A Survey on Pharmaceutical Waste Water Treatment and the Efficiency of ETP in Context of Bangladesh

Pharmaceuticals industries are now increasing in Bangladesh along with other industries which are a major polluting industry in Bangladesh. In this study, it is observed that the waste water of the pharmaceutical industries is discharging without accurate treatment. As a result, discharge of untreated wastewater causes death of aquatic life and the resulting environment pollution effect on plants, animals and human. The study attempts to identify simple and cost effective approaches to stabilize pharmaceuticals waste. There are 258 pharmaceuticals industries in Bangladesh. It is very difficult to study all of them. So, this current survey work was carried out in their renowned pharmaceutical industries of Bangladesh like Navana pharmaceuticals Ltd. and Albion Laboratories limited. These two pharmaceuticals industries produce various types of products from different plants. Like every pharmaceuticals industry wastes from different plant are discharged in surface drain and then flow combined and become treated by ETP before final discharging to the environment. This study has been carried out to find out whether some specific parameters of ETP outlet water treated by these three ETP can comply with the standards for waste from Industrial units or Projects waster (DOE, 1997) or not. These specific parameters are pH, TSS, TDS, BOD, COD and DO. In this comparative study it was fond that pH, total solid, total dissolved solids, suspended solids and the selected of metal constituents of all three individual ETP treated water are within the limits of industrial Effluent Quality Standards of Bangladesh. BOD (200 mg/l), COD (349 mg/l) and DO (1.30 mg/l) values of ETP treated water of Navana Pharmaceuticals Ltd. are not within the allowable limit. BOD 5, COD were found higher and DO was found lower than the standard concentration set by DOE. While the standard value for BOD, COD and DO according to environment conservation rules, 1997 are respectively not more than 50mg/l, ˂200mg/l and ˃4.5mg/l. The effluent should be treated prior to discharge into the environment