DOST funds R&D lab for sugarcane wastewater management in Negros

BACOLOD CITY —The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has funded a research and development (R&D) laboratory to develop treatment for wastewater generated by sugar-related industries in the Negros Island Region.

During the HANDA Pilipinas 2025 Visayas Leg here, the DOST said that they partnered with the Technological University of the Philippines Visayas (TUPV) for the project and granted P4,990,000 to secure the necessary research equipment.

Photo: Jiselle Anne Casucian/GMA Integrated News

The research team is made up of faculty members from TUPV’s chemistry and chemical engineering departments.

Wastewater from sugar-related sectors, project leader Noriel Seduco said, contains toxic substances that can deplete oxygen from aquatic bodies they interact with, harming marine life and contaminating soil and groundwater.

“For now, we are focusing on organic pollutant reduction… The technologies that we are working with focus on those important parameters set by [the] DENR [Department of Environment and Natural Resources]. So, we want to help industries to reduce problems that they usually encounter in terms of violations of these parameters,” she added.

The group will carry out pilot testing on whatever technology it develops and explore the potential for commercialization. 

With a few months remaining before the end of the 2024–2025 crop year, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) reported in May that 71% of the 1.815 million tons of sugar produced came from the Visayas. Sixty-three percent of the Visayas' output was from the Negros Island Region. 

The 2024-2025 sugar cropping season ended in August. —VBL, GMA Integrated News