Biological Approach for the Treatment of Pulp and Paper Industry Effluent in Sequence Batch Reactor

Pulp and paper industrial effluent is rich in recalcitrant compounds and causes pollution. For the treatment of such compounds activated sludge process is frequently used in which F/M ratio is kept low. This treatment results in effective biochemical oxygen demand removal but other waste water parameters are not reduced effectively due to lack of dissolve oxygen. In the present study sequential batch reactor was used for the removal of pollutants from the waste water of pulp and paper mill by using bacterial consortium (Klebsiella sp., Alcaligens sp. and Cronobacter sp.). The aim of present research is to identify the influences of F/M ratio and dissolved oxygen concentration on the microorganism’s growth and pollutant removal. The process of bioremediation was optimized by Taguchi approach. Bioremediation experiment resulted in reduction of chemical and biochemical oxygen demand up to 72.3% and 91.1%, respectively. A significant reduction in colour (55%), adsorbable organic halides (45.4%), total dissolve solids (22%) and total suspended solids (86.7%) was also observed within 14hrs while, the sludge volume index was 52. The wastewater after the treatment process meets the standard given by regulatory agencies and can be discharged into the environment without any risks.