Distillery Spent Wash-
One Time Controlled Land Application
by:
Dr. Yashpal Singh
Chairman
The Wealthy Waste School India
Former, Director, Environment, U.P. and
Member, Expert Appraisal Committee, Govt. India
Ministry Denies Regulatory Permission
• Ministry has denied regulatory permission to use Distillery Spent
Wash in Agriculture.
• Observed that high TDS and E.C. in spent wash prevents uptake of
water by plants.
• Adversely affects the Soil quality and plant growth
• Very difficult and impracticable to implement as per existing protocol.
• Past experience in terms of ground water/ surface water/ soil
contamination not good.
• Court Litigation and remediation project also confirms the possibility
of ground water contamination.
• Bio Composting is allowed.
• Any sort of land application of spent wash and salt load in liquid form
shall not be considered.
A need to request the Ministry for a
Reconsideration
• Based on extensive evidences to the contrary.
• A need to request the Ministry for a
reconsideration.
– Enormous Scientific Evidence.
– Advantages in Environmental Sustainability
– Global and National Acceptance
– A proven CREP alternative
– Accepted by judiciary
• OTCLA an established method of disposal of Bio methanated Spent
Wash. Practiced by CPCB for many years and across the Globe.
• May 2008 resolution does not give any technical reasons but says it
is difficult to Manage. Do not close road if people walk on wrong side.
• Still being permitted in some states.
• Involves filling in Post harvest fields, allowing it to dry for 15 to 20
days after which the fields are tilled and sown. Subsequent irrigation
is given with fresh water.
• One cm in a 1 hectare field could yield 600 Kg Potash, 360 Kg
Calcium, 100 Kg Sulphates, 28 Kgs Nitrogen and 2 Kg Phosphates.
• Less than 300 M3/ha. No adverse affect in soils.
• CPCB has a protocol based on practices across the world and
through field and experimental studies by IARI Delhi, Tamil Nadu
Agricultural University Coimbatore.
• The Protocol establishes.
o BOD and pH limits.
o System of Sampling, monitoring and evaluation.
o Storage during periods of no utilization.
o Transportation guidelines.
o Land availability.
o Crop wise dose requirement.
• CPCB also recognized pre-sown land application as an
emerging technology.
• In connection to E.C. and TDS. No apprehensions have
been made in existing studies.
• Matter was earlier of concern in the protocol and
safeguards introduced.
o Recommends short term and long term monitoring of E.C. to
ensure that the E.C. does not exceed 4 milli. Mhos./cm in an
extract of 2 parts of soil with 5 parts of water.
o Maintaining TDS in ground water so as not to exceed 10 mg/L over initial
results.
o Also provides a MOU with nearby agricultural university for monitoring of
required doses of spent wash, monitoring of soil, ground water and crop
productivity.
• Studies have indicated that there is no adverse impact on soil reaction
or electrical conductivity.
• OTCLA could save at least 50% of basal NPK application with
significantly higher cane yields of main crop and two subsequent
ratoons.
• Some studies indicate that application, 40 to 60 days before planting
would give sufficient time for natural oadation of organic matter and
solve the problems of BOD/COD and E.C.
• Practiced widely in Brazil, Cuba, Mexico, Australia, Philippines and
Japan as a very sustainable technology.
• Substitutes for chemical fertilizers, saving on costs and
pollution due to fertilizer run offs.
• Incineration and concentration burn and decompose the
vital elements and make no contributions to sustainable
farming.
• OTCLA has tremendous financial advantages.
o 500 Crores NPK.
o 150 Crores Micronutrients and organics.
o 100 Crores savings in environmental costs
o 100 Crores in loss of fisheries.
o 500 Crores savings in treatment costs
o 100 Crores in public health
o 100 Crores in landscape costs.
o 1400 Crores Energy savings due to existing treatment
systems.
• CPCB affidavit in NGT says concentration has High CAPEX and
OPEX.
o Evaporation costs are very high.
o Highly energy intensive (20-40 KWH/M3)
o High Carbon Footprint
o Issues in Reject Management.
• Draft co-processing guidelines. CPCB has admitted that
Concentration and Incineration is also being practiced but it is not
found technically and economically feasible.
• Concentration and Incineration also water intensive.
• CPCB report of 2011 states that controlled land application appears to
be one of the viable technologies if scientifically practiced.
• Sufficient safeguards taken in the Protocol.
• Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor to Government of
India in “Opportunities for Green Chemistry Initiatives:
Molasses based Distilleries, 2014” supports OTCLA.
o Beneficial for sodic soils because of high ‘Ca’ and ‘Mg’ and
capacity to replace ‘Na’ which can leach out.
o OTCLA can leach out soluble salts from surface for better
germination and growth of crop.
o Application rate should be decided on the ‘K’ content in the
effluents and the ‘K’ requirement of crop and soil type.
o Does not involve continuous application as irrigation mater
used as manure.
• PSA suggests long term comprehensive research project
and collection of global experience for presentation before
the authorities.
• PSA says that “BMSW” is rich is potash and nutrients and wasting the
BMSW is not desirable since the country depends on import of
potash.
• He also comments that recovery of potash from spent wash by
evaporation and incineration would not be viable. Ash disposal is a
problem.
• Concentration and Incineration also need a detailed evaluation.
• Pre-sown land application is beneficial to crops and highly sustainable
without any detriment to soil.
• OTCLA creates
o Organic fertilization of fields
o Reduces the pH
o Increases availability of nutrients
o Increases capability to retain water.
o Improve the physical structure of the soil.
o Increases the ammonification, nullification and enzyme
activity. Augments N availability.
o Decolorizes effluents due to microbial and photo degradation.
o Has growth promoting and insecticidal properties.
o BMSW has lower C:N ratio facilitates faster degradation as
compared to untreated spent wash.
• Sodic Land reclamation.
o Spent wash can replace gypsum, iron pyrites, sulphur and
Ferious Sulphate currently used.
o Improves hydraulic conductivity, soil permeability
o Reduces bulk density.
o Increased N, P, K, S, Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn in spent wash
amended soils.
o Converts unavailable native soil nutrients into available
nutrients particularly ‘P’
• Assists the rapid build up of soil micro organisms and consequently
increase the acidity of many enzymes.
• Australia.
o Blended with additional crop nutrients and sold as manure.
o Spent wash used to compost trash in fields
o Fields generally sprayed with spent wash to facilitate accelerated
composting.
o Land application prescribed as one of the most efficient methods.
o Application rates are controlled to avoid anaerobic conditions.
o Guidelines prescribed.
o Bio Dunder a valuable potassium rich fertilizer.
o Liquid one shot.
• Brazil
o Aspirator guns draw spent wash from Lorries and spray it in a
radins of 200 feet
o Reduced consumption of fertilizers as compared to other
countries.
o Brazil has a technical standard.
o Mills have applied spent wash in over 70% of their crop
areas.
• Mexico
o Ferti-irrigation program. 35% federal, 15% state and 50%
Benefisaring.
o Increase yields and better use of water achieved.
o Achieves water savings of 40%, energy reduction of 32%,
increase in harvested area by 18% and increase in yield by
30%. I.R.R. to farmers was 16%.
• Romania
o Spent wash to permanent grasslands 4 to 7 tonnes/ha in 1:5 water dilution
increased yield by 50 to 81% over the control.
• Ireland
o Slops concentrated to form pot ale used in Agriculture.
• Japan
• India Bio stimulant FCO and Irrigation.
• Simbhaoli Judgemnet-16/10/2014. Any technology can be used.
• Ganga Judgment-No ZLD/OCEMS across the Board.
• Ministry says they are difficult to implement. Non compliance should
be dealt severely.
• No scientific inadequacies found.
• Join in filing representation
o Allow OTCLA.
o Allow Sodic Land Reclamation
o Allow Bistinutant
o Study be conducted if required.
o Form a committee to take this forward.
THANK YOU
