BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT OF CHEMICALLY FLOCCULATED AGRO-INDUSTRIAL WASTE FROM THE WOOL SCOURING INDUSTRY BY AN AEROBIC PROCESS WITHOUT SLUDGE RECYCLE

摘要

A new agro-industrial effluent known as Sirolan CF effluent is the aqueous phase remaining after the chemical flocculation of wool scouring effluent by the Sirolan CF process. This ellluent has been characterized, and shown to be effectively treated by biological degradation. It has a high concen- tration of organic material (5750 mg/L COD), with a low BODs/COD ratio (0.29). Aerobic biological treatment was tested using laboratory and pilot scale reactors, and shown to remove essentially all BODs, solvent extractable material and detergent activity. Maximum removal of the COD was 65o/o leaving a 2000 mg/L residual component of nonbiodegradable organic material. The combined pro- cesses of Sirolan CF and biological treatment removed over 90 of the COD and all solvent extracta- ble material from raw wool scouring effluent. This compares favourably to existing treatment systems, and represents a viable and attractive alternative to treat this extremely polluted wastewater.