Effect of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) on the biodegradability of municipal wastewater for its reuse in the textile industry

Abstract

Reuse of treated municipal wastewater to supplement part of fresh water is becoming more and more\ud important. However, treated water can contain some pollutants that cannot be successfully removed with\ud classical biological wastewater treatment processes. Aim of the study presented was to assess whether\ud advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) and special enzymes enhance biodegradation of municipal wastewater\ud and if treated municipal wastewater can be reused in the production process of textile industry. To test\ud biodegradability we used a small-scale pilot wastewater treatment plant (PWWTP) consisting of six parallel\ud bioreactors with suspended activated sludge (CAS type). Bioreactors were supplied with untreated municipal\ud wastewater, AOP-treated municipal wastewater and AOP-treated municipal wastewater with addition of\ud special enzymes. The results showed that AOPs contributed to better biodegradation while enzymes did not.\ud Municipal wastewater treated by a combination of AOP and biological treatment was not suitable for reuse\ud in the dyeing process, but could potentially be reused in some other processes in the textile industry