PALM OIL MILL EFFLUENT TREATMENT

Statistics on Palm oil consumption in India is truly staggering : India is the second largest consumer of edible oils in the world after China, and consumes nearly 17 % of the world palm oil production.  It is also the largest importer of palm oil, accounting for 44 % of world imports !

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-others/tp-banking-on-agribiz/article2644516.ece

Persistent attempts by the Government to increase acreage under oil palm cultivation, processing and domestic production of palm oil have met with little success : I am not surprised given the quality, competence and dedication or vision of the Politicians and their Babus in recent times, whose main focus is on politics, and petty politicking on every conceivable issue and non issue - Development of the Nation and welfare of the citizens be damned.  I shudder to think of the fate of the Green revolution of Dr. M.S Swaminathan and the White revolution of Dr.V. Kurien of the 60's, if these ideas were to be conceived in the India of today.

Here is an interesting story of a Palm oil Mill and its Effluent treatment, set in the 90's in Karnataka, avaricious Babus already beginning to rule the roost, busy lining their pockets for many a rainy day I presume.

49. PALM OIL MILL EFFLUENT (POME) TREATMENT

I forget now how it was that Mr. V K Abraham, Executive Director of Karnataka Oswal Oil palms Limited ( KOOL ) zeroed in on me to be their consultant to design the Wastewater treatment facilities for their upcoming Palm oil mill in Shimoga District in Karnataka.  In the year 1992, KOOL was promoted as a joint venture project of the Oswal group of Punjab ( Oswal woolen mills, Oswal Foods, Oswal Sugars etc.) and the Karnataka State Industrial Investment and Development Corporation         ( KSIIDC).

When Mr. Abraham put up my proposal for consultancy services to the KSIIDC for approval, the decision making authority there, a high ranking officer rejected my proposal on the flimsy grounds that he did not like the looks of our Company Letterhead !!!  I later came to know from a General Manager of Kissan ( ketchup, jams) that this @S#$O&B  used to demand a fee from people seeking an appointment with him even on matters of normal and routine official business.  Talk about probity in public service in such high offices !  This same uncouth lout on retirement from Govt. service was a middleman to a leading real estate developer from the North, seeking to set up a huge township right on the banks of the T G Halli reservoir, a drinking water source at that time to the City of Bangalore.  Selling his soul to make a fast buck was this creature’s specialty.  Thankfully this project was summarily shot down by saner counsel in the Government at that time.

The KOOL consultancy assignment was finally awarded to Kirloskar Consultants Pvt. Ltd. presumably on the basis of their better looking Letterhead, at a much higher, inflated fee.  Kirloskar Consultants promptly subcontracted to me the entire assignment of designing and engineering the KOOL wastewater treatment plant.

The palm oil mill was the first of its kind in India.  There was no previous knowledge or experience of this kind of wastewater to fall back upon.  And in the age before internet and google, I found some relevant literature on this subject in the British Council Library, then situated on St. Marks’ Road, above Koshys’ Restaurant, famous for its thickly sliced buttered toast and coffee ( Koshy’s I mean).

I had to do a detailed study of the palm oil processing process right from the time of harvesting of the Fresh Fruit Bunches ( FFB), right through  the process of sterilisation- stripping- pressing - clarification – depericarping- nut cracking- hydrocyclone etc.  Material and water balance for the process had to be meticulously worked out for Indian conditions.   Finally the treatment plant design was presented and accepted by KOOL, and implemented on site.

The BOD ( Biochemical Oxygen Demand)  of the wastewater is very high at around 20,000- 30,000 mg/L, contributed in the main by Triglycerides, Mono- and Diglycerides, palmitic acid, tocopherols, carotene (which imparts the characteristic red colour to crude palm oil ) phospholipids, carbohydrates, sterols, alcohols etc., all fairly easily biodegradable.  I proposed a two stage anaerobic lagoon treatment followed by a two stage aerobic treatment to reduce the BOD to below acceptable limits.  The presence of beneficient enzymes such as Lypases and Lypoxygenases was also in favour of proposing the two stage anaerobic treatment in the first instance.

Finally, land disposal of the treated water was recommended on the oil palm plantation itself for economic return from use of nutrients present in the treated water, with judicious application and irrigation rates to avoid ground water Nitrate accretions.

The technical paper on the first palm oil wastewater treatment plant in India was published later in the Indian Oil Palm Journal Vol 3, No. 13 May – June 1993.

Dr. Ananth S Kodavasal                                                                    December 25, 2011

P.S :  I came to know much later that both Mr. Abhey Kumar Oswal and Mr. V K Abraham were well known to my father, K S Seshadri, a doyen of the edible oil industry after 45 years of hard and pioneering work in the field : an oil technologist from the VJTI, Bombay, he had humble beginnings as a lab chemist in the Bombay Oil Industries ( now called Marico ) where he first formulated Saffola. He later went on to set up scores of edible oil plants and refineries all over India, and finally set up and operated his own solvent extraction and refinery unit in Dharwad, Karnataka : he died in harness on December 12, 1992 at the age of 72. – R.I P.

TREATMENT PLANT FOR FOOD AND BEVERAGES INDUSTRY

Gone are the days when life was simple, and the choices you had to make to run your life were few indeed.

- For travel, one either walked or took the bullock cart : We now have to choose between a two wheeler, three wheeler, four wheeler, bus, train, metro or an aeroplane.

- A meal consisted of anna , saaru, Mosaru : We now have a choice of exotic cuisines ranging from Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Andhra ( Andhra Chinese, Andhra Punjabi, Andhra continental ) Chettinad,  Kerala, Punjabi, Bengali, Italian, Spanish, and of course the All American  Pizza, burger and the Colonel's chicken

- Guests to home were offered buttermilk or coffee/ tea. We now have a surfeit of beverages on offer : A variety of packaged fruit juices, High and Lo calorie soft drinks, Lassi in various avatars, flavoured milk concoctions,  Green tea, Jasmine tea,  etc. ( aptly bundled under the name infinitea), and a choice of other potent brews prescribed by Dr. Mallya.

I had to face one such situation some time back in a training session.  I confess for once, I was spoilt for choice.

48. TREATMENT PLANT FOR FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRIES

About 20 yeas ago, The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board ( KSPCB) with financial aid and technical support from DANIDA ( The Danish Govt. Aid Agency)  set up the Environmental Training Institute ( ETI ), operating out of a small rented premises on Wheeler Road in Cox Town, Bangalore.  The mandate of the ETI was to spread Environmental awareness among the general populace and also impart specialized training for industry representatives in various aspects of preserving and enhancing the Environment, as envisaged in the Water ( Prevention and Control of Pollution ) Act, 1974 and the Environment ( Protection) Act, 1986.  DANIDA was also instrumental in putting together the training materials in the form of a dossier for each specialized topic, which was then distributed to the PCB’s of the four Southern states.  A novel overhead projector was also gifted to ETI by DANIDA, which could project from printed material on plain paper directly on to the screen : no need for fussy acetate flimsies !

I was one of the Resource persons selected by KSPCB and ETI to conduct 2 day interactive training sessions on Industrial Wastewater Treatment for small batches of industry representatives in various towns of Karnataka. 

DANIDA also organized a training session for us Trainers over a three day residential program : the venue was a pleasant resort called Greenacres on Bellary Road, near the new Bangalore International Airport.  Carstens Bronsted was the expert deputed by DANIDA to train us.  Carstens’ program was not on the contents of the training material, but on matters of effective communication, interactive and participative training, timing and pacing of the training,  and about attention spans of trainees, case studies during class hours and assignments for after hours,  and how to keeping trainees awake and regaled during post noon sessions after lunch.  The training under the Master was thoroughly enjoyable and I practice many of his teachings and precepts to this day.

On behalf of the ETI, now very ambitiously rechristened the Environment Management and Policy Research Institute ( EMPRI), I have conducted several training sessions on Industrial Wastewater Treatment.  At the EMPRI’s vast new green campus in Peenya, I have also conducted the two day training program for a fresh batch of KSPCB officer recruits.  Alas, my mandate was only to train them on technical matters pertaining to wastewater treatment and not on ethical and moral conduct of Government business.

The EMPRI once requested me to conduct a training session on Wastewater treatment in the Food and Beverages industry.  It left me scratching my head for a very very long time : the list of food and beverage industry wastewater treatment addressed by me during my career by that time was long indeed :

-     Bakery  ( Modern Bread)

-          Biscuits ( Sunfeast )

-          Breweries ( UB, Sab Miller )

-          Coffee pulping in coffee estates ( Several)

-          Confectionery and Chocolates ( NP Confectionery)

-          Corn processing ( Mysore )

-          Dairies and milk chilling centers ( Several all over India )

-          Distilleries  (Several )

-          Edible oil refineries ( KLN, Siddaganga, etc.)

-          Egg processing ( Ovobel )

-          Fish processing ( Britannia )

-          Flour mills ( Big four - Bangalore )

-          Fruit & Vegetable canneries ( IQF )

-          Instant coffee/ tea plants  ( Brooke Bond, Lipton )

-          Jams, squashes, ketchup ( Kissan, Hindustan Unilever))

-          Mushrooms ( Hindustan Lever )

-          Packaged foods (ITC )

-          Palm oil mill effluent ( Karnataka Oswal Oilpalms Ltd.))

-          Poultry processing / abettoirs ( Godrej )

-          Soda pop ( Aerated soft drinks – Thums up, Coke)

-          Starch and sago from tapioca ( Several in Salem Dt.)

-          Sugar plants ( Several in Maharashtra, Karnataka)

Etc.

Given this vast diversity of wastewaters and the treatment schemes involved, I confess, for the first time I took the easy way out and doubtless bored my audience with generalities of treatment. 

Lunch break came as a Godsend for all, when we were in turn treated to some good food and beverages by EMPRI.

Dr. Ananth S Kodavasal                                                                 December 25, 2011

HOW NOT TO ENGINEER A TREATMENT PLANT

Last week I had posted an article on the Design defects of a FAB reactor in Electronics city : such was the enormity of Engineering defects in that plant that it would make any self respecting engineer turn over in his grave.  What is even more shocking is that this abominable article of design and engineering could pass muster with a number of intermediary agencies : The project team of the client - Architect - Structural designer - KSPCB  etc.  Well, less said the better. Although a little lacking in sophistication, I am attaching hand drawn sketches of this monument, built I am sure with excess of cement and steel, still standing but defunct like the old Roman Aqueduct in Segovia, Spain.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/floydgal/2032944553/in/set-72157602807265096/

35. HOW NOT TO ENGINEER A TREATMENT PLANT

A previous article in this Adda/ Blog had a case study of a treatment plant in Electronics City, Bangalore with the fancy acronym #@&%, sold to a software major by Zermatt.  Now Zermatt is a water treatment company and should stick to their core competencies, instead of dabbling also in wastewater treatment.  Wastewater treatment is an Art, but most certainly not that of an Artful Salesman.

I touched upon only the contradictions, deficiencies and defects in the Design of that treatment plant in the earlier essay.  In order to fully appreciate the extent of technical bankruptcy of Zermatt I must describe the Engineering aspects of the #@&% Plant in Electronics city, and the reasons why I refused to take over the pant for operation and maintenance.

Pls. refer to sketches attached of the plant.  The deficiencies and defects in engineering pointed out by me, which would vitiate all efforts towards proper Operation and mtce. of the plant were :

1. The Bar screen and Bar screen chamber were constructed along the retaining tank wall : There was no way to access the screen, since no approachway was provided.  The Bar screen therefore was only an ornamental piece of equipment in the STP.

2. The Equalisation tank was also constructed as a free standing tank.  No approach ladder/ operating platform was provided for regular monitoring and maintenance.

3. Two Nos. Air blowers were mounted on a tall pedestal structure ! I am totally at a loss to fathom this piece of engineering sophistication.  Neither was a ladder provided to approach the blowers, nor was there sufficient working space around the blowers on the pedestal to carry out even routine maintenance activities like topping up of oil, replacing V belts etc.

4. The FAB reactor being a tall column, the secondary settling tank following it had to be at an elevation, supported by MS staging.  Even here, no access was provided to the top of the plate settler, unless the client chose to employ monkeys to operate the plant.

5. Plate or Tube settlers are not recommended for use in secondary settling of mixed liquor from a biological aeration unit.  Also, due to very short residence times in the plate settlers, the underflow sludge is very thin, necessitating further thickening/ conditioning of sludge and overall greater difficulty in sludge handling and disposal.

http://www.monroeenvironmental.com/water-and-wastewater-treatment/parallell-plate-settlers

(Though most commonly used for primary clarification, these units can also be effective in decreasing the MLSS (mixed liquor suspended solids) entering secondary settling tanks when located at the entrance to the secondary settling tank or at the end of the aeration tanks. 

Thus, plate settlers are not recommended even by manufacturers to be the sole and only settling units for biological sludge : at best they may be used as a presettler before a conventional clarifier.

6. The Backwash waste from the Pressure sand filter and Activated carbon filter were simply let out on to the floor of the STP retaining tank.  There was absolutely no provision made to evacuate it off the floor of the tank.  Zermatt possibly was counting on natural evaporation to do the trick.

7. And the most glaring defect of all : The entire floor of the STP retaining tank was made level, with no slope to the floor,  and no a sump to collect drainage water.  After every spell of rain, water would collect and stagnate on the floor of the STP, and the STP would double up as a swimming pool for the benefit of hard working software engineers on campus.

And there was a very fundamental and basic question I posed to both Zermatt and the project team of the client :

Where, Oh! Where was the need to build an entire retaining tank structure below ground to house the STP ?  All that was needed was for the first Collection/ Equalisation tank to be below ground, and all other structures could be very simply erected at ground level.

And what of the Cost factor for this brilliant piece of engineering ? Left to me, I would have designed and engineered  the entire STP at a cost less than that incurred for just constructing the fortress like structure housing the STP !!!

Dr. Ananth S Kodavasal                                                                       August 14, 2011