Closing the water cycle for industrial laundries: An operational performance and techno-economic evaluation of a full-scale membrane bioreactor system

To reduce the consumption of freshwater in the laundry industry, a new trend of closing the water cycle has resulted in the reuse/recycling of water. In this study, the performance of a full-scale submerged aerobic membrane bioreactor (9 m³) used to treat/reuse industrial laundry wastewater was examined over a period of 288 days. The turbidity and total solids (TS) were reduced by 99%, and the chemical oxygen demand (COD) effluent removal efficiencies were between 70% and 99%. The levels of COD removed by the membrane were significantly greater than the levels of biodegraded COD. This enabled the bioreactor to sustain COD levels that were below 100 mg/L, even during periods of low wastewater biodegradation due to bioreactor sludge. An economic evaluation of the membrane bioreactor (MBR) system showed a savings of 1.13 € per 1 m³ of water. The payback period for this system is approximately 6 years. The energy and maintenance costs represent only 5% of the total cost of the MBR system.     

Evaluating greywater reuse potential for sustainable water resources management in Oman

This study aims to evaluate the potential of greywater availability in Muscat Governorate in the Sultanate of Oman, to establish a methodology for greywater quantity estimation, to test greywater quality in order to assess reuse potential, and to examine public acceptance for reuse.Total fresh water consumption and greywater generation from different household sources were measured by water meters in five selected households during summer and winter. Additionally, a survey was designed and conducted in five administrative areas of Muscat Governorate, with the objective of testing a methodology for estimating greywater generation potential in these areas. Collected data were compared with that used by the Ministry of Housing, Electricity and Water, Sultanate of Oman. The survey covered a total of 169 houses and 1,365 people. Greywater samples were collected and analyzed from showers, laundries, kitchens and sinks in some of these households to determine their water quality parameters. Statistical analysis results indicated that there is no significant variance in the total fresh water consumption between data used by the ministry and those measured and estimated during this study, highlighting the applicability of the tested method. The study concluded that the average per capita greywater generation rate is 151 Lpcd. Greywater production ranged from 80 to 83% of the total fresh water consumption and most of the greywater is generated from showers. Further, 55 to 57% of the greywater generated in a typical Omani household originated from the shower, 28 to 33% originated from the kitchen, 6 to 9% originated from laundry, and 5 to 7% originated from sink, which constitutes approximately 81% of the total fresh water consumption. The physical, chemical, and biological analyses of the grab samples revealed that greywater contains significant levels of suspended solids, inorganic constituents, total organic carbon, chemical and biochemical oxygen demands, total Coliforms and Escherichia Coliform bacteria. The public acceptance survey illustrated that approximately 76% of the respondents accepted the reuse of greywater for gardening, 53% for car washing and 66% for toilet flushing.     

混凝沉降法处理洗衣废水的实验研究

洗涤废水含有表面活性剂和磷酸盐物质,直接排入水体会造成水体的污染,增加给水处理厂的处理难度,甚至会引起水体富营养化。本实验是通过投加PAC和PAM絮凝沉降联合活性炭吸附来处理商业洗涤废水,以去除废水中的COD。实验表明：采用PAC PAM 活性炭工艺处理洗衣废水的效果较好,投药过程COD的去除率可以达到60％以上,经过活性炭过滤后,总的去除率可以达到86％。出水ODD可以降至在50mg／L左右。