A Review on Bioremediation of Sugar Mill Effluent

Abstract

In the field of bio refinery, zero waste concepts have gained a lot importance in research impetus to boost the environment and bio economy in a sustainable manner. The wastewater from sugar industries contains miscellaneous compounds and need to be treated chemically or biologically before being discharged into water bodies. Efficient utilization of wastewater produced by sugar industries is a key point to improve its economy. Thus, interest in the sugar industry wastes has grown in both fundamental and applied research fields, over the years. Although, traditional methods being used to process such wastewaters are effective yet are tedious, laborious and time intensive. Considering the diverse nature of wastewaters from various sugar-manufacturing processes, the development of robust, cost-competitive, sustainable and clean technologies has become a challenging task. Bioremediation is emerging as an effective and attractive management tool to treat and recover the environment, in an ecofriendly manner. Bioremediation has been used at a number of sites worldwide, with varying degrees of success. Bioremediation, both in situ and ex situ have also enjoyed strong scientific growth, in part due to the increased use of natural attenuation, since most natural attenuation is due to biodegradation. Bioremediation technology, which leads to degradation of pollutants, may be a lucrative as well as environmentally friendly alternative. Biological treatment systems have various applications, such as cleanup of contaminated sites such as water, soil, sludge, and streams. Several methods have been designed and developed but more often, these process again produce secondary pollutants, which again are costing the environment. This review article discusses the role of microbes in sugar mill effluent treatment methods in different field and puts forward thoughts and scope for further research in the field.