Sugarcane Waste Water Treatment

In sugarcane industry, many industries usually use a conventional biological treatment. As a case study and example we observed the waste water treatment plant in PT. Gunung Madu Pantations, Lampung Indonesia. The wastewater treatment plant of PT. Gunung Madu Pantations has total area about 8.0 Ha with 11 ponds and total volume capacity approximately 244,000 m3. The hydraulic retention time of sugarcane wastewater was designed about 60 days to reduce the concentration of waste water until reach national standard.

Stage of process in waste water treatment plant of PT. Gunung Madu Pantations was designed as follow: oil-solid separation, equalization, anaerobic digestion, facultative decomposition with added degrading bacteria, aerobic decomposition, and stabilization. Before discharge the waste water to river (Way Putak), the treated waste water should be through monitor pond with has fish as a bio-indicator. If the treated wastewater has concentration lower than effluent standard and has no problems with fish in monitor pond, the treated wastewater can discharge to the river.