Application of Attached Growth System for Laundry Wastewater Treatment

Abstract

Laundry wastewater can be treated in a small-scale aerobic wastewater treatment (WWT) system utilizing a microbubble generator (MBG). However, removing pollutants, precisely chemical oxygen demand (COD), is often low, especially under high wastewater load conditions. This study aims to improve the WWT system’s performance by incorporating an attached growth system. The research was conducted in a small-scale WWT system with a volume of 832 L in Cokrodiningratan, Code Riverbank, Yogyakarta, treating real wastewater from a nearby laundry shop. Experiments were performed batch-wise for one week with suspended and nylon-fabric-attached growth systems. Wastewater samples from the WWT system were taken and analyzed for COD concentrations. Results indicate that the attached growth system outperforms the suspended growth system. During operation, the suspended growth system achieved a COD removal rate of approximately 78% (temperature range of 26-28°C, a pH level of 6.3-7.1, and influent COD: 377.5 mg/L). In contrast, with the introduction of attachment media under similar batch operation conditions (temperature range: 26-28°C, pH level: 6.4-7.4, influent COD: 755.5 mg/L), the COD removal efficiency increased to 94%. The incorporation of attachment media led to a notably stable performance outcome.