Abstract
In this study distillery wastewater was treated using the vermifiltration technology in a bid to
reduce downstream contamination by the effluent. 10kg of Eisenia Fetida earthworms were
used as the vermifiltration media in a 0.5m x 0.5m x 0.3m vermifiltration bed over a 40 hour
period cycle. The distillery effluent physicochemical parameters which included pH, total
Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), biological oxygen demand (BOD), total dissolved solids (TDS),
total suspended solids (TSS) and the chemical oxygen demand (COD) were measured every 5
days. The vermicompost which was produced as a result of the vermifiltration process’s
nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium composition was also determined. The distillery
effluent pH changed from acidic to neutral whilst a decrease of 94.9% was observed for the
TKN, 91.1% for the BOD, 91.9% for the TDS, 92.4% for the TSS and 89.4% for the COD
upon treatment with vermifiltration. The vermicompost, a by-product of the vermifiltration
process had a nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium composition of 1.87%, 0.87% and 0.66%
respectively.