Review of Hosein Aabad Sugar Factory (HASF) Wastewater and Assessment of its Pollution Load

Abstract

Sugar industry is one of the largest industries in the world. Hosein Abad sugar factory (HASF) is located in Hamadan province of Iran. The aim of this research was to evaluate the quality and quantity of wastewater of the said factory and to estimate the pollution load and its emission factor as prerequisite of the management and environmental pollutions control in the region. Random grab sampling is used in twelve days between October 2010 and March 2011 during peak hours of activity. In this research, nine quality parameters as the key variables are measured to evaluate the quality of wastewater. The obtained results indicate that, the amount of wastewater produced by HASF is about 2740 m3/day. Based on the said results, the average amount of five days Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD5) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) in the raw wastewater was 1296 and 2328 mg/l respectively. The results of this research showed that the effluent wastewater of HASF in the present conditions is highly polluted due to inappropriate treating and is not appropriate for artificial recharge use, discharge in rivers and lakes or utilization in agriculture, according to the DoE standards.