Reclamation of dairy industrial liquid waste in growing aromatic and medicinal plants

ABSTRACT

The study involved Misr Dairy Plant waste as raw or partially treated during the 2 seasons 1992 and 1993. Ocimum basilicum L. and Ruta graveolens L. were chosen for this study as they were suitable for the type of waste and type of soil surrounding Misr Dairy Plant at Ras El- Soda. Physical and chemical characteristics of the final effluent of Misr Dairy Plant, before and after preliminary treatment, have been carried out. The main pollutant was organic matter as measured by BOD and COD, with mean values of 5580 and 7860 mg/L, respectively, which were reduced through preliminary treatment with efficiency of 39.5% and 23.7%, respectively. Evaluation of the different soil analysis, as impacted by the irrigation with the tested effluent during the two seasons 1992 and 1993, revealed that certain precautions should be taken towards application of dairy waste against soil salinization and/or alkalinization such as leaching requirements or flushing the soil with fresh water. The best results of aromatic and medicinal plants' vegetative growth and maximum extracted essential oils, quantity and quality, were significant using 50% diluted sedimented dairy waste in plant irrigation. Also, pretreated dairy waste was better than raw waste with respect to plant growth. Generally, during the second cut, there was a significant better response in plants vegetative growth characteristics than the first cut