Vol. 25, No. 3 (2026), IA26771 https://doi.org/10.24275/rmiq/IA26771


Remediation of acid whey from the cheese industry in Libres, Puebla, Mexico, using a subsurface horizontal flow wetland


 

Authors

L. Juárez-Mendoza, V. Carpintero-Tepole, R.M. Zavaleta-Martínez, F.R. Díaz-Arriaga, F. Sánchez-López, L.A. Vázquez-León


Abstract

This study evaluated the feasibility of a subsurface horizontal flow wetland as treatment of acid whey produced by artisanal cheese manufactury in Libres, Puebla, Mexico. A laboratory-scale wetland prototype (area = 2.88 m2) was designed and built using coarse gravel, sand, and red tezontle as filtering substrates, while Phragmites australis was used as macrophyte species. The projected full-scale wetland area was estimated using a simplified Kickuth model considering a whey discharge of 25 m3 day-1. The untreated acid whey exhibited an acidic pH (4.86 ± 0.06) and high organic pollution indicators, as the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) values of 76,002.12 ± 4,675.49 mg L-1 and 39,917.74 ± 888.85 mg L-1, respectively. After 125 days of wetland adaptation with discontinue discharges and 6 days with whey discharges of 51.5 L day-1, the wetland achieved COD and BOD5 removal values of 97.36% and 97.14%, respectively. Significant reductions in fats and oils, total solids, and turbidity were also observed, while the effluent pH reached neutral values (7.10 ± 0.14). These results demonstrate the potential of constructed wetlands as a sustainable alternative for preliminary acid whey treatment in rural artisanal cheese production systems.


Keywords

remediation, whey, wetland, Phragmites australis.


References