Skip to main content
Article | Industrial and Domestic Waste Management | Volume 6 - Issue 1 - 2026 | 181−203 | https://doi.org/10.53623/idwm.v6i1.1203
© 2026 by the author(s), and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License

Performance Assessment of an Activated Sludge Wastewater Treatment Plant Treating Chocolate Processing Wastewater

Author(s): Rizal Aulia Ahadi Putra Karim , Rida Oktorida Khastini , Najmi Firdaus
Author(s) information:
Department of Environmental Studies, Universitas Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa, Indonesia

Corresponding author

Industrial and Domestic Waste Management

Volume 6 - Issue 1 - 2026

 About the journal
Submit your article

The chocolate processing industry generated wastewater containing high concentrations of organic pollutants that could pose significant environmental risks if not properly treated. This study aimed to analyze the characteristics of wastewater generated from the chocolate-based food industry and to evaluate the effectiveness of a Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) employing an activated sludge system. The research was conducted through field observations and laboratory analyses of 33 physical, chemical, and biological parameters at the WWTP inlet and outlet points. Sampling was performed using the grab sampling method in accordance with SNI 6989.59:2008, with a total of 33 samples collected during the period from October 2025 to April 2026. The results indicated that the main pollutant parameters at the WWTP inlet were Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) at 1524 mg/l, Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) at 6470 mg/l, and Total Coliform at 19,000 MPN/100 ml, all of which exceeded the environmental quality standards. Following the treatment process, the concentrations decreased to 12.94 mg/l for BOD, 54.70 mg/l for COD, and 560 MPN/100 ml for Total Coliform. The removal efficiencies achieved were 99.15% for BOD, 99.15% for COD, and 97.05% for Total Coliform. These findings demonstrated that the combination of chemical treatment and activated sludge processes was effective in reducing organic and microbiological pollutant loads to comply with the environmental quality standards stipulated in the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry Regulation No. 5 of 2014. Optimal wastewater treatment not only contributed to environmental protection but also supported social responsibility and industrial sustainability.

Read Full-Text
Previous article
Next article

Abdulla, H.; Zamorano, M.; Rodríguez, M.L.; El Shahawy, A.; et al. (2023). An overview of agro-food industry wastewater treatment: A bibliometric analysis and literature review. Applied Water Science, 13, 47. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13201-022-01857-3.

García-Orozco, V.M.; Roa-Morales, G.; Linares-Hernández, I.; Serrano-Jiménez, I.J.; Salgado-Catarino, M.A.; Natividad, R. (2021). Electrocoagulation of a chocolate industry wastewater in a downflow column electrochemical reactor. Journal of Water Process Engineering, 42, 102057. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2021.102057.

He, L.; Zhang, Y.; Song, D.; Ou, Z.; Xie, Z.; Yang, S.; et al. (2022). Influence of pretreatment system on inorganic suspended solids for influent in wastewater treatment plant. Journal of Environmental and Public Health, 2022, 2768883. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/2768883.

Kiatkittipong, W.; Phalakornkule, C.; Nuchdang, S.; Pavasant, P. (2021). Performance of dynamic anaerobic membrane bioreactor (DAnMBR) with phase separation in treating high strength food processing wastewater. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 9(3), 105245. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2021.105245.

Luo, Y.; Guo, W.; Ngo, H.H.; Nghiem, L.D.; Hai, F.I.; Zhang, J.; Liang, S.; Wang, X.C. (2022). A review on the occurrence of micropollutants in the aquatic environment and their fate and removal during wastewater treatment. Science of the Total Environment, 473–474, 619–641. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.12.065.

Lieske, C.; Leutnant, D.; Uhl, M. (2021). Assessing the TSS removal efficiency of decentralized stormwater treatment systems by long-term in-situ monitoring. Water, 13(7), 908. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13070908.

Lin, L.; Yang, H.; Xu, X. (2022). Effects of water pollution on human health and disease heterogeneity: A review. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 10, 880246. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2022.880246.

Liang, Y.; Huang, Z.; Pan, Z.; Xu, M.; Shen, Y.; Li, J. (2023). A municipal wastewater treatment plant “drinking beer” for reduction of cost and carbon emission. RSC Advances, 13(29), 20113–20123. https://doi.org/10.1039/D3RA02213G.

Lian, Y.; Coggins, L. X.; Hay, J.; van de Ven, A.; Ghadouani, A. (2022). Effect of attached growth on treatment performance in waste stabilization ponds. Water, 14(20), 3245. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14203245.

Muleta, T.N.; Knolmar, M. (2025). Ecological impacts of combined sewer overflows on receiving waters. Discover Water, 5, 24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43832-025-XXXXX.

Mannina, G.; Capodici, M.; Cosenza, A.; Di Trapani, D.; Viviani, G. (2022). Performance evaluation of activated sludge systems treating industrial wastewater under different operational conditions. Journal of Water Process Engineering, 45, 102944. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2022.102944.

Makowska, M.; Spychała, M.; Pawlak, M. (2021). Efficacy and reliability of wastewater treatment technology in small meat plants. Desalination and Water Treatment, 221, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.5004/dwt.2021.27107.

Muhamad Ng, S.N.; Idrus, S.; Ahsan, A.; Marzuki, T.N.T.M.; Mahat, S.B. (2021). Treatment of wastewater from a food and beverage industry using conventional wastewater treatment integrated with membrane bioreactor system: A pilot-scale case study. Membranes, 11(6), 456. https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11060456.

Naveen, B.P.; Mahapatra, D.M.; Sitharam, T.G.; Sivapullaiah, P.V. (2021). Physico-chemical and biological characterization of food industry wastewater and its treatment potential. Environmental Technology & Innovation, 21, 101318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eti.2020.101318.

Pervez, M.N.; Balakrishnan, M.; Hasan, S.W.; Rashid, T.U. (2021). Wastewater characteristics and treatment technologies for food processing industries: A review. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 9(5), 106063. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2021.106063.

Paulo, A.M.S.; Amorim, C.L.; Costa, J.; Mesquita, D.P.; Ferreira, E.C.; Castro, P.M.L. (2021). High carbon load in food processing industrial wastewater is a driver for metabolic competition in aerobic granular sludge. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 9, 735607. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2021.735607.

Pervez, M.N.; Mishu, M.R.; Stylios, G.K.; Hasan, S.W.; Zhao, Y.; Cai, Y.; et al. (2021). Sustainable treatment of food industry wastewater using membrane technology: A short review. Water, 13(23), 3450. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13233450.

Pambudi, N.A.; Wibowo, H.; Prasetyo, A. (2021). Characterization and treatment strategies of industrial wastewater: A review. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 623(1), 012012. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/623/1/012012.

Ravndal, K.T.; Yang, Y.; Zhang, Y.; Ødegaard, H. (2022). Operational parameters governing biological wastewater treatment performance and microbial stability: A review. Journal of Environmental Management, 317, 115525. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.115525.

Ren, F.; Sun, Y.; Liu, J.; Chen, K.; Shi, N. (2022). A modified dynamic DEA model to assess the wastewater treatment efficiency: Perspective from Yangtze River and Non-Yangtze River Basin. Scientific Reports, 12, 9931. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-14105-0.

Saralate, G.D.; Saratale, R.G.; Kim, D.S.; Shin, H.S. (2020). Treatment of high strength food and food processing wastewater using biological approaches: A review. Science of the Total Environment, 709, 136073. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136073.

Shrivastava, V.; Ali, I.; Marjub, M.M.; Rene, E.R.; et al. (2022). Wastewater in the food industry: Treatment technologies and reuse potential. Chemosphere, 293, 133553. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.133553.

Sirohi, R.; Joun, J.; Lee, J. Y.; Yu, B. S.; Sim, S. J. (2022). Waste mitigation and resource recovery from food industry wastewater employing microalgae bacterial consortium. Bioresource Technology, 352, 127129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2022.127129.

Tchobanoglous, G.; Stensel, H.D.; Tsuchihashi, R.; Burton, F.L.; Abu-Orf, M.; Bowden, G.; Pfrang, W. (2021). Wastewater engineering: Treatment and resource recovery, 6th ed.; McGraw-Hill Education: New York, USA.

Usman, M.; Farooq, M.; Hanna, K.; Haderlein, S.B. (2021). Bacterial pathogens, antibiotic resistance, and wastewater treatment: Mechanisms and environmental implications. Science of the Total Environment, 796, 145132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145132.

Metcalf & Eddy. (2014). Wastewater Engineering: Treatment and Resource Recovery, 5th ed.; McGraw-Hill Education: New York, USA.

Wondim, T.T.; Dzwairo, R.B.; Aklog, D.; Janka, E.; Samarakoon, G.; Dereseh, M.M. (2023). Wastewater treatment plant performance assessment using time-function-based effluent quality index and multiple regression models: The case of Bahir Dar textile factory. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 195(11), 1360. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11952-w.

Tchobanoglous, G.; Burton, F.L.; Stensel, H.D. (2003). Wastewater Engineering: Treatment and Reuse, 4th ed.; McGraw-Hill: New York, USA.

Zhang, Y.; Li, X.; Chen, G. (2024). Optimization of pH in biological wastewater treatment processes for enhanced organic removal. Bioresource Technology, 385, 129012. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2023.129012.

Bazrafshan, E.; Mostafapour, F.K.; Hosseini, A.R.; et al. (2016). Application of coagulation process for industrial wastewater treatment. Journal of Environmental Health Science and Engineering, 14(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40201-016-0251-0.

Zagklis, D.P.; Bampos, G. (2022). Tertiary wastewater treatment technologies: A review of technical, economic, and life cycle aspects. Processes, 10(11), 2304. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr10112304.

Verma, A.K.; Dash, R.R.; Bhunia, P. (2012). A review on chemical coagulation/flocculation technologies for removal of colour from textile wastewaters. Journal of Environmental Management, 93(1), 154–168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2011.09.012.

Spellman, F.R. (2014). Handbook of Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant Operations, 3rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, USA. https://doi.org/10.1201/b17376.

Kurniawan, S.B.; Abdullah, S.R.S.; Imron, M.F.; et al. (2022). Challenges and opportunities of sustainable industrial wastewater treatment technologies. Environmental Technology & Innovation, 25, 102219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eti.2021.102219.

Read Full-Text
About this article

SUBMITTED: 20 May 2026
ACCEPTED: 04 June 2026
PUBLISHED: 8 June 2026
SUBMITTED to ACCEPTED: 16 days
DOI: https://doi.org/10.53623/idwm.v6i1.1203

Cite this article
Karim, R. A. A. P. ., Khastini, R. O. ., & Firdaus , N. . (2026). Performance Assessment of an Activated Sludge Wastewater Treatment Plant Treating Chocolate Processing Wastewater. Industrial and Domestic Waste Management, 6(1), 181−203. https://doi.org/10.53623/idwm.v6i1.1203
Citations
0
Share this article