128/22 | Review Article | Livestock Products Technology

Dairy Waste Management: A Narrative Review on Current Knowledge

Division of Livestock Products Technology, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India – 243122

Abstract

The demand for dairy products is expanding around the world, which leads to the growth of the dairy industry and the accumulation of waste. There is a large amount of whey, dairy sludge, and wastewater (processing, cleaning and sanitary) that is produced. They have a high nutritional concentration, biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and organic and inorganic contents. Additionally, they can contain a wide variety of acid and alkaline detergents, as well as other sterilizing agents. The dairy sector contributes to the degradation of air, land, and water quality. Dairy effluent can be treated using physical, chemical, biological, or biotechnological approaches. While the physico-chemical treatment is effective at reducing milk fat and protein colloids, its downsides include a high reagent cost and a limited ability to remove COD. However, the production of sludge during aerobic biodegradation is a drawback to biological treatments for dairy waste. The effluents discharge restrictions for dairy wastewater can be met by using both aerobic and anaerobic treatment processes. Whey-derived products, bioplastics, biofuels, bioenergy, organic acids, bioactive peptides, enzymes, among others, can all be produced using biotechnological techniques. This paper attempts to detail the numerous methods used by the dairy industry to handle wastes, stressing their effects on quality and efficient removal of the pollution. Especially, it emphasizes on biotechnological

Main Article