The first UASB pilot plant was installed in the 1970’s at a beet sugar company in The Netherlands (CSM Suiker). There, after a large number of full scale plants were installed throughout The Netherlands at sugar refineries, potato starch processing plants, and other food industries, as well as paper recycling plants.

There is an enormous variety of waste waters (in composition and concentration) discharged from the food processing industry, due to the number of raw materials, different processes and types of products.

Generally most of the waste water from the food industry contains organic pollution, with possible FOG (fat, oil and grease).

The characteristics of the waste water from the food industry make it in general an ideal substrate for biological waste water treatment, anaerobic and/or aerobic combination, depending on the local discharge requirements.