Sugar Production Wastewater Treatment from Sugarcane and Sugar Beet Industries and Environmental Restoration

Sugar crops, including sugar beet and sugarcane, emerged as the potential source of food, feed, and energy sectors. Global increasing sugar demands of the burgeoning population is satisfied by the sugar industry. The large-scale processing of sugar crops releases pollutants into the water system. The wastewater generated by the sugar industry consisted of many pollutants such as heavy metals, toxic elements, and organic matter, leading to an environmental problem. By-products of sugar beet processing can be used as raw material for producing biodegradable polymers. The beet pulp and beetroot leaves are considered raw materials for the sugar industry. During the production of white sugar, the majority of waste biomass is generated from sugar beet. Various treatment technologies have been developed for sugarcane and sugar beet wastewater. Anaerobic digestion, enzymatic pre-treatment, and fermentation are standard processes associated with the sugar industry wastewater treatment. This chapter describes the problems of sugar-based industries due to wastewater production and possible solutions to remediate the wastewater.