UNIVERSITY of Dar es Salaam and
Arusha-based Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and
Technology’s joint research project has come up with hybrid
technological solutions to manage industrial liquid waste as well as
provide clean bio-fuel to run machinery.
Communication, Science and Technology
Minister Prof Makame Mbarawa has inaugurated the innovative project at
Banana Investments Limited (BIL) Winery plant in Kijenge-Mwanama section
of Arusha City.
He lauded the institutes of higher
learning for pioneering combined research projects that do not end up in
papers but proceed to yield tangible solutions to current problems.
“Good research projects have always been
accomplished through mutual cooperation between different
institutions,” stated Prof Mbarawa adding that the project at BIL can
purify and recycle over 100 cubic litres of waste water that can be
re-used for irrigation.
The water is also safe enough to be
discharged into the river. The Bio-Innovate project 5 on ‘Integrated
Process for Sustainable Agro-process Waste Treatment and Climate Change
Mitigation in eastern Africa’ was executed under Professor Karoli Njau
from the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology
(NMAIST) in Arusha and Prof Cuthbert Kimambo of UDSM.
It was supported by the NGOs Agenda for
Environment and Responsible Development, the WWS Design and Development
Company and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency
(SIDA) and ENVICON through the Bio-Innovate Programme.
“Recognizing the challenges in managing
waste water from a bust factory like breweries plants we designed and
constructed an innovate wastewater management technology for Banana
Investment Limited which is a banana alcoholic beverages producer based
in Arusha,” said Prof Njau.
He was on view that while the government
has reserved special zones for industries to start and expand many
factories face encroachment from people building residential houses or
establishing farms near them.
This has reduced expansion land
especially when it comes to constructing wastewater facilities. Constant
conflicts between people and these industries have become common.
“It has always been our biggest headache
on how to dispose waste water from the factory because for every 100
litres of wine being produced there are 40 litres of waste liquid being
discarded,” explained Mr Adolf Ulomi, the Managing Director of Banana
Investments.
The factory, according to him, yields
80,000 litres of waste water on daily basis. The Integrated Process for
Sustainable Agro-process Waste Treatment for industrial effluents has
thus solved the problem at Banana breweries by building an equalization
tank, a clarifier, two tanks including one for screening, a bio-digester
and slud drying bed.
The company started in 1993 and has experienced remarkable growth to produce several alcoholic beverages in its product line.
The company’s industrial processes
generate a lot of wastewater and this posed a big challenge on how to
safely dispose of this effluent.
This problem was further aggravated by
the fact that the company is located in a residential area with no sewer
system. Before Bio-Innovate’s intervention, the wastewater disposal
system then was outdated and recycling was impossible.
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