Waste Utilization and Management at KMITT was established to research and develop processes to treat and utilize industrial wastes with the emphasis on the production of biogas, which can then be used as cheap alternative energy sources in various industries. Several projects on management and utilization of wastes are emphasized and used to provide technology know-how and economic data for potential users.

1. Waste audit and waste minimization.
   The optimization of water usage and the reuse and recycle of water in plants.

2. Biological waste treatment and utilization.

3. Design and implementation of the novel
   high rate anaerobic system in a full scale for interested agro-industry.

4. Waste audit and waste minimization.

   1. The Thai-Belgium project, involving the survey of wastewater at 5 tapioca industrial plants.

   2. ASEAN Australia Economic Co-Operation Program (AAECP) Phase III, involving the survey of wastewater at 1 tapioca industrial plant and 1 distillery plant.

5. Project to survey various agro-industrial
   factories across Thailand in order to assess the efficiency of biogas production from wastewater.

6. Design a full-scale wastewater treatment system at the following sites:

   1. Chao Khun Kaset Co., Ltd.
   2. Bangkok Inter Food Co., Ltd.
   3. Doikhum Food Products Co., Ltd.
   4. Pioneer Textile Co., Ltd.

Wastewater Treatment from agro-industries by anaerobic fixed bed system.

Biogas Technology Research Group (BTRG) of KMITT-PDTI has, over the past two decades, researched on anaerobic digestion process to treat and utilize wastes from agro-industries such as paper industries, tapioca flour industries and fruits vegetable processing industries has came up with High Rate Anaerobic Reactor (HRAR), which use the principle of retaining most microorganisms in the tank for rapid digestion of organic wastes and high production of biogas. It can operate at low Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT) such that the tank size may be reduced and thus reducing the cost for the whole system.

At present, the fixed bed system is developed and can be used to reduce 60-80% of biomass without having to pay for price of oxidation as in other conventional systems. The system is also 10-20 times smaller than the conventional ones. The biogas provides a source of energy used in the factory as well.

It is effective both for high and low BOD waste water. The research group is confident in transferring this technology and giving advice in designing and in improving the existing systems to the factories so as to achieve more efficient process.