Applicability of high rate transpiration system for treatment of biologically treated distillery effluent

Applicability of high rate transpiration system for treatmentof biologically treated distillery effluent

S. K. Singh & Asha A. Juwarkar & R. A. Pandey &

T. Chakrabarti

Received: 16 October 2006 /Accepted: 17 August 2007 /Published online: 19 September 2007# Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2007

Abstract The biologically treated distillery effluent(BTDE) contains intense colour, high total dissolvedsolids (TDS), chemical oxygen demand (COD) andbiochemical oxygen demand (BOD). These propertieseven after primary, secondary and tertiary treatmentscontain high concentrations of TDS, COD and BOD.The paper highlights the safe disposal and treatment ofBTDE on land through High Rate TranspirationSystem (HRTS). HRTS is a zero discharge, low cost,high-tech method for improving the quality of BTDEfor potential reuse. The experiments conducted atbench and pilot scale showed that HRTS havingcoconut husk as a bedding material could successfullytreat the BTDE with a hydraulic load of 200 m3 ha−1

day−1 having BOD of 100 mg l−1 and 500 m3 ha−1

day−1 having BOD of 500 mg l−1 with average CODload of 0.686 and 2.88 ton ha−1 day−1 during the postand pre monsoon periods respectively. There was nosignificant increase in the organic carbon of the soilirrigated with BTDE. The concentrations of variouspollutants analyzed in the leachate were within the

prescribed limit for the drinking water sources. Thecolour removal was 99 to 100% and BOD and CODwere possible to treat with optimum hydraulic loadingof BTDE through HRTS planted with Dendrocalamusstrictus.

Keywords BTDE . Column lysimeter .

Dendrocalamus strictus . HRTS . Zero discharge

Introduction

The disposal of BTDE is one of the main environ-mental problems related to molasses based industriesin the countries like France, Italy, Spain and India (Foodand Agriculture Organization 2003). During the lasttwo decades, about 285 distilleries rapidly sprang up inIndia. The disposal of BTDE has become a majorproblem and contaminates the ground water sources.Also, the water pollution caused by the disposal ofuntreated and inadequately treated effluents into freshand marine water bodies are gradually becoming amajor threat. In recent years, considerable attention hasbeen paid to industrial effluents, which are usuallydischarged on land or into the sources of water (Kaurand Singh 2002; Anderson 1979). Biological treatmentof distillery effluent includes anaerobic reactors forrecovery of biogas, followed by secondary treatmentunit—aerobic process for removal of residual BODand COD (Moletta and Raynal 1992; Kalyuzhnyi et al.2000, 2001). Furthermore, anaerobic digestion (Borja

Environ Monit Assess (2008) 141:201–212DOI 10.1007/s10661-007-9888-7

S. K. Singh :A. A. Juwarkar (*) : R. A. Pandey :T. ChakrabartiEnvironmental Biotechnology Division,National Environmental EngineeringResearch Institute (NEERI),Nehru Marg,Nagpur 440020, Indiae-mail: [email protected]

et al. 1993; Lalov et al. 2000), aerobic biologicaltreatment (Beltrán et al. 1999), aerobic fermentation toproduce single cell protein are possible ways ofutilizing distillery effluent (Selim et al. 1991). Thedrawback is that most of the distillery effluenttreatment methods are very expensive and do notprovide the treated effluent to meet the requirement ofregulatory agencies. Distillery effluent contains a highorganic load and moderate contents of plant nutrientsand it is a low cost source of water (Torrijos andMoletta 2000), all of which favour its use as an organicfertilizer.

To overcome the problems associated with BTDE,different treatment methods have been proposed, inaddition to their direct application to agricultural soilsas organic fertilizers. Several physico-chemical meth-ods viz. adsorption, coagulation and chemical oxida-tion have been investigated for treatment of BTDEgenerated from secondary treatment units (Torrijosand Moletta 2000). Many authors have studied thecomposition of BTDE, obtained through aerobicdepuration and its effect on plants and soil properties(Levi-Minzi et al. 1997; Hansen et al. 1980; Sorliniet al. 1998; Masoni et al. 2000; Mariotti et al. 2001).In India, land application of wastewater for irrigationhas been in practice for almost more than eightdecades. Although utilization of BTDE for cropirrigation could be a boon for the country foraugmentation of depleting natural resources, it’sirrational use may pose potential health hazards tofarm workers and consumers. Soil can also lose itsproductivity, causing the salinity, sodicity and toxicityproblems. However, not enough data is currentlyavailable on complete utilization of distillery effluentthrough land treatment system.

The approach for achieving zero discharge is asocietal demand driven trend in the waste managementwith scientific attention towards this being focusedonly after 1940 when the problem of fresh waterpollution due to effluents disposal became particularlyacute. A large number of effluents viz. dairy effluent,food processing effluent, pulp and paper mill effluent(Lumbely 2002 and Juwarkar et al. 2003), meatprocessing effluent and distillery effluent (Chhonkaret al. 2000) etc. have been successfully used forirrigation of crops with and without treatment. Since,the HRTS method for the complete treatment of

BTDE is cost intensive, there is need to develop costeffective technology for treatment of various pollut-ants present in BTDE to bring them to the desiredstandard level for discharge. Hence, successful treat-ment and disposal of BTDE is still a challenging taskbefore the scientific world.

The HRTS envisages the use of dynamic, multi-component soil system as a live filtration device torenovate the industrial effluents through adsorption,ion exchange, precipitation and stabilization of pollut-ants through microbial degradation. The high transpi-ration capacity of plants grown on soil matrix enablesthe system to serve as a biopump, generates sinkpotential for air pollutants and green house gases,ease of installation and simplicity of operations. TheHRTS consists of especially designed ridges andfurrows for treatment of distillery effluent withsuitable laid filter media in the furrows to arrest andstabilize pollutants, is one of the eco-friendly tech-nology developed by National Environmental Engi-neering Research Institute (NEERI), and can be usedfor safe disposal of distillery effluent on to the land.

Keeping in view the different problems encounteredwith disposal of BTDE on land, the present inves-tigations were carried out to evaluate the performanceof HRTS for treatment and disposal of BTDE throughcolumn lysimeters for forestry development with aproperly designed land treatment system without anyground water contamination.

This paper reports studies on optimization ofbedding material, hydraulic and organic load of BTDEfor safe disposal of BTDE through HRTS.

Material and methods

The laboratory studies were carried out at the NEERI,Nagpur in Maharashtra State of India representing hotsemi arid climate.

Materials

Chemicals/reagents

The ExcelaR grade chemicals of “Qualigens finechemicals” and “Hi-Media lab chemicals” were used

202 Environ Monit Assess (2008) 141:201–212

for physico-chemical and microbial analysis of BTDEand soil.

Wastewater

The BDTE were collected in bulk quantity from oneof the largest distillery, namely, M/s Jubilant Orga-nosys Limited, Noida, India.

Soil

The soil was collected in bulk quantity from theidentified BTDE disposal sites.

Methods

Analysis of wastewater, leachate and soil

Wastewater and leachate samples were analysed as perstandard methods for examination of water and wastewa-ter, 21st ed. (APHA 2005). Soil samples were analysedfor physico-chemical parameters as per the standardmethods (Piper 1966; Jackson 1973; Black 1965).Microbes such as bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes andnitrogen fixing strains of Rhizobium and Azotobacterwere analyzed by following standard methods for soilmicrobial populations and were expressed in terms of

Fig. 1 Schematic ofcolumn lysimeter

Environ Monit Assess (2008) 141:201–212 203

colony forming units (CFU/g; Black 1965 and Pageet al. 1982).

Bench scale experiment

Two bench scale column lysimeters made up ofhigh density polyethylene (HDP) were designed, fabri-cated and installed for selection of bedding material forpilot scale studies. These lysimeters were packed withthe soil as per the soil profile in the field. The twodifferent bedding material viz. coconut husk andsugarcane husk which are easily available at the dis-posal site of the distillery mixed with the top soilwere used separately. A depth of 5 cm (∼200 g) bed-ding material viz. coconut husk and sugarcane huskwas kept constant. These lysimeter were irrigatedwith BTDE with a constant flow rate of 0.320 l day−1,keeping uniform concentration of the COD andcolour constituents of BTDE. These column lysim-eters were operated for a period of 25 days andleachate produced was assessed in terms of physico-chemical properties.

Installation and operation of lysimeter

The lysimeters are simulated soil reactor systemspacked with soil as per the soil profiles that exist atactual effluent disposal site. In order to ascertain theextent of stabilization of the pollutants in the soilusing suitable plant species, changes in the soilphysico-biochemical characteristic due to applicationof BTDE was investigated. The investigation onpollution potentiality of leachates produced due toapplication of the BTDE were also assessed usingstandard procedures for examination of water andwastewater, 21st ed. (APHA 2005).

Pilot scale experiments

Total eight column lysimeters made up of HDPhaving 30 cm diameter and 200 cm height weredesigned and installed. The lysimeter were packedwith soil as per the soil profile in the field. At the topof the lysimeter, a layer of bedding material ofcoconut husk mixed with topsoil was used. At thebottom the lysimeter, mixed layer of gravel and sand[50:50] having a depth of 20 cm was fixed which

facilitated the easy draining of leachate generatedfrom the lysimeters as shown in Fig. 1. Each lysim-eter was planted with a specific Dendrocalamusstrictus (bamboo) plant species because of highevapotranspiration rate and has the capacity to sustainthe growth in presence of high total dissolved solids(Juwarkar et al. 2003). The studies covered underpilot scale is to:

– Evaluate the depth of bedding material in order toascertain the retention of different pollutantspresent in the BTDE

– Assess the optimal hydraulic load to the lysimeterto generate guidelines for large scale application

– Ascertain/select the optimal pollutant load of theeffluent to the lysimeter at optimal hydraulic load

– Performance evaluation of lysimeter at optimalconditions during post and pre monsoon in orderto ascertain the quality of leachate produced,characteristics of BTDE irrigated soil and itseffect on the growth of the plant species.

Treatment details

Following are the different treatments tested inlysimeters

Lysimetersnumber

Depth ofbedding material(cm)

Treatment details

A – Control, without beddingmaterial (treated with tapwater)

B – Control, without beddingmaterial (treated with 100 mgl−1 BOD of BTDE)

C 5 Treated with 100 mg l−1 BODof BTDE

D 7.5 Treated with 100 mg l−1 BODof BTDE

E 10 Treated with 100 mg l−1 BODof BTDE

F 15 Treated with 100 mg l−1 BODof BTDE

G 15 Treated with 500 mg l−1 BODof BTDE

H 15 Treated with 1000 mg l−1 BODof BTDE


Table 1 Characteristics of the BTDE

Serial number Parameters BTDE Standards for industrial effluent on land for irrigation

Physico-chemical properties1. pH 8.62 5.5–9.02. EC (mS/cm) 19.05 –3 Colour (Hz) 72,000–75,000 –4. TSS (mg l−1) 5,200 2005. TDS (mg l−1) 37,332 2,1006. BOD (mg l−1) 4,000 1007. COD (mg l−1) 36,432 –8. Chloride (mg l−1) 900 600Microbiological properties (CFU/ml)1. Bacteria 25–30×105 –2. Fungi 40–50×102 –3 Actinomycetes 10–20×102 –4. Azotobacter ND –5. Rhizobium ND –

ND Not detected, CFU colony forming unit

Table 2 Physico-chemical characteristics of soil profile samples

Depth of the soil samples 0–100 cm 100–200 cm 200–300 cm

Physical properties1. Bulk density (gm cm−3) 1.18 1.20 1.102. Maximum water holding capacity (%) 62.16 57.25 48.533 Pore space (%) 53.92 54.19 45.804. Sand (%) 26 39 85. Silt (%) 26 30 396. Clay (%) 48 31 527. Textural class Clay Clay loam ClayChemical properties1. pH 8.80 8.99 8.602. EC (mS/cm) 0.200 0.210 0.1903. CEC, [cmol(p+)kg−1] 75.57 72.14 60.584. Organic carbon (%) 0.46 0.38 0.33Total nutrients (%)1. Nitrogen 0.045 0.016 0.0552. Phosphorous 0.074 0.057 0.0773. Potassium 0.160 0.150 0.230Available nutrients (mg/100 g)1. Nitrogen 3.90 2.48 3.402. Phosphorous 5.5 4.5 5.43. Potassium 20.4 10.4 30.0Microbiological properties (CFU/g)1. Bacteria 20×105 50×104 24×105

2. Fungi 6×103 3×103 48×103

3 Actinomycetes 32×10 15×103 17×103

4. Azotobacter 11×103 30×102 70×102

5. Rhizobium 10×102 13×103 15×103


Result and discussions

Physico-chemical and microbiological characteristicsof distillery effluent

The results depicted in Table 1 indicate that the BTDEcomprised of high BOD (4,000 mg l−1), COD(36,432 mg l−1) and TDS (37,332 mg l−1) thatindicated that disposal of such effluent on to the landmay affect the soil productivity. The effluent was darkbrown in colour having in the range of 72,000 to75,000 hazen (Hz) and inadequate disposal is of greatenvironmental concerns as which may lead to groundwater pollution through leaching. The effluentbelongs to the irrigation water group “Moderate toSevere restriction on use” with respect to salinity andspecific ion toxicity (Kandiah 1987). The BTDE alsocontains considerable amount of bacterial, fungal andactinomycetes populations, which varied in the rangeof 25–30×105 CFU/ml, 40–50×102 CFU/ml and 10–20×102 CFU/ml respectively. Nitrogen fixer’s viz.Rhizobium and Azotobacter were totally absent.

Physico-chemical and microbiological characteristicsof soil

The results presented in Table 2 indicated that soilbelongs to clay in texture. The bulk density of thesoils ranged from 1.10 to 1.20 gm cm−3. Maximumwater holding capacity and porosity varied from48.53 to 62.16% and 45.80 to 54.19% respectively.The organic carbon and cation exchange capacity(CEC) content of the soil ranged from 0.33 to 0.46%and 60.58 to 75.57 cmol (p+) kg−1 respectively. The

total and available nutrients with respect to N, P andK were also present in appreciable amounts in thesoil. These results indicated that the use of such soilfor agricultural or forestry purpose increased theproductivity of crop/plants.

Bench scale experiments

The results depicted in Fig. 2a and b indicate that thelysimeter having coconut husk as bedding material isfound to be better retention of COD and colour ascompared to lysimeter having sugarcane husk asbedding material. This indicates that the adsorptionsof suspended solids are more in coconut husk than thesugarcane husk. It was also observed that the shelf lifeof coconut husk is more, provides more surface areafor interaction of recalcitrant pollutants present inBTDE than the sugarcane husk. Not much variation inpH was observed (Fig. 2c). Thus, coconut husk isselected as bedding material for pilot scale studies togenerate guidelines for large-scale application at fieldlevel.

Fig. 2 Leachate quality interms of a colour, b COD,and c pH

Fig. 3 Volume of leachate of lysimeters


Assessment of depth of coconut husk as beddingmaterial

Lysimeter were installed with different depths ofbedding material mixed with top soil (5 to 15 cm)for ascertaining the optimal depth of bedding materi-al, except lysimeters A and B. The lysimeter A and Bwere operated as control (without bedding material)using tap water and BTDE. The lysimeter B to F wereoperated continuously for a period of 14 days with atotal volume of 9,800 ml of BTDE having a uniform

concentration of BOD (100 mg l−1) at the rate of100 m3 ha−1 day−1. The BTDE is utilized for forestrythrough HRT system leads to the generation ofminimal leachate, otherwise there is a possibility ofground water contamination (NEERI Report 1998).The result showed that the lysimeter with a depth of15 cm bedding material did not generate any leachateduring the operation of 14 days as shown in Fig. 3.This indicates that the lysimeter F having 15 cm depthof bedding material facilitates the better transpirationand effective evaporation rate of BTDE.

Fig. 4 Characteristicsof the leachate in terms ofa colour, b pH, c EC,d TDS, e COD and f BOD

Fig. 5 Levels of a TDS,b BOD and c COD and inthe leachate


Assessment of optimal hydraulic load

The lysimeter packed with 15 cm depth of beddingmaterial of coconut husk was operated at differenthydraulic loading, keeping the characteristic of BTDEconstant (100 mg l−1 of BOD). The hydraulic loadingvaried from 50 to 250 m3 ha−1 day−1 and the leachateproduced was assessed with respect to colour, pH,EC, TDS, COD and BOD. It is presumed that theground water forms the potential source for supply ofdrinking water to the community. The results depictedin Fig. 4a–f revealed that the characteristics of theleachate produced at hydraulic load of 200 m3 ha−1

day−1 with reference to magnitude of differentconstituents were well below the prescribed limits

for drinking water sources. This study was carriedduring post monsoon season and the hydraulicloading of 200 m3 ha−1 day−1 is selected as optimalduring post monsoon season. Similarly, the character-istics of the leachate produced up to the hydraulicload of 500 m3 ha−1 day−1 applied to lysimeter G withreference to magnitude of different constituents werewell below the prescribed limits for drinking watersources and is optimal during pre monsoon season.

Selection of pollution load of BTDE to the lysimeterat optimal hydraulic load

The three lysimeters F, G and H with 15 cm depth ofbeddingmaterial were operated with different TDS, BOD

Table 3 Physico-chemical characteristics of the leachate collected from lysimeter with different hydraulic loadings of biologicallytreated distillery effluent

Serial number Parameters Magnitude of constituents in the leachate at optimal hydraulic loadings

200 m3

ha−1day−1a500 m3

ha−1day−1bStandards for Drinking water

1. pH 8.13 NG 6.5–8.52. EC (μS/cm) 700 NG –3. Colour (Hz) 5.0 NG 5 (May be extended up to 50 if toxic substances are suspected)4. TDS (mg l−1) 465 NG –5. BOD (mg l−1) NIL NG –6. COD (mg l−1) NIL NG –7. Chloride (mg l−1) 85.2 NG 250 (May be extended up to 1000)8. Bicarbonate (mg l−1) 183.0 NG –9. Sulfate (mg l−1) 24.7 NG 150 (May be extended up to 400)10. Sodium (mg l−1) 28.5 NG –11. Potassium (mg l−1) 10.2 NG –12. Calcium (mg l−1) 56.8 NG 75 (May be extended up to 200)13. Magnesium (mg l−1) 29.4 NG 30 (May be extended up to 100)

NG No generation of leachatea Post monsoonb Pre monsoon (there is no generation of leachate at this loading)

Table 4 Characteristics of BTDE irrigated soil profile of the samples collected from lysimeters at optimal conditions (physicalproperties)

Profile number Depth (cm) Bulk density (g cm−3) Pore space (%) Maximum water holding capacity (%)

1 0–48 1.20 51.20 73.032 48–96 1.19 63.56 72.323 96–144 1.18 57.18 72.13

Treatment, 100 mg l−1 BOD of BTDE (FM, 15 cm)

FM Filter media of coconut husk


and COD loading at optimal hydraulic load of 200 m3

ha−1 day−1 during post monsoon in order to ascertain themaximum load of BTDE that could be stabilized in thesystem with minimal production of leachates and lessmagnitude of pollutants. The lysimeters F, G and Hwere irrigated separately with BTDE having BOD in therange of 0.02 to 0.2 ton ha−1 day−1, while correspondingload in terms of COD and TDS ranged from 0.686 to3.4 ton ha−1 day−1and 0.178 to 0.758 ton ha−1 day−1

respectively. The results depicted in Fig. 5a–c showedthat the level of COD, BOD and TDS increases in theleachate with increase in the pollution load applied tothe lysimeter. The leachate produced in the lysimeteroperated with 0.02 ton BOD ha−1 day−1, 0.686 ton CODha−1 day−1 and 0.178 ton TDS ha−1 day−1 indicated thatthe levels of pollutants were well below the prescribedlimits for the drinking water sources. Hence, thisoptimal loading was selected for large scale applicationduring post monsoon. However, the optimal substrateload in terms of BOD, COD and TDS could beenhanced to 0.100 ton BOD ha−1 day−1, 2.8 ton CODha−1 day−1 and 0.438 ton TDS ha−1 day−1 duringpremonsoon. These findings indicate that the rate ofapplication of pollution load keeping hydraulic loadconstant is greatly influenced by environmental andmeteorological conditions.

Performance evaluation of lysimeter at optimalcondition

The lysimeter at optimal conditions with a hydraulicload of 200 m3 ha−1 day−1 having BOD of 100 mg l−1

of BTDE with corresponding COD load of 0.638 tonCOD ha−1 day−1 was operated continuously duringpost monsoon. Similarly, the lysimeter was alsooperated at optimal conditions with a hydraulic loadingof 500 m3 ha−1 day−1 having BOD of 500 mg l−1 ofBTDE with a COD load of 2.8 ton COD ha−1 day−1

continuously in pre monsoon. The performance of thelysimeters at optimal conditions was evaluated throughmonitoring of characteristics of produced leachate,characteristics of soil and response of the plant growth.

Characteristics of the leachates

The characteristics of leachate produced during theoperation of lysimeter at optimal conditions arepresented in the Table 3. The results indicate thatthe lysimeter operated with a hydraulic load of200 m3 ha−1 day−1 produced a leachate having colour(5.0 Hz), pH (8.13), TDS (465 mg l−1), EC (700 μScm−1), COD (NIL), BOD (NIL), Na (28.5 mg l−1), K(10.2 mg l−1), Ca (56.8 mg l−1), Mg (29.4 mg l−1), Cl

Table 5 Characteristics of BTDE irrigated soil profile of the samples collected from lysimeters at optimal conditions (chemicalproperties)

Profile number Depth (cm) PH EC (mS/cm) Water soluble ions (meq/l) Organic carbon (%)

Ca Mg K Na CO�3 HCO�

3 Cl−

1 0–48 8.25 1.26 6.1 11.5 12.1 11.0 – 24.0 35.4 0.492 48–96 8.22 0.63 4.2 9.0 8.3 8.4 – 18.0 34.8 0.413 96–144 8.14 0.62 4.1 8.7 8.3 8.5 – 17.2 24.5 0.34



Table 6 Characteristics of BTDE irrigated soil profile of the samples collected from lysimeters at optimal conditions (microbiologicalproperties)

Profile number Depth (cm) Bacteria (CFU/g) Fungi (CFU/g) Actinomycetes (CFU/g) Rhizobium (CFU/g) Azotobacter (CFU/g)

1 0–48 86×105 69×103 34×103 84×102 96×102

2 48–96 85×105 68×103 28×103 76×102 89×102

3 96–144 78×105 64×103 22×103 71×102 87×102




(85.2 mg l−1), HCO3 (183.0 mg l−1) and SO4

(24.7 mg l−1). These values are below the prescribedlimits for drinking water set by WHO (1971). Similar,results were reported by Kandiah (1987).

Physico-chemical and microbiological characteristicsof BTDE irrigated soil

Soil samples irrigated with BTDE with a BOD load of0.02 ton BOD ha−1 day−1 and at optimal hydraulicload of 200 m3 ha−1 day−1 were collected at differentdepths as per soil profile from the lysimeter and wereanalyzed for physico-chemical properties viz.MWHC, bulk density, pH, EC, water soluble cationsand anions, exchangeable cations, organic carbon,available and total nutrients etc. The results arepresented in Tables 4, 5 and 6. The continuousapplication of BTDE affects the bulk density of thesoil, which in turn influences the porosity of soil andultimately WHC of the soil. Similar results wasreported by Chhonkar et al. 2000 and Purushottamet al. 1986). Further, application of BTDE at optimalconditions does not indicate substantial increase inthe organic carbon content of the soil. This indi-cates that the soil had a capacity to stabilize theorganic constituents of the BTDE through differentmicrobial communities present in the soil (Juwarkarand Subrahamanyam 1987). Trivedi and Shinde(1983) also reported fast degradation of organicmatter in distillery effluent irrigated soil.

The microbiological analysis of the soil at differentdepths of the lysimeter was carried out to ascertain thecolony-forming units (CFUs) for the population of thebacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, Rhizobium and Azoto-bacter. The microbial population with respect tobacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, Rhizobium and Azoto-bacte varied in the range of 78–86×105, 64–69×105,22–34×105, 71–84×105 and 87–96×105 respectively.These results indicated that the different microbialpopulation in the soil through out the lysimeterdecreased with the depth. This was due to reductionof organic carbon in the soil with respect to depth(Juwarkar and Dutta 1990). Further, the soil devel-oped Rhizobium and Azotobacter, which are potentialnitrogen fixers. This result is in confirmity withfindings reported by Trivedy and Shinde (1983) andRajanan and Oblisami (1979).

Response of plant growth at optimal conditionsof operation of the lysimeters

The growth of the plant species Dendrocalamusstrictus (bamboo) planted in the lysimeters showedgood response towards BTDE irrigation. Increase inheight of the plant irrigated with BTDE was better ascompared to the height of the plant observed with theplain water application. This is due to the addition ofnutrients through the biologically treated distilleryBTDE. The percent increase in height of the plant was233.33%. Similar findings were reported by Raza andVijaykumari (2003), Thawale et al. (1999), Chhonkaret al. (2000), Trivedy and Shinde (1983).

Conclusions

The conventional methods in plant treatment ofdistillery effluent even up to secondary biologicallytreatment unit does not provide an environmentallycompatible solution to effluent management for itsdisposal in surface water and onto the land. The studyshowed that HRTS, which is based on evapotranspi-ration potential of plants, can be suitably modified byselecting suitable plant species and bedding materialsfor better efficiency. In these studies, Dendrocalamusstrictus (bamboo) was selected because it has highevapotranspiration rate.

Based on lysimeter investigations on pilot scale,it was observed that a well designed land systemwith HRTS having a bedding material of coconuthusk with a depth of 15 cm could treat the BTDE ata hydraulic loading of 200 m3 ha−1 day−1 havingBOD of 100 mg l−1 with a corresponding COD loadof 0.686 ton ha−1 day−1 during post monsoon periodsi.e October to January. During pre monsoon periodsi.e. February to June, the BTDE could be treatedeffectively through application of HRTS by growingspecific Dendrocalamus strictus (bamboo) specieswith an optimal hydraulic load of 500 m3 ha−1 day−1

having BOD of 500 mg l−1 with a correspondingCOD load of 2.8 ton ha−1 day−1. The guidelinesgenerated at pilot scale using BTDE through col-umn lysimeter will be helpful for its applicationat field level. Thus, the pilot scale studies provedthat with optimal hydraulic and organic load, the


BTDE could be safely disposed onto the landthrough HRTS without any harm to the soil and watersources.

Acknowledgement The author’s thanks to the Dr. SukumarDevotta, Director, NEERI, for his valuable suggestions duringthe preparation of manuscript. Thanks to M/s Jubilant Orga-nosys Limited, NOIDA for providing the financial support andassistance to carry out the studies.

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Applicability of high rate transpiration system for treatment of biologically treated distillery effluent