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Bioresource Technology 99 (2008) 41994205

Biodegradability evaluation of dairy euents originated in


selected sections of dairy production
W. Janczukowicz, M. Zielinski *, M. Debowski
Department of Environmental Protection Engineering, Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Fisheries, University of Warmia and Mazury in
Olsztyn, 10-957 Olsztyn, Prawochenskiego St. 1, Poland
Received 21 March 2007; received in revised form 28 August 2007; accepted 28 August 2007
Available online 31 October 2007

Abstract
Main goal of the study was present the results of some respirometric measurements of activated sludge biodegrading the substrate in
the wastewater originated in selected sections of the dairy processing line. The following dairy production euents were analyzed in the
research: the pumping station wastewater (combined wastewater from all the sections of the dairy factory), the apparatus room wastewater, the butter section wastewater, the milk reception point wastewater, the cheese section wastewater and the cottage cheese section
wastewater. Apart from that, sweet and sour whey, which are secondary products of hard cheese and cottage cheese production, respectively, was the subject of the research. The amount of organic matter being oxidized during a 5-day measurement session was calculated
on 1 g of the activated sludge biomass. The research was conducted at the temperature of 20 C and 35 C at the applied sludge loading
rate of A 0 = 0.2 g BOD g1 dry mass d1, which ensured complete biodegradation.
The results indicated a correlation between a technological process of dairy processing, an ultimate outcome of which was the wastewater analyzed, and dairy wastewater biodegradability. The results conrmed that all dairy processing euents can be treated together,
with the exception of whey, whose complex biodegradation demands may cause too much burden to any wastewater treatment technological system and thus should be managed within a separate installation.
 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Dairy wastewater; Activated sludge; Bioactivity; Biodegradability; Respirometric measurements

1. Introduction
Dairy wastewater diers widely both in quantity and
quality depending on a given dairy factory production
characteristics (Rico et al., 1991). Many products in dairy
factories are manufactured separately, thus pollutants content in the dairy wastewater at a given time changes
together with the application of another technological cycle
of the processing line. Such a correlation reduces the eciency of wastewater treatment plants in dairy factories.
The problem might be particularly discernible in smaller

Corresponding author. Tel./fax: +48 89 523 41 24.


E-mail address: marcin.zielinski@uwm.edu.pl (M. Zielinski).

0960-8524/$ - see front matter  2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2007.08.077

factories where it is fairly dicult to average and balance


the wastewater content. In 1995 and 1996, Danalewich
et al. (1998) carried out a research in some US dairy factories whose assortment and production scale was analogous.
The researchers revealed that the euent ow diered
within a range of 170 and 2081 m3 d1. In most factories
the wastewater ow volumetric intensity was observed to
vary on a seasonal, diurnal and hourly basis, with the minimum euent ow ranging from 4 to 170 m3 d1 and the
maximum from 257 to 2650 m3 d1. Diurnal and hourly
uctuations in the amount of wastewater produced were
connected with washing the appliances and rooms at the
end of each processing cycle. Whereas seasonal lability
was attributed to milk processing rates being higher in
summer and lower in winter.

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W. Janczukowicz et al. / Bioresource Technology 99 (2008) 41994205

The organic compounds loading rate in dairy wastewater is determined by the amount of lactose, fats and pro}
teins (Ozturket
et al., 1993; Perle et al., 1995). The
relation between these substances can be extremely varied,
that aects their susceptibility to biological treatment.
Wastewater reaction and temperature are other factors that
determine biodegradation eciency (Ergurder et al., 2001).
Under aerobic conditions ammonia and other aminoacids are primary products of protein biodegradation.
Some milk proteins, for instance casein, are resistant to
biodegradation, therefore in order to be biodegraded they
require microorganisms that are appropriately adapted.
Orhon et al., (1992) investigated biological treatability of
dairy wastewater by active sludge in aerobic conditions.
They showed that wastewater with wheys protein are
much slowly biological treated then the glucose solution.
There was necessary 150 h time of adaptation for eective
way-wastewater biodegradation.
In comparison to proteins hydrocarbons are more susceptible to biodegradation as in their case biodegradation
occurs easier and faster. Lactose, that occurs in dairy
wastewater, is biodegraded to propionic acid, ethanol and
acetate. In aerobic condition lactose decomposition is not
trouble but necessary is presence of other compounds that
can be source of nitrogen and phosphorus. In this way,
dairy wastewater with high concentration of lactose compression to other organic compounds can be dicult to
decomposition (Sarkar et al., 2006).
Fats biodegradation may be rendered dicult as their
biodegradability rate is very low (Petruy and Lettinga,
1997). In dairy wastewater fats generate glycerol and
long-chain fatty acids. Glycerol does not cause inhibition
whereas long-chain fatty acids, both saturated (1214 carbon atoms) and unsaturated (18 carbon atoms) (Perle
et al., 1995) may produce harmful eects on various microorganisms, on metanogenous bacteria in particular. Such a
harmful eect is attributed to double bonds and cis isomers, which occur in natural fats.
The aim of the research presented in this work was to
determine the biodegradability rate of the dairy wastewater
originated in selected sections of the dairy processing line.
The research was done under aerobic conditions and the
biodegradability rate was estimated as a function of the
process temperature.

2. Methodology
2.1. The wastewater characteristics
The research on the biodegradability of some dairy
wastewater was based on respirometric methods. In the
experiment the researchers used activated sludge adapted
to dairy wastewater biodegradation under aerobic
conditions.
The wastewater selected for the experiment displayed
diverse values for physical and chemical properties (Table
1). It was collected from the following sections of the dairy
processing line:
The apparatus room The wastewater originated from
washing the equipment such as centrifuges, devices
and installations used for milk thermal processing,
homogenisation, condensation and out-gassing (de-aeration). The wastewater varied in content depending on
the detergents used for washing.
The butter section The wastewater originated from
washing the rooms, devices and installations used in butter production. Its characteristic feature was high fats
content.
The milk reception point The wastewater originated
from washing the cisterns, pipes, oors and drives. Its
texture resembled highly-diluted milk.
The cheese and cottage cheese section The wastewater
originated from washing the devices and installations for
hard cheese and cottage cheese production, respectively.
It was marked by high rates of organic pollutants.
Apart from these the following liquids were analyzed in
the research:
Hard cheese whey a secondary product of hard cheese
production (sweet whey).
Cottage cheese whey a secondary product of white cottage cheese production (sour whey).
Mixed wastewater all the wastewater combined in one
stream (the wastewater pumping station).
Value of the waste indicate presented in Table 1 are similarly to introduced in literature (Kasapgil et al., 1994;

Table 1
Physical and chemical characteristics of the dairy sewage being analysed
The sewage origin

BOD5 (mg l1)

COD (mg l1)

BOD5/COD (mg l1)

Total suspended solid (mg l1)

Fats (mg l1)

Reaction (pH)

Apparatus room
Butter section
Milk reception point
Cheese section
Cottage cheese section
Hard cheese whey
Cottage cheese whey
Pumping station

3470.0
2423.3
797.6
3456.7
2599.0
29480.0
26766.0
1748.0

14639.5
8925.9
2542.9
11753.0
17645.4
73445.0
58549.6
4441.5

0.27
0.27
0.31
0.29
0.15
0.4
0.46
0.39

3821.2
5066.5
653.6
939.5
3375.3
7152.2
8314.0
1071.8

3105.2
2882.4
1056.8
330.5
950.3
994.4
491.5
573

10.37
12.08
7.18
7.90
7.83
5.80
5.35
8.35

W. Janczukowicz et al. / Bioresource Technology 99 (2008) 41994205

Malaspina et al., 1995; Strydom et al., 1997; Demirel et al.,


2005). For example Malaspina et al., (1995) present average value of cheese whey 68814 mg COD l1. In present
research for that same type of whey COD was averagely
73445 mg COD l1.

Amount of biomass placed inside a single reaction tank


40 mg TSS.

20 C

0.9

35 C

0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1

Pumping station

Cottage cheese whey

Hard cheese whey

Cottage cheese section

Cheese section

Milk reception point

Butter section

0.0
Apparatus room

The dairy wastewater biodegradability rate under aerobic conditions was measured by means of respirometric
Oxi-Top apparatus by WTW company. The measurement
equipment consisted of a reaction tank and a measure
recorder. Used method was based on application method
by WTW Company Oxi Top system (Sumuth and Doser,
1999).
Inside the reaction tank was placed an appropriate
amount of the wastewater analyzed and a standardised
for all measurements portion of activated sludge. The reaction tank was rmly attached to the measure recorder that
traced and registered the changes of partial pressure inside
the reaction tank. As a result of cellular respiration the
microorganisms in the activated sludge used organic compounds from the wastewater analyzed. The measurement
was taken under aerobic conditions. The microorganisms
used the oxygen from the reaction tank as the electrons
acceptor and in turn released carbon dioxide being an ultimate product of carbon compounds changes under aerobic
conditions. In the reaction tank carbon dioxide was bound
by the absorbent sodium alkali NaOH, which led to the
change in the partial pressure inside the reaction tank.
The pressure was automatically measured and registered
by the measure recorder that simultaneously calculated
the values of the registered partial pressure on the amount
of oxygen used by the microorganisms.
Consistently, the same amount of the activated sludge
biomass was placed inside a single reaction tank. It was
10 ml active sludge with concentration about 4000 mg
TSS l1 250 mg TSS l1. Volatile suspend soils was about
85% of the Total Suspend Soils. Before all measurements
concentration of TSS was controlled. Following that an
appropriate amount of the dairy wastewater was supplied,
prior to that the organic compounds content (BOD) in
the wastewater had been dened (Fig. 1). The experiment
was carried out on the activated sludge at the applied pollutant loading BOD of A 0 = 0.2 g BOD g1 dry mass d1; the
tests were taken at the temperature of 20 C and 35 C. The
measurement session lasted 5 days, that means that at a
time 1.0 g of organic matter (BOD) from the treated wastewater on 1.0 g of the activated sludge dry mass was supplied
to the reaction tank. The volume in the liquid faze was even
out by demonized water addition to 100 ml. Oxygen concentration in the distillated water was 7.8 mg l1.
Calculation of required value of wastewater was presented on the apparatus room example.

1.0

g BODg-1-d.m.

2.2. The measurement equipment

4201

Fig. 1. The number of oxidised organic compounds calculated on the


activated sludge dry biomass, depending on the sewage origin and the
measurement temperature.

Volume of used active sludge 10 ml.


Concentration of Total Suspend Solids 4000 mg l1.
The applied pollutant loading BOD of A 0 = 0.2 g
BOD g1 dry mass d1.
The average BOD of wastewater from on the apparatus
room 3470 mg l1.
Required volume of the wastewater on one measurement day 2.3 ml.
Time of measurement 5 days.
Total volume of the placed wastewater 11.5 ml (load
40 mg BOD in 11.5 ml).
Sample nally composition:
Active sludge 10 ml + wastewater 11.5 ml + distillated
water 78.5 ml = 100 ml.
The activated sludge used in the research was obtained
from the ancillary reactor operating in a time cycle
(SBR). The sludge load in that reactor was maintained at
the level of A 0 = 0.2 g BOD g1 d.m. d1. The activated
sludge used in the experiment was adapted to dairy wastewater biodegradation. The culture medium used in the
ancillary reactor comprised synthetic wastewater that had
been formed on the basis of powdered milk.
2.3. Calculation grounds
The equation of ideal gas serves as the basis for calculations in all respirometric methods.
For the research under aerobic conditions
nCO2

Dp  V g
 104
RT

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W. Janczukowicz et al. / Bioresource Technology 99 (2008) 41994205

where n is the number of carbon dioxide moles absorbed by


NaOH (mol), Dp the dierence in the gas pressure inside
the experimental tank between the initial and nal stage
of the experiment, caused by oxygen consumption and
CO2 absorption (Pa), V the volume of the gas phase in
the reaction tank (m3), R the gas constant (8.314 J/mol K),
T the incubation temperature (K) and 104 the calculation
coecient of Pa on hPa and m3 on cm3.
The measurement equipment used in the experiment
automatically calculated the recorded pressure drop on
the amount of oxygen consumed by the microorganisms
in the course of wastewater biodegradation.
2.4. Statistical methods of the research results analysis
For each temperature variant the measurement was
repeated ten times, regardless of the kind of the treated
wastewater. The statistical analysis of the obtained data
was carried out by means of a one-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA), at the signicance level of p < 0.05. The
normality of the distribution was conrmed by the W.
SzapiroWilks test, whereas the hypothesis of the homogeneity of variances across the groups was veried on the
basis of the Levenes test. The dierences between the
means derived from particular groups were examined by
means of the Tukeys test.

3. Results
For every group of the dairy wastewater being examined
in the experiment the biodegradability rate was determined
as the ratio of the number of organic compounds being oxidized throughout the process to 1 g of the activated sludge
dry mass. The number of oxidized organic compounds was
dened depending on the origin of the substrate (dairy
wastewater) and the process temperature.
At the temperature of 20 C and at the applied pollutant
load of 0.2 g BOD g1 d.m. d1 the wastewater from the
cheese section turned out to be the most susceptible to biodegradation (Fig. 1). The average number of organic compounds being oxidized after a 5-day measurement session
achieved 0.32 g BOD g1 d.m. whereas in the case of the
wastewater from the milk reception point and the butter
section the average value did not exceed 0.23 g
BOD g1 d.m. The wastewater from the apparatus room
and the pumping station displayed a similar eciency rate,
that was conrmed by the results of the Tukeys test indicating that at the assumed signicance level of 0.05 there
were no statistically signicant dierences between the
wastewater biodegradability rates (Table 2).
The wastewater in the whey appeared to be the least biodegradable, especially the cheese whey that proved to be
the most resistant to biodegradation as compared to the

Table 2
Statistic value test RIR Tukeya a = 0.05
Apparatus
room
20 C
Apparatus room
Butter section
Milk reception
point
Cheese section
Hard cheese
whey
Cottage cheese
whey
Cottage cheese
section
Mixed sewage
35 C
Apparatus room
Butter section
Milk reception
point
Cheese section
Hard cheese
whey
Cottage cheese
whey
Cottage cheese
section
Mixed sewage

Butter
section

Milk reception
point

Cheese
section

Hard cheese
whey

Cottage cheese
whey

Cottage cheese
section

Mixed
sewage

0.981308

0.711782
0.993446

0.957585
0.534535
0.188014

0.000175
0.000177
0.000189

0.000175
0.000179
0.000195

0.000189
0.000276
0.000617

0.021917
0.117270
0.380274

0.000175

0.000175
1.000000

0.000176
0.711782

0.002921
0.001560

0.793409

0.002052

0.981308
0.711782

0.993446

0.957585
0.000175

0.534535
0.000177

0.188014
0.000189

0.000175

0.000175

0.000179

0.000195

0.000175

1.000000

0.000189

0.000276

0.000617

0.000176

0.711782

0.793409

0.021917

0.117270

0.380274

0.002921

0.001560

0.002052

0.035911

0.117042

0.001128
0.265014

0.000200
0.010575
0.640060

0.005079
0.000186
0.000175

0.020032
0.000226
0.000175

0.363420
0.001643
0.000184

0.995925
0.351616
0.003940

0.000175

0.000175
0.995329

0.000175
0.311670

0.000293
0.001415

0.704399

0.005236

0.117042
0.001128

0.265014

0.000200
0.005079

0.010575
0.000186

0.640060
0.000175

0.000175

0.020032

0.000226

0.000175

0.000175

0.995329

0.363420

0.001643

0.000184

0.000175

0.311670

0.704399

0.995925

0.351616

0.003940

0.000293

0.001415

0.005236

0.035911

0.122074
0.122074

Statistic value less then a = 0.05 (in italic) showed statistical dierences between types of wastewater in biodegradability. When statistic value is higher then
a = 0.05 there was not dierences in biodegradability.

W. Janczukowicz et al. / Bioresource Technology 99 (2008) 41994205

rest of the wastewater being analyzed. In the case of the


cheese whey 1 g of the biomass oxidized barely 0.13 g of
organic compounds (BOD) during the 5-day measurement
session. Similarly, the wastewater from the cottage cheese
section was oxidized with diculty and the biodegradation
rate reached identical values as in the case of the sour whey
(originated from the cottage cheese production). After the
5-day measurement at an average of 0.14 g of organic compounds was oxidized. In addition, statistical analysis
seemed to conrm the diculty in biodegradation in the
case of the wastewater from the cheese and cottage cheese
whey as well as the cottage cheese section. At the assumed
signicance level of 0.05 there are statistically signicant
dierences in their biodegradability rates as compared to
the rest of the wastewater being analyzed (Table 2).
The increase in the measurement temperature to 35 C
resulted in the increase in the number of organic compounds being oxidized, irrespective of the treated wastewater origin. Such a correlation had been expected and
corresponds with the Arrhenius law.
The wastewater from the milk reception point was oxidized most totally (Fig. 1). After the 5-day measurement
the oxidation values achieved at an average of 0.66 g
BOD g1 d.m., that implies that the increase in the process temperature by 15 C led to 3 times increase in biodegradation eciency. In such a case it was the
temperature that aected the biodegradation rate most
signicantly. The wastewater from the butter section and
the cheese section was biodegraded in an analogous
way, which was conrmed by the statistical analysis of
the Tukeys test. The results showed there were no statistically signicant dierences at the signicance level of
0.05 (Table 2). The wastewater from the cottage cheese
section and both cottage cheese and cheese whey was
the least susceptible to biodegradation. The pollutant load
that was oxidized diered considerably in comparison to
the values achieved in the wastewater from other sections
of dairy production, which the results of the Tukeys test
conrmed. In the case of both cheese and cottage cheese
whey the increase in the process temperature did not lead
to a considerable increase in the amount of the pollutant
load being biodegraded. At a higher temperature only
0.08 g BOD g1 d.m. more pollutants were oxidized than
at a lower temperature.
4. Discussion
The key pollutants in the dairy wastewater are the following: organic compounds (dened as BOD5 and COD)
that occur in abundance, fats (which contribute to wastewater foaming), suspended solids and biogenous elements.
The correlation between fats, proteins and carbohydrates
might be varied in the case of dairy wastewater, which is
extremely signicant as far as its biodegradability is concerned. Biodegradability may be estimated on the basis of
the ratio between BOD5 and COD analysis. The ratios
lower than 0.6 can indicate low wastewater susceptibility

4203

to biodegradation. Danalewich et al. (1998) reported that


the ratio in 13 out of all the dairy factories being examined
achieved the values higher than 0.5 (the average
0.63 0.16). That implies that most compounds in the
dairy wastewater are easily biodegradable. In the work presented the ratio of the easily biodegradable matter (BOD5)
to the total organic matter (COD) was lower. The wastewater from the pumping station, which combined all the
wastewater from the factory, achieved the ratio of 0.39.
The wastewater from the cottage cheese station contained
the smallest amount of the easily biodegradable matter
with the BOD5/COD ratio of barely 0.15. Nevertheless,
contrary to the results, it was not the kind of the wastewater to be the most dicult to biodegrade. The research
under aerobic conditions proved the wastewater from the
whey to be the slowest to biodegrade. In its case the
BOD5/COD ratio achieved much higher values in comparison to the other wastewater being analyzed. Such results
suggest that activated sludge, as long as it is appropriately
adapted to dairy wastewater biodegradation, is able to biodegrade even the least biodegradable organic matter such
as the wastewater originated in the cottage cheese section
(Perle et al., 1995).
Cheese whey is assumed to be protein and lactose-rich
product of cheese industry that is biodegradable in 99%.
The number of organic substances (COD) in whey is very
high and its average rate achieves 70 g COD l1. In relation
to such a great load of organic compounds, however, it displays low alkalinity of 25,000 mg CaCO3 l1 (Mawson,
1994). For this reason whey utilization might proceed with
diculty. Malaspina et al., (1995) reported that whey treatment may cause a problem as its low alkalinity can lead to
rapid acidication. In addition, whey might be problematic
in producing granulated sludge. It also tends to produce an
excessive number of sticky exopolymers of apparently bacteria origin which reduce occules ability to sedimentation
and in turn the leaching of the latter (Vidal et al., 2000).
The research presented in this work has conrmed the
diculties whey utilization may cause. In the case of measurements all types of the dairy wastewater being analyzed
whey proved to be the least biodegradable. To illustrate
this: in the course of 5 days 1 g of the aerobic activated
sludge oxidized ca 0.22 mg of the organic matter (BOD5)
that occurred in the whey, whereas under identical conditions the biodegradation eciency rate of the wastewater
from the cheese section was over 2.5 times as high.
The research revealed that the biodegradation rate of
the wastewater originated in various sections of dairy processing line depends on the wastewater content and its
characteristics. The wastewater from the cottage cheese
and cheese whey was the most resistant to biodegradation,
and more to the point no statistically signicant dierences
between the two types were observed. The wastewater from
the cheese section proved to be the least troublesome,
which might imply its high sugar content. Contrary to
the expectations, the wastewater from the apparatus room
was biodegraded showing no negative eects of the deter-

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W. Janczukowicz et al. / Bioresource Technology 99 (2008) 41994205

gents used in washing and rinsing the installations. While


washing dairy installations a wide range of detergents
and disinfectants is used (Danalewich et al., 1998) and their
activity is mainly antiseptic and bactericidal. Moreover
such substances contribute to the increase in the organic
compounds load in the wastewater (COD) diminishing
the BOD5/COD ratio, and the amount of biogenous elements. Harper et al. (after Danalewich et al., 1998) estimated that the amount of disinfectants in the dairy
wastewater oscillated between 0.2% and 13.8% of the
wastewater total volume (3.1% at an average), whereas
the amount of detergents between 2.2% and 41.6% (average
15%). Furthermore the researchers noted that detergents
noticeably reduced the wastewater alkalinity and increased
the amount of phosphorus and acids. Modern detergents
and disinfectants that are currently in use are easily biodegradable. As the research demonstrated the biodegradation
rate of the wastewater from the apparatus room was analogous or even higher in comparison to the wastewater from
other sections.
The research on the dairy wastewater biodegradability,
which analyzed the wastewater from various sections of
the dairy processing line, was conducted at the two temperatures of 20 C and 35 C. In accordance with the Vant
HoArrhenius equation the reaction rate increased
together with the increase in the process temperature. It
was observed that the increase in temperature was the least
signicant in the case of the whey wastewater biodegradation rate but most signicant in (that) of the milk reception
point. Because of high fat content the wastewater from the
butter section was biodegraded less eectively than the
most biodegradable wastewater from the cheese section.
Under aerobic conditions ca 0.23 g BOD g1 d.m. of the
pollutants from the butter section was oxidized after 5 days
of measurements (over 0.32 mg BOD5 mg1 d.m. from the
cheese section). The increase in the process temperature to
35 C resulted in the increase in the biodegradability rate of
the wastewater from the butter section. Such a tendency
might be explained by fats ability to emulgate easily at high
temperatures, thus their susceptibility to being activated by
hydrolysing enzymes. However, it is worth noticing that
the biodegradability of the wastewater from the butter section did not show statistically signicant dierences in relation to the wastewater from the pumping section that
combined all the wastewater from the dairy factory.
The research conducted by Mayo and Noike, (1996) on
the heterotrophic bacteria ability to form colonies showed
no alterations in the process rate at the temperature of
20 C and 35 C. Moreover the researchers highlighted
the fact the in stable conditions heterotrophic bacteria were
not susceptible to any temperature changes within the
range of 1020 C. The number of heterotrophic bacteria
at the temperature 10 and 20 C was analogous. In the
research presented in this work, however, it was proved
that the biodegradability of the wastewater being analyzed
increased extensively at the temperature of 35 C as compared to that of 20 C. For all the wastewater being ana-

lyzed, with the exception of cheese and cottage cheese


whey, the increase was nearly twice as high. It might be
assumed, though, that such a tendency resulted from the
substrates greater availability at higher temperatures,
which the case of the wastewater from the butter section
illustrates best. Kadlec and Reddy, (2001) pointed out that
microorganisms reactions depend on temperature to a
greater extent in their lower range below 15 C than in their
optimum 2035 C. Any temperature change within this
range exerts a minor inuence on organic compounds
removal.
5. Conclusions

1. The results obtained proved that all dairy production


euents can be treated together, with the exception of
whey, whose complex biodegradation demands may
cause too much burden to any wastewater treatment
technological system and thus should be managed
within a separate installation.
2. The pollutants in the cheese and cottage cheese whey
proved to be the most resistant to biodegradation. There
was no statistically signicant dierence between the two
types of whey in terms of their biodegradability rates
dened as the amount of organic compounds being oxidised (BOD).
3. The wastewater from the cheese section was biodegraded most rapidly.
4. No inhibiting eects of detergents and disinfectants were
observed in the case of the apparatus room wastewater.
5. The increase in the process temperature from 20 C to
35 C led to a considerable increase in the biodegradability rate of the wastewater being analyzed, with the
exception of both cheese and cottage cheese whey. In
view of the technical literature it is necessary to assert
that higher biodegradability rates at the temperature
of 35 C resulted more likely from the pollutants greater
availability (fats ability to emulgate) rather than the
increase in microorganisms activity.

Acknowledgements
The research was supported by the nancial assistance
of State Committee for Scientic Research in 20032005
as a research project 4TO 9D 03225. This publication
was supported by the Foundation for the Polish Science.
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