Reducing the environmental impact of agriculture
Agriculture is an integral part of the European economy. The environmental impact of agriculture has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years. The food industry, for instance, generates a sizeable quantity of wastewater. European legislation stipulates that it must be treated before it can be released to the environment. Wastewater treatment is a costly, time-consuming process, but a German company discovered that ozonation can make a difference. Their work formed part of the AGROIWATECH project, funded by the INCO 2 Programme, which intends to improve cooperation with Third Countries and Newly Independent States. Agro-industry wastewater frequently contains large amounts of organic matter, indicated by high Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Colony Forming Unit (CFU) values. Common treatment methods include Reverse Osmosis (RO), exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light and addition of chlorine to the waste stream. During AGROIWATECH, CUTEC GmbH subjected highly polluted wastewater from a potato processing plant to ozonation. Initial tests reduced COD and CFU indexes by 20 %. Remarkably, CUTEC was able to improve degradation to 70 % by catalysing the reaction with hydrogen peroxide. With respect to CFU, levels decreased significantly following just a few minutes of ozone exposure. These results imply that ozonation can play an important role in helping convert potato wastewater into reusable by-products. CUTEC notes that if the water is to be recycled for use in food production, care must be taken to ensure that water quality properties are in line with European guidelines.
