| This research investigated the feasibility of using aerobic biological treatment to treat an industrial laundry wastewater. Ultimate CBOD analyses (30 days) were run to establish the biodegradability of an industrial laundry wastewater. An open respirometer was utilized to investigate treatability by the activated sludge process and its ability to meet the proposed EPA effluent limitations for enumerated organic compounds. Experiments were conducted on the laundry wastewater using Mean Cell Residence Times of 5, 10, 15, and 20 days. The results of this research indicate that industrial laundry wastewater has a major biodegradable component which can be stabilized after approximately eight hours of aeration.;Two separate runs were conducted where the laundry wastewater was spiked with a solution containing the volatile organic compounds that were proposed in the EPA guidelines. Results of the study show that industrial laundries could meet the proposed effluent limitations for all of the organic compounds proposed. A 98% reduction was achieved after only two hours of aeration for both runs. |
