TY-SIXTH CONFERENCE

Sugar Research Institute, Mackay

ated that disposal of liquid mill

inary investigations
wastes could be best accompl
by mechanical surface aeration.
Pilot plants utilizing this princ
ere constructed, and experimental
thered and correlated. Discussion of the systematics of plant
s entered into, an a general scheme for planning a waste
disposal plant is given.

THIRTY-SIXTH CONFERENCE

Fig. l-Plant

A, Pleystowe mill.

Plant B: The medium-sized plant consisted of two earth-walled ponds,

one of which was used as an aeration pond, the second as a settling pond
(Figure 2). Each pond had an approximaie capacity of 33,000 gal, and
the plant was operated as a medium intensity aeration batch type, with
no sludge return. It was operated continuously for the last 5 weeks of
crushing and was used to treat high B.O.D. weekend wastes exclusively.
Aeration was continued for 160 hours each week, when the contents of
the aeration pond were pumped to the settling pond, and the aeration
pond refilled. The contents of the settling pond were allowed to rest for

Fig. 2-Plant

B, Pleystowe mill.

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THIRTY-SIXTH CONFERENCE

150 hours, and these were

403

ed out to flood-irrigate nearby

aerator was a Simcar cone, of
. motor, at 90 revlmin.

Plant C: The largest plant, run for the last 9 weeks of crushing, was

cone of 4 ft 3 in diameter, driven through a gear-box by a 7.5 h.p. motor,

at 96 revlmin.

Results
.O.D. determinations were carried out y the permanganate
oxidation test, as discussed elsewhere in this volume, and all data
1--Results obtained from three treatment plants
Measured
h.p.

THIRTY-SIXTH CONFERENCE
8000
D

6000
W>
C
4-3
-l

g,rooo
3P
>W

2000

U)

20

40
W.R REQUIRED

80

60

Fig. 4---Carbohydrate removed per day, in Ib, versus hp required.

reduced to a common basis of lb carbohydrate1h.p. hour removed by

each lant. The oxygen transfer rate was taken from the manufacturer's
speci cations, 10 lb oxygen/h.p. hour (measured), depending on the
temperature and ox gen level already in the water. The results obtained
are expressed in Ta le 1.
From the figures in Table I, a graph was drawn (Figure 4), relating
Ib carbohydrate removed per da to actual h.p. required for removal.
From this, it is possible to calcu ate the size of the plant which will be
required to treat any given effluent.

Plant Design
In order to design a plant using the data contained in Figure 4, it
is considered necessary to institute the following rogramme :(l) Perform a waste water survey, recording ow rates and carbohydrate contents of all waste-water drains. This must be carried out over
a period of time which would encompass maximum and minimum flows,
and maximum fluctuations in carbohydrate content. The results must be
correlated, analysed,statistically, and examined critically.
(2) From the survey, it should be possible to pin point the main
sources of sugar loss in the mill. Once these are known, a programme of
waste reduction should be instituted, bearing in mind that the larger the
sugar content of the final effluent, the larger is the treatment plant
required to reduce it to a safe level.
(3) When losses have been reduced to a minimum, a further survey
will indicate any possibility of segregating certain waste waters, so that
waters with little or no sugar may be allowed to run to waste untreated,
whilst those high in carbohydrates may be gathered into a common drain
or holding vessel for subsequent treatment. This will again reduce the
size of the treatment plant required.
(4) When the final volume and carbohydrate content of the wastes
to be treated are known, then a suitable site can be chosen. The largest
aeration plant should not occupy over two acres, and generally a suitably
sized plant should fit easily into a one-acre area. The site should be as
near as possible to the mill, to utilize mill power, and to save the cost of
an expensive effluent pipe-line. The S stem being aerobic, there will be
no odour nuisance from the site, and thye treated water may be discharged
into a watercourse, or along an open drain, without causing nuisance.
(5) The size of plant can next be decided on, and questions as to
type of pond to be used, methods of disposal of solids and sludge, etc.,
resolved. These decisions, of course, will be primarily governed by the

1969

IRn-SIXTH CONFERENCE

amount of money allotted for the project, and on the mill situation, the
80,000, depending on
prices of these plants ranging
site, construction, and degree
e overseen during con(6) Once decided upon, t
rate it, so that they may
struction by those personnel W
become familiar with all stages of construction and future operation. A
scheme incorporati
rating procedures, contr
nalyses and maintenance schedules
drawn up, and all
sonnel concerne
should be made fa
this scheme.
(7) Once the plant is commissioned, it should be treated exactly as
any other part of the mill, control analyses and maintenance schedules
routine operations. The final products from the treatment plant
evaluated, with the idea of reclamation in mind, the treated
water being used for irrigation, stock watering, or even certain mill
processes, such as cooling, etc., rather than being allowed to run to
waste.
Treatment of Weekend Wastes
Under certain conditions, where the housekeeping is very strict, or
a good flow of water in the draina stream is available, it may be
possible to discard a large part of the
treatment, the only W
accidental spillages, or
or should, apply more
pass, where the ordina
should have a sugar content of 30 p
optimistic one; a single pass mill using 5
having an average sugar content of 30 ppm in the discharged wastes
would be losing 10 tons of s
capable of treatin
range in price from
and type of plant.
i(

costs of any of these plants are mainly for electricity for

aeration and pumping. The use of power generated at the mill minimizes
costs, but the range of the power consumption of plants from highest to
lowest would be 24,000 to 1,000 units of electricity per week.

THIRTY-SIXTH CONFERENCE

Fig. 5-4imcar aerator.

Choice of Treatment Plant

The choice of a treatment lant for any mill now becomes a question
of site and cost, volume and egree of pollution of waste to be treated,
and degree and type of treatment required. The answer is an individual
one for each mill, and only very careful planning and survey work beforehand can give a solution which will be acceptable to all parties
concerned, both aesthetically and economically.
The design of a plant becomes a matter of applying the experimentally derived carbohydrate removal factor to the data, and designing
a plant around the size of aeration equipment required. It must always
be borne in mind that sugar in waste water is lost sugar, and the more the
sugar lost, the larger the waste disposal plant that will be required. If a
mill loses 30 tons of sugar a week, a treatment plant requiring aerators
of 120 h.p. will be needed; if this loss can be cut to 10 tons a week, then
the aeration plant will require 40 h.p., and the mill will save 20 tons a
week. Clearly the first aim should be to control losses, and thus to
reduce the size and cost of a disposal plant to a minimum.

REFERENCES

Abson, J. W., Furness, C. D. and Howe, C., (1967), Development of the Simcar respirometer and its application to waste treatment. J. Water. Poll. Control, 607.
Boutros, R. D., (1968), Waste treatment by aeration. A. Chem. Proc. & Eng., 21, 5, 27.
Burrough, P. C., (1967), Improved activated sludge processes. Chem & Znd., 1507, Sept. 9th.
Busch, A. W., (1965), Biochemical oxidation of process waste water. Chem. Eng., 71,
March.
Clongh, G. F. G. and Abson, J. W., (1964), Application of the activated sludge process to
the treatment of industrial wastes. Chem. Eng., CE58, April.
Robertson, W. S., (1964), Evaluation of the Simcar aerator for trade effluent treatment.

J. Inst. Sew. Purif, 585.

Smith, A., (1966), Surface aerators spin to a comeback. Water and Wastes Eng, 54, Dec.

Appendix 1
The Simcar Aerator
The Simcar aerator is of an inverted conical shape, with short
horizontal arms, and with vertical blades running up the cone and along
the arms. In use, the aerator is situated at the surface of the liquid as
shown in Figure 5. The degree of immersion is expressed as "freeboard,
which is the distance from the top of the blades to the still surface of the
water. Negative freeboards merely mean that the aerator is submerged,
i.e. with the still surface of the liquid above the top of the blades.

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THIRTY-SIXTH CONFERENCE

0
transfer is effec
it
ves, and in the
aerator provides an effi
good sludge suspension
It is usually driven by
gear-box, giving a rotational speed of approximately 90 rev/min.

407