امکان افزایش کارایی سامانه‌ی فعلی تصفیه‌ی فاضلاب یک کارخانه ی تولید محصولات لبنی و ارایه‌ی راهکارهای مناسب جهت ارتقای آن 

Background and Aim: The aims of this study was to explore the feasibility of improving efficiency of the wastewater treatment system of the Fars Pegah Dairy Industries (FPDI) and propose ways to upgrade it in 2006-2007. The FPDI wastewater treatment system was of a successive anaerobic-aerobic type using anaerobic stabilization ponds and conventional and extended aeration activated sludge. Due to improper design and operation, it did not meet the required standards with regard to disposal to the surrounding cultivated land. Materials and Methods: To overcome the problem and eliminate the bad smell, modifications were made, such as changing the entries and exits of the ponds, adjustment of the activated sludge process, and converting the conventional activated sludge F/M to a step-feed activated sludge shift. The efficiency of the system was assessed before and after these modifications Results: The efficiency of the system to eliminate biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids (TSS), total coliform, and fecal coliform increased from 82.42%, 86.87%, 64.18%, 20.23%, 54.56% and 50.87% to 97.34%, 98.61%, 90.4%, 28.44%, 90.09% and 89.95%, respectively. Conclusion: The findings show improvements in the efficiency of the wastewater treatment system due to the changes made in it. It was also observed that efficiencies of the feed-step aeration and the extended aeration are similar. This means that application of the extended aeration in the treatment system of the plant would result in waste of money and energy.