Treatment of Distillery Wastewater by Bioremediation Technique: A Green and Sustainable Alternative

Distillery industries generate a considerable amount of wastewater, having a high percentage of inorganic matter and organic compounds. Wastewater generated from distillery industries is dark brown in colour. Untreated wastewater from distillery industries have an adverse impact on the sustainability of the environment due to its high pollutant concentration. Hence, distillery industry effluent requires urgent attention for the minimization of toxic waste generation. Several technologies used in the elimination of pollutants from wastewater include physico-chemical and bioremediation techniques. Bioremediation technique is a simple, economical, and the most potential technique. Among bioremediation methods, anaerobic, aerobic, and various kinds of phytoremediation processes have been discussed here. Further, the removal of contaminants by bacteria, fungi, and algae has also been mentioned. A large amount of sludge generation by the anaerobic process also needs attention and proper management. It also outlines the mechanism of the decolourization of melanoidin by microorganisms. The role of different bioreactors in bioremediation technique has also been discussed in detail. Keeping in view the applicability of different bioremediation techniques discussed here for removal of melanoidin high biological oxygen demand (BOD), high chemical oxygen demand (COD), a heavy concentration of suspended solids, polysaccharide, lignin, protein and waxes, it is expected that this technique can be useful for further treatment in a variety of wastewater from distillery industries