Characteristics and Treatments Of Dairy Industry Wastewater. Journal of Applied and
Environmental Microbiology 2.1 (2014):16-22.
4. M.Kannahi, A. Sangeetha. Physicochemical and Bacteriological Characterization of Cheese Processing Effluent and their effect on Vigna
mungo Growth. Int.J.Pharm. Sci. Rev. Res., 29 (2), November- December 2014; Article No. 30, Pages:179-182.
5. Chatterjee Sreemoyee and Pugaht Priti. Assessment of physical parameters of dairy wastewater and isolation and characterization of
bacterial strains in terms of COD reduction. International Journal of Science, Environmental and Technology, Vol. 2, No 3, 2013, 395-400.
6. Baisali Sarkar, P.P. Chakrabarti, A. Vijaykumar, Vijay Kale. Wastewater treatment in dairy industries- possibility of reuse.
7. Vishakha Sukhadev Shivsharan, Minal Wani, M.B. Khwtmalas Characterisation of Dairy Effluents by Physicochemical Parameters.
8. Kokila Parmar, Sarju Prajapti, Rinku Patel, yogesh Dabhi, Effective use of ferrous sulphate and aluminum as a coagulant in treatment of
dairy industry wastewater. Asian journal of environmental science volume 6/ issue 2 (2012) ISSN 1819-6608
9. Mrs. Bharti S. Shete, Dr. N.P.Shinkar, Comparative study of various treatments for dairy wastewater, IOSR journal engineering Vol3,
issue 8, ISSN: 2250-3021.

Volume 7 Issue 11 2017 134 http://ijamtes.org/

International Journal of Advanced in Management, Technology and Engineering Sciences ISSN NO : 2249-7455

10. Prof. Chidanand Patil, Ms. Manika Hugar, Treatment of dairy wastewater by natural coagulants, International research journal of
engineering and technology (IRJET), Vol. 2, issue 4, e- ISSN: 2395-0056, p-ISSN: 2395-0072, July 2015.
11. P.Geetha Priya, J. Sharpudhin, Comparative study of removal of turbidity from wastewater by using chemical and natural coagulants,
International Journal of science, Engineering and Technology Research (IJSETR), Vol. 5, Issue 5, May 2016, ISSN: S2278-7798.
12. T. Ramesh, V. Nehru Kumar, G. Srinivasan, Kinetic Evaluation of Fixed Film Fixed Bed Anaerobic Reactor by Using Dairy Wastewater,
International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biological Archives 2012; 3 (4): 835-837.
13. Sathyamoorthy G.L. and Saseetharan M.K., Dairy Wastewater Treatment by Anaerobic Hybrid Reactor- A study on the reactor
performance and optimum percentage of inert media fill inside reactor; Vol.16(1) March 2012.
14. Deshpande D.P., Patil P.J. and Anekar S.V., Biomethanation of Dairy Waste, Research journal of chemical sciences, ISSN 2231-606X,
Vol. 2 (4), 35- 39, April 2012.
15. Monali Gotmare, R.M.Dhoble, A.P.Pittule, Biomethanation of Dairy Wastewater Through UASB at Mesophilic Temperature Range,
IJAEST 2011, Vol. 8, issue 1, 001-009.
16. Chaitali Bangar, Pooja Mhaske, Vanita Parasur, Sonali Pawar, Comparative Study of Removal of Dairy Waste Characteristics by Using
Various Natural and Chemical Coagulants, International Journal of Research in Advent Technology (IJRAT) 2017, E-ISSN: 2321-9637.
17. Mehtab Hakim Khan, Shivshant Chandrakant Hugar, Nitin Premsukh Khatmode, Removal of Dairy Wastewater Characteristics by Using
Natural and Chemical Coagulant, Asian Journal of Convergence in Technology (2015), ISSN: 2350-1146, Volume 3, Issue 1.
18. Fatemeh Aghili, Ali Asghar Ghoreyshi, , Ahmad Rahimpour, Mostafa Rahimnejad, Coating of mixed-matrix membranes with powdered
activated carbon for fouling control and treatment of dairy effluent, Process Safety and Environmental Protection Volume 107, April 2017,
Pages 528539.
19. Neena Sunny, Fathima Shukkoor, Fathima Nuzrin N R, Muhsina Moideen, Nehla Moideen, Treatment Of Dairy Waste, International
Journal of Civil and Structural Engineering Research (2015), ISSN 2348-7607, Volume 2, Issue 2.
20. E. Brown, M.W. Skougstad, M. J. Fishman, Methods for collection and analysis of water samples for dissolved minerals and gases,
Techniques of Water Resources Investigations of the U.S. Geological Survey, Vol. 160, Book 5, Chapter A1 (1970).
21. Mantovi P. and S. Piccinini, 2002, Pollutant and Microbe removal from dairy parlour waste water using reed bed treatment, Proceedings
of the 10th International conference of the Ramiran, Network, Italy, France, 365-370.
22. Braio V.B. and C.R.Granhem, 2007, Effluent generation by the dairy industry: preventive attitude and opportunities. Journal of
chemical Engineering, 24 (4): 487-497.
23. Belyea R.L., Williams J.E., Gieseka L., Clevenger T.E. and J.R. Brown, 1990, Evaluation of Dairy Wastewater Solids as a Feed
Ingredient. Journal of Dairy Science, 73 (7): 1864-1871.
24. Garg S.K., Environmental Engineering, Volume 1 and 2, Khanna Publications, New Delhi.
25. Rao M.N. and Dutta A.K., 2012, Wastewater Treatment, Third edition.
25. Patwardhan A.D., Industrial wastewater treatment, Prentice Hall of India Private Ltd., New Delhi, 2008.

Volume 7 Issue 11 2017 135 http://ijamtes.org/