IS 8682 : 2026

Treatment and Disposal of Effluents of Dairy Industry — Guidelines ( First Revision )

This Indian Standard provides guidelines for the treatment and disposal of effluents generated by the dairy industry. First published in 1977, it has now been revised to reflect five decades of technological advancement. It covers effluents arising from milk receiving, pasteurization, cooling, product manufacture (butter, cheese, ghee, milk powder and more), clean-in-place systems and bottle washing, typically caused by rinsing, spillage and evaporation losses. On average about 3 litres of wastewater are generated per litre of milk processed, though this may range from 0.2 to 10 litres depending on plant size, product mix and cleaning practices.

New in this revision are provisions on waste reduction, such as controlled draining, leak prevention, dry cleaning before wet washing and automation of CIP systems, and on recovering valuable by-products, including buttermilk solids, whey powder, lactose, casein and biogas or manure from sludge, which together cut pollution load and improve resource efficiency.

This details primary treatment methods (screening, grease traps, dissolved air flotation, chemical coagulation, equalization), secondary biological methods such as activated sludge, trickling filters, oxidation ditch, rotating biological contactors, sequencing batch reactors, facultative and anaerobic ponds, UASB, MBBR and MBR, each with typical removal efficiencies, and tertiary treatments like electrocoagulation, adsorption, membrane filtration, disinfection and zero liquid discharge for reuse or stringent discharge needs.

Disposal options covered include land application through ridge-and-furrow, flood, sprinkler or drip irrigation, discharge into inland surface water meeting regulatory standards, and discharge into sewer systems, with cross-references to related Indian Standards on irrigation methods and equipment.

Last Updated on July 14, 2026