Water and Air Quality Laboratory, Department of Environment, University of the Aegean, University Hill, 81100, Mytilene, Greece; Department of Chemical Engineering, Cyprus University of Technology, 95 Eirinis Str., P.O. BOX 50329, 3603, Limassol, Cyprus.
Department of Chemical Engineering, Cyprus University of Technology, 95 Eirinis Str., P.O. BOX 50329, 3603, Limassol, Cyprus.
J Environ Manage. 2022 Feb 1;303:114152. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.114152. Epub 2021 Nov 30.
Dairy industry consumes high water amounts and generates highly contaminated wastewater. EU-27 is the second largest milk producer and the main cheese exporter in the world. The main objectives of the current study was to estimate the amounts of dairy wastewater (DWW) that are produced annually in different EU countries and to present the relevant existing EU legislation. The main treatment practices currently applied as well as the future opportunities for sustainable DWW management were also discussed. According to the results a total amount of 192.5 × 10 m of DWW are annually produced in EU-27 countries, 49% of them are due to the production of cheeses, while 19%, 18% and 13% are due to the production of drinking milk, acidified milk and butterfat products, respectively. Six countries (Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Spain and Netherlands) contribute to the generation of more than 73% of DWW, while the annual per capita DWW production ranges between 36 L (Luxembourg) and 1441 L (Ireland). Since 2019, EU has established best available techniques (BAT) for the dairy industry in order to achieve efficient monitoring of the produced wastewater, reduced water consumption and increased resource efficiency. The main on-site treatment processes that are currently applied include in series wastewater pretreatment for the removal of fat and pH adjustment, anaerobic or/and aerobic biological processes for the decrease of organic loading and nutrients and use of membranes for the cases that recovered water is going to be reused. Limited information is so far available for the operational treatment cost of the different processes. Data originated from a large dairy industry in Cyprus showed an operational cost equal to 1.21 €/m of treated wastewater. The main future challenge for the dairy industry and water treatment sector is the adoption of novel processes aiming to DWW valorization under the frame of circular economy.
乳制品行业消耗大量水资源，并产生高度污染的废水。欧盟 27 国是世界上第二大牛奶生产国和主要奶酪出口国。本研究的主要目的是估算欧盟不同国家每年产生的乳制品废水（DWW）量，并介绍相关的欧盟现行立法。还讨论了目前主要应用的处理方法以及可持续 DWW 管理的未来机会。根据研究结果，欧盟 27 国每年共产生 192.5×10 m 的 DWW，其中 49%是由奶酪生产产生的，而 19%、18%和 13%分别是由饮用牛奶、酸化牛奶和乳脂产品生产产生的。有六个国家（德国、法国、意大利、波兰、西班牙和荷兰）的 DWW 排放量占比超过 73%，而人均 DWW 排放量在 36 L（卢森堡）和 1441 L（爱尔兰）之间。自 2019 年以来，欧盟为乳制品行业制定了最佳可行技术（BAT），以实现对产生的废水的有效监测，减少用水量和提高资源效率。目前主要应用的现场处理工艺包括废水预处理以去除脂肪和调节 pH 值，厌氧或/和好氧生物处理以降低有机负荷和养分，以及在回收水将被再利用的情况下使用膜。目前对于不同工艺的运行处理成本的信息有限。来自塞浦路斯一家大型乳制品厂的数据显示，运营成本相当于 1.21 欧元/立方米处理后的废水。乳制品行业和水处理行业的未来主要挑战是采用新的工艺，在循环经济框架下实现 DWW 的增值。
