A study of sugar cane processing wastes and their treatment by stabilization ponds | |
| Author | Liares, Erlinda S. |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no. 146 |
| Subject(s) | Factory and trade waste--Research Sewage lagoons |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment if the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering in the SEATO Graduate School of Engineering, Bangkok, Thailand. |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | The physical and chemical characteristics of wastewater from a sugar cane processing plant were assessed, and the biological treatability of the waste was evaluated in a laboratory-scale stabilization pond system. The effects of loading and nutrient addition on treatment efficiency were studied. The sugar cane waste exhibited an average BOD of 423 mg/1 and a COD/BOD ratio of 2.3. The average nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations were 8.85 and 0.17 mg/1 respectively, with the nitrogen appearing almost exclusively as NO^-N. The pollutional matter consisted almost totally of soluble sugars, as indicated by suspended solids ranging from 72 to 176 mg/1, and settleable solids of only 0.1 ml/1. Reduction of 94 percent of the influent BOD at loadings of both 5.6 g/m2/day (50 Ibs/acre/day) and 8.96 g/m2/day (80 Ibs/acre/day) and a 15-day detention time were observed. The higher loading caused deteriorating pond conditions and a decrease in algae number, however, with low oxygen tensions and detectable odor. Continuation of the 8.96 g/m2/day BOD loading, but with supplementation with nitrogen and phosphorus, resulted in little change in stabilization pond conditions. BOD removals continued in excess of 90 percent, and the inhibited condition of the algae did not change noticeably. The very low concentration of nitrogen and phosphorus in the effluent showed that the stabilization ponds were effective in their removal. Radiation energy measurements and photosynthetic conversion calculations indicated that the light intensity used in this investigation was possibly insufficient for providing the necessary oxygen needed by bacteria under high BOD loading conditions. Other environmental factors associated with these loadings also contributed to the decrease in algae as the highly active bacteriological metabolism progressed. |
| Year | 1966 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | Student Research Before 1979 |
| Department | Other Field of Studies (No Department) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Thesis (Year <=1979) |
| Chairperson(s) | Dr. Rolf T. Skrinde; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Prof. M. B. Pescod;Prof. A. Sorathesn;Dean Milton E. Bender, Jr.; |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Eng.) - SEATO Graduate School of Engineering |