Application of NMR spectroscopy and conventional analytical methods for the assessment of wastewater from food industry

Before wastewater (WW) can be emitted into the municipal treatments plants, its organic matter content has to be assessed and found to comply with legislations. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon (TOC) are among the most commonly used methods for such analysis. However, volatile organic compounds (VOC) present in the WW might hinder a correct organic matter estimation using these conventional methods. In this study, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) was used to identify and quantify VOC in dairy WW. It was determined that the NMR, COD and TOC analyses complement each other providing a more accurate estimation of the organic matter content in WW. In addition, NMR provides data on the metabolic composition of the dairy WW. This information was used to assess the possibility to reutilize dairy WW for the production of high added value compounds.