Milk Waste Sludge Management R&D - Milk Fabric for Skin Friendly Undergarments

A milk processing company is facing technical issues in management of the semi-solid waste generated by the existing STP for milk waste installed at at site.

The company sought technical assistance from “the team” of Promoters of Urban and Rural Infrastructure (PURI) Cleantech Projects for effective, eco-friendly and policy complied solutions for the management of the sludge.

The team evaluated and researched on possible solutions of sludge waste management through secondary research and primary research engaging specialists (Master’s degree + Experience) in the field of Microbiology (1), Solid Waste Management (1), Solar Dryers (1), Composting Agency (1), Medical Doctors (3), Pharmacist (1), Green Building and Landscape Architect (1), Renewable Energy Expert Professor & Patent holder (1) and Biogas plant (2).

Status on 15 May 2021

 The team visited the site on 8th May after detailed discussions and requisite permissions to conduct various waste management R&D experiments on the sludge generated.

·        The team collected sludge using a tail pipe emission free Lithium ion Battery Auto on 8 May

o  Approx. 85 kg of wet sludge collected in a HDPE barrel facilitated by maintenance team

o  Approx 25 kg wet sludge collected in two bags facilitated by maintenance team

·        The wet sludge was transported to the R&D lab at Sarvodaya Nagar near Micro Composting Centre using the emission free vehicle.

·        85 kg of wet sludge was directly mixed with approx. 3 tons of on-going organic composting pit to understand and evaluate the impact on the C-N ratio.

·        30 kg of wet sludge was put out in the Sun for natural air drying and 200 grams was put into an advanced solar dryer

·        The semi dried sludge was mixed with wood chips and formed into small briquettes

·        The briquettes and semi dry sludge chunks were put into a solar oven and baked at approx. 150 degrees for 4 hours.

·        The briquettes and chunks underwent flame test and only qualitative results were analyzed.

·        The solar dryer dried and open air dried chunks of sludge was used in

o  Approx. 0.5 kg of sludge dried small chunks introduced in a 30 kg home vermi-composting pit

o  Rest approx. 30 kg are being sun dried for more analysis

o  5 kg of air dried sludge is mixed with 3 kg vermi-compost and 2 kg sand for testing on plants for their root nodes responsiveness

·         2.2 liter of processed liquid waste water collected on 14 May and is being allowed for a resting period of 24 hours for analysis

·        A portable 70 kg or 05 cubic meter biogas plant is being custom built for the company using the HDPE barrel received from the company

Results:

1.      The sludge had a pH of approx7.8 when collected and the same reduced to 7.2 after drying.

2.      Milk Sludge briquettes burning test indicated that the briquettes have good calorific value due to presence of fats and organic matter.

3.      5 day analysis of the microbes in the composting pit where wet sludge was introduced showed no signs of distress for the white maggots and black soldier fly larva. The sludge chunks have disintegrated with the ongoing organic composting matter after 110 hours.

4.      Solar Dryer reduced the sludge to dry white powder like substance in 14 hours of sun exposure while the air drying took approx. 40 hours to remove almost all of the moisture.

5.      The solar dryer dried sludge powder was introduced in a vermin-composting pit and earthworms showed no signs of after 24 hours.

6.      The processed sludge water stabilized in a closed container resulted in minor quantity deposition of particles (milk solids) after 20 hours. The same is under observation.

Suggestions

1.      Reduce use of HazChem and other chemical in the sludge management.

2.      Replace HazChem with organic natural acids preferably lemon juice. 

3.       Deploy a charcoal and sand based filter before the sludge liquid is introduced to water pond.

4. Evaluate milk fabrics potentiality and antifungal liquid potential

Milk Fabric

Cyan milk protein fiber is the latest in eco friendly fabrics which dewaters and skims milk, and manufactures the protein spinning fluid suitable for wet spinning process by means of new bio-engineering technique, and new high-grade textile fiber is made by combining them.

Cyan milk protein fiber is healthy for skin, comfortable, with bright colors due to good dye ability, etc. The milk protein fiber can be spun purely or spun with various natural fibres such as cashmere, silk, spun silk, cotton, wool, ramie and other fibers to weave fabrics with the features of milk protein fiber. It can also be used to create top-grade underwear, shirts, T shirts, loungewear, etc. to satisfy people's pursuit of comfortable, healthy, superior and fashionable garments.

General Features:-Light, soft, comfortable, colorful and Elegant Colorful -Keeping tender hand-touch and right color after several washings Easy Care-Being resistant to fungus, good moisture absorption & conduction, insects and aging.

Advantages:-

Today's Milk Fiber is environmentally friendly, high strength & much more superior as compare to man-made fibers. Some of the benefits of having Milk Fiber are as given below:

As it is having continues graft polymerization technique hence it is totally eco-friendly in nature. It can be considered as "Green Product" as no formaldehyde is present in the product. Milk fiber is made from milk case in instead of fresh milk. We may use acid, reactive or cationic dyes for this kind of specialty fiber. Ph of milk fiber is 6.8 which are same as that of human skin. Hence the products made up from them are more compatible to human skin. Milk Fiber contains seventeen amino acids & natural anti-bacterial rate is above eighty percent. Hence milk fiber has sanitarian function. It is a new synthetic Fiber having milk protein as main material based on high technical process. Milk Fiber has the advantages natural Fiber combined with synthetic Fiber. These are more comfortable, excellent water transportation & air permeability