Prediction of Biodegradability Possibility for Sewage of the Dairy Industry

Abstract

The dairy industry is one of the industrial activities classified within the food industries in all phases of the dairy industry, which leads to an increase in the amount of wastewater discharged from this industry. The study was conducted in the Abu Ghraib dairy factory, classified as one of the central factories in Iraq, located in the west of Baghdad governorate, with a design capacity of 22,815 tons of dairy products. The characteristics of the liquid waste generated from the factory were determined for the following parameters biological oxygen demand (BOD5), Chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), pH, nitrate, phosphate, chloride, and sulfate with an average value of (1079, 1945, 323, 9.2, 24, 23, 429, 235 mg/litre), respectively, and the biodegradation rate of wastewater (BOD5/COD) was determined, which amounted to 0.58. A model was created to predict the rate of biodegradation, which was 0.58. The results indicate that the generated wastewater is highly polluted with high concentrations of pollutants and causes considerable environmental damages that lead to the deterioration of aquatic life in the receiving water bodies and that the sewage generated by dairy factories is biodegradable and can be effectively treated through biological treatments.