Volume 6, Issue 9, September – 2021 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology

ISSN No:-2456-2165

Environmental Problems Related to Sugar Industries:

A Case Study of Govind Sugar Mill Ltd, Aira,
Lakhimpur Kheri
Sandeep Kaur and Dr Anjali Singh

Abstract:- Sugar industries are the largest agro-based are also being produced. 1 Total export of the industry is
industries after textile industries in India and have its around 1,300 MW of power to the grid. Indian sugar
big share in economic development. It not only generates industry is fully capable of meeting the demand of potable
huge employment opportunity to the rural and urban alcohol as well as 10% blending in gasoline.
population but also contributes in various ways to the
economy. In nature, sugar industries may also be Uttar Pradesh is the primary sugarcane producing
considered as multi product industry, the byproducts are state of the country and occupies the first place in both
bagasse, molasses, press mud etc. having their multiple sugarcane and sugar production. Due to the conducive
usages. In a way the variety of byproducts that sugar climate and favorable soil conditions, the cost of sugarcane
industries have their direct or indirect impact on our production in Uttar Pradesh is quite low, thereby the state’s
day-to-day life. productivity and production of producer state in India.
Approximately 48% of total cultivated area of sugarcane lies
Despite of the benefits sugar industries have some in Uttar Pradesh, and it contributes around 50% of the total
social cost that is environmental problems. Basically, the sugarcane production. The important fact is that Lakhimpur
byproducts of sugar industries are the solid waste and Kheri district occupies first place in sugarcane production in
without filtration if they are dumped into the water Uttar Pradesh. It contributes around 28% of the total
bodies or to the open atmosphere, they are hazardous sugarcane production in the state.
and impact the environment adversely.
Despite of all these facts regarding the contributions
In wake of environmental degradation, the of the sugar industries towards various aspects of the
corporate or the owners of the industries have some economy, there are some environmental issues that often
legal, ethical and social obligations and they need to occur while the production procedure of the sugar industries
adhere upon to the said norms. The whole idea of this takes place. The byproducts of sugar industries may be
paper revolves around the environmental problems hazardous to environment, if they are not treated properly.
related to the sugar industries with special reference to The liquid and solid waste produced from sugar industries
Govind Sugar mill, Aira, Lakhimpur Kheri. To know has adverse impact on the ecosystem and environment due
about the byproducts of sugar industries and their social to their high BOD load and toxic constituents. The main
cost is also an objective of this paper. The magnitude of byproducts of sugar industries are bagasse, molasses and
this paper is to study the certain production and press mud, if sugar industries are not using bagasse and
filtration processes of the said industry. molasses to make the electricity, ethanol, and alcohol then
they has to burn and dump these effluents which causes air
Keywords- Sugar Industry, Social Cost, Environmental pollution and soil degradation.
Impact, Production and Filtration Processes.
The environmental impacts get worse if the industries
I. INTRODUCTION don’t use proper filtration process and waste disposal
management. Sugar industries undertake some
India is the second largest sugar producer after environmental and ecological transformation process with
Brazil and the largest sugarcane producer in the world and the purpose of reducing the negative externalities. The
has its big share in Indian economy. It has very strong Govind Sugar Mill Ltd (GSML) is one of the oldest
impact on the socio-economic development of farmers and industries in Uttar Pradesh. GSML has 10,000 tons per day
rural India. In our country nearly 50 million farmers and (TPD) milling capacity and industry is producing 1000 TPD
equivalent labors are engaged in sugarcane cultivation.
Currently in India about 532 sugar mills are operational, and
approximately producing 251 lakh tons of sugar, besides 1
Asha D. M., M. Ramanjaneyulu. (2020). Economic
this, about 2.7 billion liters of alcohol and 2,300 MW power analysis of production of alcohol, power and biocompost in
sugar industry of Karnataka. International journal of
advance research ( IJAR).ISSN: 2320-5407

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Volume 6, Issue 9, September – 2021 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
sugar out of which 500 TPD is double sulphitated refined 10000 TPD. The period of operation of sugar mill is from
white sugar.2 The main discharges of sugar industries are early November to the end of April or May. The main
molasses, baggase, Wastewater, press mud etc. GSML reason to conduct a case study on GSML is its socio-
uses all the possible filtration process for utilizing these economic impact on the society and their sustainable
effluents to check the social cost and to meet the society’s production procedure. Basically the environmental issues
demand. related to the sugar industries are common but the initiative
taken by GSML to devoid them is outstanding. In this case
II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE study the researcher shall explore the different
environmental challenges and issues related to sugar
S. Ahmad and A. Nomani (2014)-The study is done industries. Further it will discuss the procedures, done by the
with a purpose to conduct a triple bottom line assessment of GSML to negate the said social costs.
sugarcane value chain and present alternatives that can
improve the current sustainable practices across all the III. ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES RELATED TO
stakeholders. Also, for this study a value chain approach SUGAR INDUSTRIES AND THEIR IMPACTS
was be adopted to identify the issues related to social,
economic and environment across stakeholders linking the After Brazil Indian sugar industries have secured
sugarcane producers and the processors. The main second place in world in producing sugar, though they are
objectives of the study were to identify the critical also infamous as highest polluting industries. The main by-
productive agents across sugarcane value chain, and in their products of sugar industries are bagasse, wastewater,
role in social development; to assess the sustainability issues molasses, press mud, air and noise pollution, which causes
faced by these productive agents using the ‘triple bottom the degradation of the environment around us, affect the
line approach’ and to evaluate importance of sugar factories water we use, the air we breathe and also the soil we
in social, economic and environmental advancement of the cultivate upon. As per the environmental policies, to treat
society. Using this triple bottom line approach author of the the wastewater and use byproducts of sugar industry to
paper discussed social, economic and environmental make bio-fuel is mandatory to lower environmental
sustainability of the sugar industry. degradation.

D. Venkatesh and M. Venkateswarlu- This study The major by-products released by sugar industries and their
analyzed sugar industries also recognized how Indian sugar effect on environment are as follows:
industries played an important role in economics
development and provided employment in rural areas. This Waste Water- Sugar mill on an average consumes around
study explains state wise production trends size and 1500 to 2000 liters of water and generates approximately
structure of sugar industry and development of these 1000 liters of wastewater per ton of sugarcane crushed, the
industries. It covers a decade from 2005-06 to 2014-15 and effluent is mainly floor washing wastewater and condensate
categorizes sugarcane areas, production of sugar, water, Leakage in valves and glands of the pipeline add
production of byproducts and shows that the production sugarcane juice, syrup and molasses in the effluent, The
of sugarcane is highest in Uttar Pradesh and lowest in Bihar sugar mill effluent has a BOD of 1000 to1500 mg/liter, but
and Punjab. appears relatively clean initially, However after stagnating
for some time, it turns black and start emitting foul odor, If
AFS Ltd (India) Research Repot- Indian sugar untreated effluent is discharged in water bodies. It depletes
industry (2013) this report examines the growth and dissolved oxygen in water and makes the environment unfit
development potential of sugar industries in India this for aquatic life. If untreated effluent is discharged on land
report shows the data from 2008 to 2013 and includes then it will harm soil health.
sugarcane productivity, sugar production, domestic
consumption surplus scenario and shows state wise area Bagasse- The fiber remaining after extraction of the
under sugar cultivation, total sugar production as per Indian sugarcane juice is called bagasse. Bagasse is a large volume
sugar mill association (ISMA) Report also shows that sugar agriculture residue that is generated around 540 million tons
industries utilize their waste to make byproduct which per year globally.3 A sugar industry produces around 3 tons
increase their profit and save environment also. of wet bagasse after crushing 10 tons of sugarcane. Bagasse
produces nitrogen, carbon, sulfur oxides. The particulate
AREA OF THE STUDY matter, usually referred to as fly ash, consists of ash, unburnt
The Govind Sugar Mill Ltd. was selected for the bagasse and carbon particles. Fly ash is very light therefore,
case study. The study is comprehensive in its nature; some if pollution control equipments are not Installed, it escapes
of the data has been collected primarily, though the in the atmosphere through chimney and travels long
secondary data has been taken from the various annual distances. In such conditions, nearby population suffer from
reports of GSML. In this industry, the sugar is refined by dizziness and irritation in eyes, nose, throat and lungs.
double sulphitation process to negate the social costs of
effluents. As per Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) 3
Mishra. M., Khare. N.,Agrawal. A. (2014).Bagasse
this industry is classified as a large unit with capacity of
Cogeneration in India: Status, Barriers. Journal of
Mechanical and Civil Engineering (JMCE) ISSN: 2278-
2
Govind Sugar Mill Ltd (GSML) 1684

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Volume 6, Issue 9, September – 2021 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
Molasses- Molasses is produced in the last step of sugar GSML: A GREEN ENERGY PRODUCER INDUSTRY
manufacturing process where sugar is separated from the GSML is successfully producing green energy via
mother liquor in centrifuges. Around 50 million metric the Co-generation power plant situated within the
tons molasses is generated by sugar industries on yearly establishment. The power plant promotes significant usage
basis globally. India has a first place in molasses of renewable energy sources by using bagasse as its primary
production in the world. Molasses has very high pollution source of power production. The steam extracted from turbo
characteristics. If molasses discharged in water than it will generators is diverted towards sugar processing. The co-
pollute water bodies and if it is dumped on land than it generation plant is also selling 22 mega watts of power
will cause soil degradation. every day to the state of Uttar Pradesh with minimal carbon
footprint as compared to conventional sources of power
Air Pollution- Air pollution in sugar industries is generation.
primarily generated from bagasse fired. The burning of
bagasse produces particulate matters like- unburnt fiber, GSML has installed a distillery Plant which is
carbon particles, ash, and gaseous pollutants. Steam producing multiple products like Ethanol, Rectified Spirit
boilers, dust from unpaved access roads and sugar drying and Extra Neutral Alcohol. The capacity of distillery is
or packaging activities also causes air pollution in 100kl per day. The Plant also utilizes distillery waste (spent
surrounding areas of sugar industries. Apart from wash) as a fuel, thereby effectively making the plant a Zero
particulate matters emission of odor is also a major Liquid Discharge facility. In its new avatar, GSML is raring
problem of sugar industry. to touch new horizons as it gears up to begin the era of
intelligent innovation with creating a sustainable
The heavier particles slowly settle down in the environment for the farmers and contributing to the growth
surrounding areas which lead the problem of cleaning, of local rural economy.
reduction in property value, effect on vegetation and also
cause serious breathing issues& health concerns. TABLE-1
S. POLLUTANTS U.P.P.C.B GSML
Noise pollution- Noise is a major problem of sugar No Standards Results
industry which is created due to machine running. Most of 1 Water 1 to 14 PH 6.8 PH
the sugar industries have old machinery which is very 2 Suspended 150 Mg/Nm³ 83.8 Mg/
heavy. In the crushing period these machines are running Particulate Matter Nm³
continuously which affects workers hearing ability and also 3 Particulate Matter- 100 µg/Nm³ 78.6
affects neighboring areas. 10 µg/Nm
4 SO² 80 µg/Nm³ 12.2
THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROFILE OF GOVIND µg/Nm³
SUGAR MILL LTD 5 NO 80 µg/Nm³ 17.6
The Govind Sugar mill Ltd (GSML) is one of the µg/Nm³
oldest industries in Uttar pradesh. GSML has access to three 6 Noise 75db 57.6db
sugarcane producing districts, which acquire around 40,000 7 Solid Waste Ash from slop fired boiler,
hectares of sugarcane cultivated area. There are 70,000 100 used as fertilizer
farmers involved in sugarcane farming. GSML has 10,000 Source: GSML Environmental Report by U.P.P.C.B
tons per day (TPD) milling capacity and industry is
producing 1000 TPD sugar out of which 500 TPD is double The above table is reflecting the standards set by the
sulphitated refined white sugar. GSML in relation to environmental checks. GSML not only
follows all the rules of environmental protection it is also a
GSML is a leading manufacturer of brown sugar and front liner initiator in field of environment friendly
coconut sugar in Lakhimpur Kheri district. They are also practices. The parameters of the GSML were found within
offering a complete choice of products include raw sugar. the standards stipulated by U.P.P.C.B. The PH level of
The plant produces 500 tons of molasses every day which is water is 6.8 which are 48.57% below the limit. Suspended
used for distillery unit to make ethanol and alcohol. GSML particulate matters are 83.8 Mg/Nm³ which is also 55.86%
produces 3,000 tons of bagasse every day and it is being below the limit. The particulate matters-10 is 78.6µg/Nm³
used as a biofuel to generate green electricity by burning dry which is 21.4% less than the limit. Sulfur dioxide (SO²) is
bagasse to produce steam which is used to rotate turbines to 12.2µg/Nm³ which is 84.7% less than the limit. The level of
produce power. The ashes produced from burnt bagasse are nitrogen oxides (NOx) is 17.6µg/Nm³ which is78.0% below
also used as organic manure. GSML also intends to set up a the max limit set by U.P.P.C.B. Apart from the air pollution;
facility to use the waste products of sugar manufacturing noise pollution is also a big problem for sugar industries.
during the purification of sugar, to produce bio-fertilizers. But in GSML the value of noise is 57.6db (decibel) which is
23.2% less than the standards set by U.P.P.C.B. It shows
that all the treatment system is working properly. The
filtration process given below will shed light on how GSML
is treating their byproducts to make environment friendly
products.

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Volume 6, Issue 9, September – 2021 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
SUGAR MANUFACTURING PROCESS OF GSML capacity. Sugarcane is brought to the sugar factory, weighed
The Govind Sugar mill Ltd. (GSML) is a large sugar and sent the milling plant. The step-by-step manufacturing
industry and has 10,000 tons per day sugarcane, crushing process of GSML is given below in the figure.

Sugarcane

Cane Preparation

Milling
Juice heated at 32°C, PH 5.5Mix –BX 14
Cane Juice Bagasse to boiler as fuel

VLJH(Temp42°C) RJ Heater (Temp55°C) RJ Heater(Temp70°C)

Deficator (MOL 1%, PH-7.1)

Def – J Heater (Temp 86°C) Def – J, DCH (Temp 103°C)

Muddy Juice
SRT

Clear Juice DCH (Temp 110°C)

Filter Cake or
Filtrate Juice press mud
Multi Effect Evaporator (125°C)

Syrup,( sulphitation,PH-6.4)vacccum pan

Syrup Holding Tank Supplied to the farmers to use

as manure

Massecuite

Centrifuges

Molasses White Sugar

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Volume 6, Issue 9, September – 2021 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
Juice is extracted in the milling plant and heated IV. FILTRATION PROCESS OF GOVIND SUGAR
many times at different degrees of Celsius and also treated MILL LTD
by double sulphitation process in this sugar industry. In this
double sulphitation process, raw juice which has 5.5PH EFFLUENT WATER TREATMENT OF GSML
level is heated at 32°C and passed it to vapour line juice The sugar industry consumes large quantity of water
heater to raise its temperature from 32°C to 70°C in in manufacturing process and resulting in huge wastewater
different tanks. generation. Sugar processing wastewater has high content of
organic material and subsequently high biochemical oxygen
It is than treated with milk of lime and sulfur dioxide demand (BOD) particularly because the presence of sugars
(SO2) and adjusted its PH level 7.1. Cane juice is heated and organic material arriving with cane. The given flow
again at 86°C to 103°C then sent it to SRT (short retention chart discusses the process of effluent treatment.
tray less clarifier) tank where juice is clarified and sent to
multi effect evaporator. The concentrated syrup from the In GSML Effluent treatment plant is handle a
evaporator is again bleached by passing SO2 and lime quantity of 800cu.m/day with an inlet of BOD of 600mg/lit.
through and the PH of syrup drops down about to 6.4. It is The treated effluent will be around 200mg/lit. There are two
than sent to massecuite where thickened syrup is boiled at 3- tanks for hot effluent in GSML. The temperature is
4 times at 125°C as per purity in order to extract the sucrose decreased down with the help of 30.85MW cooling tower.
content on the crystals. After this the commercial sugar and
molasses are separated in centrifuges.

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Volume 6, Issue 9, September – 2021 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
The raw effluent is retained for 1 hour in tanks during their ears and their hearing in GSML. The sound is not
this time oil and other floating matter float on surface and reaching outside the factory.
removed frequently than sent it to multi grade filter where
PH level stays at 7.6. V. CONCLUSION

After that the effluents go through hydrochloric acid To, build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive
(HCI) dosing tank, sodium metabisculfite (SMPS) dosing and sustainable industrialization by 2030 is the target-9 of
tank antiscalant dosing tank to micron cartridge filter than the Sustainable Development Goals. In order to achieve the
the water sent to degassed water storage where degasser air said goals Indian industries will have to work harder. So far
blower removed all gasses from the water. The degassed as the sugar industries are concerned they are the most
water passed through the process of strong acid cation, pollution generating industries in such scenario the
strong base anion and mixed bed than the morpholene initiatives done by GSML are worth praising. Indian sugar
dosing correct the PH level of the water and demineralised industries have overcome various challenges in order to
water sent to DM tank and make water tank where PH level achieve the second largest producer in the world. However
decreases at 5.5 to 6.8. By this process the water is 100% fit in process of being second largest producer, significant
for reuse. negative impacts were inflicted onto the environment. The
major effluents of sugar industries are waste water, bagasse,
BAGASSE UTILIZATION OF GSML molasses and press mud which causes environment
The fiber remaining after extraction of the juice is degradation.
called bagasse. In GSML, the quantity of bagasse is around
30% to 35% of the daily production. The wet bagasse with To overcome the social costs and to save the mother
50% moisture content is carried to the boiler house by earth, sugar industries have initiated filtration process which
bagasse carrier which is used as a fuel in boilers for steam eventually save the environment and also create resilient
and power generation. GSML has self generated power plant society .With the help of filtration process GSML reuse
which make 40MW electricity per day from bagasse used as leftover from sugar manufacturing. In GSML waste water
fuel. The co-generation plant is also selling 22 Mega after treatment is used for factory campus and irrigation
Watts of power every day to the state of Uttar Pradesh purpose, the bagasse is used to generate electricity and paper
with minimal carbon footprint as compared to production, molasses is used for distillery to make alcohol
conventional sources of power generation. 100% of and ethanol, and press mud is used as manure. The usage of
bagasse used in GSML and also GSML purchase around above said effluents earn revenue for the sugar industry.
60 to 70 thousand quintal every year for their power None of the process streams involved in sugar
generation plant. manufacturing generates toxic effluents. So the outcome of
these initiatives was proved to be very effective in
MOLASSES UTILIZATION OF GSML minimizing the pollution load from sugar industries.
Molasses is produced in the last step of sugar
manufacturing process where sugar is separated from the REFERENCES
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