Impact of carbon technology on chemical and biochemical oxygen demand values as water quality indicators of physico-chemical treated laundry effluents

The purpose of this work was to study the impact of an additional treatment using carbon technology on water quality indicators. This treatment effectively lowered COD and BOD by more than 70% and 60%, respectively (average values for 12 samples taken every 30 days). Other pollutants were eliminated at the same time: abatement rates were 30% for metals, 60% for phenols, and practically 100% for hydrocarbons. Carbon technology also reduced the biodegradability index from 2.5 to 1.8. Applying carbon technology directly to a tank at the physico-chemical station could be an effective approach to help achieve zero pollutant emissions. • Data on the temporal variability of water quality indicators of the laundry sector are described • Activated carbon effectively lowered organic load present in laundry water • Carbon technology significantly reduced the concentrations of other pollutants • Activated carbon treatment increased water biodegradability • Long-term BOD measurements can be correlated with those of TOC and AS • Carbon is a broad-spectrum adsorbent recommended for laundry water • The economic aspect of carbon technology must be taken into account