ABSTRACT
Food processing industries involves a large amount of freshwater for many operations mainly washing, boiling and food preparations. These industries can be divided in to three major categories: (a) dairy industry; (b) meat and fish processing; (c) vegetable and fruit processing. The food processing wastewater contain minimal amount of toxic substances but it can have an enormous load of organic nitrogen and phosphorous, fats and pathogenic microbes, which creates many problem for the industries and municipalities. Conventional treatment processes such as activated sludge process that includes physicochemical and biological processes, which generate huge amounts of sludge and treated wastewater also contains inorganic nutrients and pathogenic microbes. There are further needs of sludge handling and management procedures and advanced processes like filtration and flocculation to sequestrate dissolved nutrients.
Microalgal remediation could be a potential, cost-effective and eco-friendly approach which acts as a better alternative to conventional treatment for food processing wastewater. Due to minimal toxicity and high nutrients, microalgae effectively sequestrate the nutrients, leading to less sludge production and reduction in the pathogenic microbes through oxygenation. Further microalgae could be useful in effective sludge digestion through supporting the growth of heterotrophic bacteria.
This chapter provides a brief account of food processing industry and their main categories, wastewater produced from these industries and their typical composition and specific pollutants. The information of current treatments and their challenges and how microalgal remediation could provide an effective and affordable treatment for the food processing wastewater are also provided.
