Degradation of phospate in laundry waste with biosand filter method

Abstract

The most active ingredients in laundry waste such as clothes softener and detergent are ammonium chloride, linear alkyl sulfonate (LAS), sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate, sodium carbonate, sodium sulfate, alkylbenzene sulfonate. These materials are not biodegradable This study aims to reduce the phosphate and surfactant content with the biosand filter method which uses activated carbon as adsorbents with the laundry to nutritional waste mixtures ratio of 100%: 0, 75%: 25%, and 50%: 50% (%volume) with anaerobic process. The parameters analyzed were Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Total Suspended Solid (TSS), Volatile Suspended Solid (VSS), pH everyday and Phosphate and Surfactant before and after anaerobic processes. The pH for this study is set in the range of 6.9-7.5. The largest volume was at 50%: 50% (v/v) mixture of laundry waste and nutrients obtained 76.61% TSS, 63.55% VSS, 53.67% COD, 74.32 % phosphate and 53.54% surfactant. Reduction of phosphate and surfactant values is caused by the presence of a dirty layer (biofilm) in the tank so as to produce phosphate and surfactants that have met quality standards based on the Government Regulation of the Republic of Indonesia No. 82 of 2001.