Applicability of Advanced Oxidation Processes for Treatment and Recovery of Washing Machine Effluent

In this study, it was successfully shown that Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) are a feasible method to treat laundry wastewater originating from washing machines. Wastewater characterization from different stages of wastewater discharge was analysed and advanced oxidation processes including O3, H2O2, O3/H2O2, O3/UV-C, H2O2/UV-C, and O3/H2O2/UV-C were applied to determine the most efficient AOP, by analysing chemical oxygen demand and methylene blue active substances content of treated laundry wastewaters. It was shown that H2O2/UV method yielded the best chemical oxygen demand and methylene blue active substances reduction rates among other methods. Optimization studies also revealed that under optimum conditions with filtration, chemical oxygen demand and methylene blue active substances content of wastewater discharge during the last rinsing stage of the washing cycle can be reduced by 95% and 98%, respectively. Results also demonstrated that treatment by advanced oxidation processes greatly reduced the rate of microorganism growth AOP-treated wastewater comparing to raw wastewater. To have a more sustainable washing process, the total water consumption of the washing machine can be reduced by recycling the treated laundry wastewater using the advanced oxidation processes.