Effective Wastewater Treatment for Distillery in Amravati, Maharashtra

Introduction:
The Integrated Distillery, a prominent food processing unit, specializes in producing whiskey and rum. Dedicated to environmental sustainability, they operate a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) to manage the industrial effluent generated during production. However, the distillery faced challenges in consistently meeting discharge limits for specific pollutants, particularly due to the seasonal operation of their effluent treatment plant (ETP). To overcome these issues, they implemented a bioaugmentation program, resulting in substantial improvements in treatment efficiency and regulatory compliance.

 ETP details:

The industry had primary treatment, biological treatment, and then a tertiary treatment.

Flow (current)	1200 KLD
Flow (design)	1500 KLD
Type of process	ASP
No. of aeration tanks	2 (in series)
Capacity of aeration tanks	2000 KL each
RT	37-39 hours(each)

 

 Challenges:

The primary and biological treatments were significantly underperforming, leading to inefficiencies:

Parameters	Inlet parameters	Outlet parameters
COD	4,000 to 6,000	3500 to 5780
BOD	2000 to 3100	1500 to 2600

• The primary treatment was working at 5 % efficiency in terms of COD reduction
• The Biological treatment was working at an average 8 to 10% efficiency in terms of COD reduction.

They were struggling to effectively treat pollutants which compelled them to run the ETP at 40% less hydraulic load. The FOG in the effluent was uncontrolled as there was a high accumulation in pipes and equipment also which was the reason for higher CAPEX and OPEX. The conventional ASP treatment process was not efficient enough to consistently meet the stringent discharge limits for these pollutants set by local regulatory agencies. As a result, the industry faced the risk of non-compliance, which could lead to fines, reputational damage, and environmental impact.

Another main reason of the inefficiency was the seasonal operation of the ETP due to which the biomass which would have developed in course of its operation died completely due to lack of activity.

Our Approach:
The industry partnered with us to improve the efficiency of their biological units. They had a total of 2 aeration tanks, which were in series. With a total daily flow of around 1200 KLD. Our team conducted a visit to understand the process of the ETP and the timing of 3 months during its operation was selected.

After analysis, it was decided that the commissioning procedure would be followed where the flow rate will be gradually increased starting from 500 KL/day to achieving a full capacity of 1500 kl/day in order to generate healthy biomass via Bioaugmentation. Bioaugmentation is a process that involves adding specifically selected microorganisms, such as bacteria or enzymes, to enhance the biological treatment process in a WWTP. The team conducted a thorough assessment of the effluent characteristics and the WWTP’s operational parameters to identify the most suitable bioaugmentation approach.

Based on the assessment, a customized bioaugmentation program was designed and implemented at the industry. The selected microorganisms were carefully selected to target the organic pollutants The bioaugmentation program was integrated into the existing treatment process, and the performance of the WWTP was closely monitored for the next 3 months.

The program aimed to:

1. Enhance COD/BOD degradation
2. Optimize hydraulic load
3. Develop resilient biomass to handle shock loads

Execution:
Following the analysis, we introduced T1B Aerobio, a formulation of facultative microbes that secrete enzymes to break down COD, BOD, and FOG. A three-month dosing schedule was established.

Results:

 

The implementation of the bioaugmentation program resulted in significant improvements in the performance of biological units in their WWTP:

• We were able to achieve around 80 to 89 % reduction from their current outlet parameters in COD & BOD
• Biomass was developed with MLVSS values between 2800-3200.
• The bioaugmentation program also resulted in other operational benefits for the industry.
• The ETP achieved full capacity operations in terms of hydraulic load.
• The biological process became more stable and resilient to fluctuations in the influent characteristics.
• Increased plant reliability and reduced operational costs.

Are you facing similar challenges in industrial wastewater treatment? Explore the potential of bioremediation, and connect with our technical experts today:

+91 8855050575 / sales@teamonebiotech.com