Towards a Sustainable Water Future: Proceedings of OICWE2020

Badr and Venables

ISBN 978-0-7277-6525-3
https://doi.org/10.1680/oicwe.65253.211
ICE Publishing: All rights reserved

LAUNDRY WASTEWATER
CHARACTERIZATION AND TREATMENT
FOR REUSE PURPOSES IN OMAN
A.S. Alhinai1*
1
College of Engineering, National University of Science and Technology, Muscat, Oman
*Corresponding author

ABSTRACT This paper presents a comparative study for characteristics of laundry wastewater
from domestic and commercial sources in Muscat, Oman. Laboratory analysis was performed to
investigate the effluent quality parameter from commercial and domestic of laundry water for ten-
run cycles. These are Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD),
Total Dissolved Solid (TDS), Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Turbidity, Electrical Conductivity
(EC), Dissolve Oxygen (DO), Copper (Cu), Iron (Fe), Magnesium (Mg), Hardness, Temperature.
Sand filter is used to upgrade the effluent quality to comply with the Omani standards for discharge
of non-household liquid waste into sewerage system. The results show that the range of pH for
domestic wastewater (DW) and commercial wastewater (CW) is 6 to 9 and 9 to 11 respectively. The
values of chemical oxygen demand (COD) of DW vary from 500-1200 mg/l while for CW range
from 300-900 mg/l. Furthermore, Total suspended solid (TSS) is in the range of 200-500 mg/l for
DW and 800 up to 1100 mg/l for CW. The average of iron and copper approximately for DW 0.1
and 0.08 mg/l for CW 0.18 and 0.15 mg/l respectively. The biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) in
DW is in the range of 40-460 mg/l and for CW is in the range of 80-220 mg/l. The results obtained
for turbidity for DW and CW is in range 20-200 NTU and 10-200 NTU respectively. Treatment of
laundry wastewater by sand filter involved collection of wastewater in storage tank where the
wastewater passes through the sand filter by gravity in a vertical system. Commercial colour cloths
wastewater treated by sand filter shows the removal of approximately 30% for TSS, 70% for TDS,
and turbidity 20%. The result of this study shows that all wastewater quality parameters, (pH, TSS,
TDS, Turbidity, Electrical conductivity, Temperature, DO, Hardness, Fe, Cu, Mg) are complied with
Omani standards for discharge of non-household liquid waste into sewerage system.
1. Introduction
The issue of water resource management and the provision of water for the population is
one of the major challenges facing the world. The need for human usable water in the
world has increased which may lead for water shortages in the future. From this concept
one of most critical issue is consumption of laundry water, where huge quantities of water
are used for washing every day (Massoumeh and Kargari, 2016). Laundry wastewater is
a type of grey water where this water contain soap, suspended solids, oil, perfumes, and
other high concentrations of chemicals (Braga and Maria, 2014). This research was
introduced to find a solution to regulate the consumption of laundry wastewater where
report discuss the procedure for treatment laundry wastewater as well as the expected time
for project, aim, objectives, methodology and the literature review of the previous study
done related to this project.

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 Towards a Sustainable Water Future: Proceedings of OICWE2020

Several processes are needed to convert laundry wastewater to treated water for use in
several domestic applications. A specialist’s view is that: “Generally, laundry wastewater
treatment serves the society which have positive effect and several advantages” (Braga
and Maria, 2014). This ensure the important of this project.

Project is specified to be in Muscat region, the domestic wastewater samples will be

collected from home in Al Mawaleh area for different type of cloths e.g. white, black,
color cloths. Commercial wastewater samples will be collected from Al Ghafat express
laundry in Al Khoudh area for similar types of cloth.

The concept of the project is to find a treatment for laundry wastewater which will allow
reuse of the water for other purposes. Figure 1 shows water usage statistics in the Sultanate
of Oman. The agricultural sector is the main user of water in the Sultanate with a total
consumption of 78% followed by other sectors. From the concept of the project best
practice is to treat and reuse the domestic and commercial laundry water for agriculture
and other priority purposes to reduce demand on natural water resources. It is also the
intention to reduce the amount of wastewater to protect the environment. (MRMW, 2014).

Figure 1 Main sectors of water uses in Sultanate of Oman (MRMW, 2014)

2. Experiment and design

2.1 Materials
The quality parameters of the wastewater will be investigated and the materials
requirement will be according to standard methods. These materials required will be
identified throughout the experimental process.

2.2 Area selection

The project will be depending of the area selection where this project will be conduct in
Muscat area. For commercial laundry the location of the shop in Al-Khoudh area by
dealing with Al Ghafat Express Laundry and for domestic laundry the location in Al-
Mawaleh area.

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 Alhinai

2.3 Collection of the samples and estimation of volume

Collection of the samples will be through commercial and domestic laundry for different
type of wash cloths eg White, Black, Color and Mixed Cloths wash. The collection will
be from automatic washing machines which are washing a mixture of daily adult and
children clothes.

For the domestic, the consumption of the water in the wash machine vary from 36 L up to
100 L the average used at house is from 60 L - 82 L. Furthermore, the time taken for every
cycle wash from 30 - 90 minutes depend on the water flow power process as well as types
of clothes. Clothes are washed about each two days or three days. With regards to the
commercial wash machines, the water consumed for washing reached up to 100 L or more,
whereas the clothes are washed on daily basis. Sample collection is scheduled for one
week and for evaluate the quantitative and qualitative one week.

2.4 Testing the water characteristics

After sample collection the analyses will be immediately performed at a Caledonian
laboratory (Figure 2). “The analysis used to characterize wastewater vary from precise
quantitative chemical determinations to the more qualitative biological and physical
determination” (Massoumeh and Kargari, 2016). Thirteen parameters are investigated for
five wash cycles of domestic and commercial laundry water. The characteristics of water
test will be followed by Ministry of Environment and Climatic Affairs (MECA). Time
expected for samples analyses are from two to three weeks.

Figure 2 Purpose of waste water characteristic

2.5 Selecting the treatment process

After chemical analysis was performed, a sand filter had been selected for the treatment
process which consisted of a wastewater cylinder tank placed at top followed by square
sand filter that include 5 layers then square sand filter attached with extra small cylinder
that consist of 3 layer and at the end collection treated wastewater tank to be placed. In
fact, sand filters are used as a step in the water treatment process of water purification.
Sand filters are a good option for limited budget operations as the filtration is not using

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any chemicals and requires little or no mechanical assistance. During the process of
filtration, raw water can percolate through the porous sand medium, stopping and trapping
organic material, bacteria, viruses and cysts such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium. Figure
3 shows a schematic view of the system.

Figure 3 Layout of the project

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3. Results
3.1 Laboratory analysis for domestic and commercial laundry wastewater

Table 1 Domestic Laundry Wastewater Samples (one wash cycle only)

Type of clothes: White Type of clothes: Colored Type of clothes: Black
Parameter Results Parameter Results Parameter Results
pH 7.74 pH 7.49 pH 6.79
TSS 450 mg/L TSS 525 mg/L TSS 260 mg/L
TDS 2000 mg/L TDS 1400 mg/L TDS 428 mg/L
Turbidity 40.4 NTU Turbidity 135 NTU Turbidity 32.8 NTU
Conductivity 5.76 mS/cm Conductivity 4.91 mS/cm Conductivity 1.56 mS/cm
Temperature 23.2° C Temperature 22.8° C Temperature 24.5° C
DO 0.58 mg/L DO 5.65 mg/L DO 2.73 mg/L
COD 997 mg/L COD 1007 mg/L COD 1204 mg/L
BOD 50 mg/L BOD 80 mg/L BOD 40 mg/L
Hardness 115 mg Hardness 250 mg Hardness 119 mg
Iron 0.06 mg/L Iron 0.15 mg/L Iron 0.90 mg/L
Cu 0.05 mg/L Cu 0.16 mg/L Cu 0.02 mg/L
Mg 0 mg/L Mg 0.1 mg/L Mg 0 mg/L

Table 2 Commercial Laundry Wastewater Samples (one wash cycle only)

Type of clothes: White Type of clothes: Colored
Parameter Results Parameter Results
pH 10.85 pH 10.44
TSS 814 mg/L TSS 1116 mg/L
TDS 6380 mg/L TDS 8849 mg/L
Turbidity 150 NTU Turbidity 91.9 NTU
Electrical conductivity 13.80 mS/cm Electrical conductivity 4.11 mS/cm
Temperature 22.3° C Temperature 23.2° C
DO 5.3 mg/L DO 1.2 mg/L
COD 755 mg/L COD 323 mg/L
BOD 80 mg/L BOD 220 mg/L
Hardness 100 mg Hardness 0 mg
Iron 0.10 mg/L Iron 0.19 mg/L
Cu 0.01 mg/L Cu 0.06 mg/L
Mg 0 mg/L Mg 0 mg/L

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3.2 Analysis of treated and untreated of commercial laundry wastewater for

colour cloth sample

Table 3 Treated and Untreated Commercial Laundry Wastewater

Untreated samples characteristics Treated samples characteristics

Parameter Results Parameter Results
Colour Yes Colour Reduced
pH 10.44 pH 9.04
TSS 1116 mg/L TSS 789 mg/L
TDS 8849 mg/L TDS 2780 mg/L
Turbidity 112 NTU Turbidity 91.9 NTU
Electrical conductivity 4.11 mS/cm Electrical conductivity 4.27 mS/cm
DO 5.3 mg/L DO 1.1 mg/L
Iron 0.19 mg/L Iron 0.25 mg/L
Cu 0.06 mg/L Cu 0.07 mg/L
Mg 0 mg/L Mg 0 mg/L

3.3 Quantities estimation produced out of domestic and commercial wastewater

Table 4 Volume Estimated for one Wash Cycle

Domestic Commercial
Type of clothes White Color Black White Color
Estimated Quantity (In) 60 L 82 L 60 L 100 L 100 L
Estimated Quantity (Out) 49 L 69 L 44 L 86 L 78 L

4. Discussions
Treated laundry wastewater was compared with Omani standard (Standard for discharge
of non-household liquid waste into sewerage system according to Ministry of
Environment and Climate Affairs) (Tables 1–4).

There is significant reduction in parameters such as pH, TDS, TSS, Turbidity, EC, DO,
Iron, Copper of Commercial Laundry Wastewater of color clothes treated using sand filter
as shown in result Table 5. It can be observed that using sand filter there was color
reduction as well as being effective in reducing laundry wastewater parameters: in addition
the physical – chemical analysis is within the MECA standard. It can be concluded that
discharge of laundry wastewater after treatment by sand filter has no detrimental effect on

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sewerage system. Furthermore for high level treatment a sand filter can be attached with
additional technique of treatment such as ultra-filtration, electrocoagulation and many
other methods.

Table 5 Standard for discharge of non-household liquid waste into sewage

system according to ministry of environment and climate affairs
Components: Standards
pH 6-10
Colour Raises no objection
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (5 Days) Not more than 1000 mg/L
Chemical Oxygen Demand Not more than 1500 mg/L
Temperature Not more than 43° C
Suspended solid Not more than 1000 mg/L
Total dissolved solid Not more than 3000 mg/L
Copper (expressed in ions of copper) Not more than 1 mg/L
Iron (expressed in ions of iron) Not more than 5 mg/L
Unpolluted water (including condensation and cooling Not seen
water and water drained from roofs of buildings
Insecticides, herbicides, pesticides, fungicides Imperceptible
Any substance (whether by itself or with any other Imperceptible
substance allowed to be discharged into sewage
system)
Any material that may render wastewater harmful or Imperceptible
makes formal treatment of such waste difficult

5. Conclusion
From this study it can be concluded that the chemical and physical characteristic analysis
conducted at Caledonian laboratory for the parameters (COD, TSS, Fe, Cu, Mg, Turbidity,
EC, DO, Hardness) as well some of parameters such as (BOD, TDS, pH, Temperature)
conducted at A’Seeb wastewater treatment plant laboratory complied with the Omani
standards for discharge of non-household liquid waste into sewerage system.

This study shows that the range of pH for domestic wastewater (DW) and commercial
wastewater (CW) is 6 to 9 and 9 to 11 respectively. The values of chemical oxygen demand
(COD) of DW vary from 500-1200 mg/l while for CW range from 300-900 mg/l.
Furthermore Total suspended solid (TSS) is in the range of 200-500 mg/l for DW and 800
up to 1100 mg/l for CW. The average values of iron and copper are approximately for DW
0.1 and 0.08 mg/l for CW 0.18 and 0.15 mg/l respectively. The biochemical oxygen
demand (BOD) in DW is in the range of 40-460 mg/l and for CW is in the range of 80-
220 mg/l. The results obtained for turbidity for DW and CW is in the range of 20-200
NTU and 10-200 NTU respectively.

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Present study analysis of domestic and commercial laundry wastewater produced upon
separation of cloths for example white, color, and black cloths. Characterization of this
study compared with the literature review shows that there is an urgent need for more
information about the characteristics of laundry wastewater. In addition laundry water
studies had no consistent characteristics and the content of parameters varied from sample
to sample with taking in the account different conditions that may affects the analysis.

The tradability study of laundry wastewater is carried out to investigate the removal
efficiency by sand filter. This study involved collection of wastewater in storage tank
where the wastewater pass through the sand filter by gravity upon vertical system. The
adequacy of the treated laundry wastewater was assessed by Caledonian College of
Engineering. Commercial color cloths wastewater treated by sand filter shows the removal
of approximately 30% for TSS, 70% for TDS, and turbidity 20%. The result of this study
shows that all wastewater quality parameters, (pH, TSS, TDS, Electrical conductivity,
Temperature, DO, COD, BOD, Fe, Cu, Mg) complied with Omani standards for discharge
of non-household liquid waste into sewerage system. As a consequence, the discharge of
the laundry liquid waste from commercial and domestic has no impact on the wastewater
facilities in Muscat.

6. Recommendations/future work
This project can be extended for other areas not only Muscat, as well as testing other
parameters such as BOD, COD, TSS, PH, and Turbidity can be conducted in professional
laboratory and the treatment processes can be progress with high efficiency apparatus that
will give better effluent results according to national standards (Figure 4). In addition, this
project can be improved using filtration device tank that can be manufactured with high
standards specification and it can be install at every house for recycle laundry wastewater
with separate connection sewage networks of laundry water and link directly with
filtration device tank which will used for several applications.

Figure 4 Recommended layout process

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 Alhinai

7. Acknowledgement
I would like to extend my gratitude to all those people who helped and supported me in
completing this term paper. I would like to thank my beloved professor, Dr. Basim Al
Khateeb, for the lessons, guidance and advices he bestowed upon me. He inspired me to
work efficiently on this report. Furthermore, I would like to thank him for motivating me
to work hard in achieving my goals in life.

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