Biotechnological treatment of effluent from the combined enzymatic-ultrasound scouring of raw wool

New eco-labels for textile products and demands to wastewater discharges are forcing wool scouring processes to reuse wastewater and to search for more efficient and environmental friendly methods of processing. This challenge has prompted intensive research in new advanced treatment technologies. Due to the high level of detergent usage, the most widely used treatment of wool scouring effluent (WSE) is anaerobic. As the pressure to use more environmentally acceptable treatment methods increases there is the need to study alternative, biologically efficient treatment systems for WSE. This work aims at studying the influence of the combined enzymatic-ultrasound scouring of raw wool fibers on the effectiveness of the anaerobic treatment of effluents from this processing. Experiments carried out combined enzyme and ultrasound scouring of wool followed by treatment of effluents obtained. Aerobic and anaerobic treatments of these effluents were performed using a special laboratory reactor. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) of effluents from different scouring processes were defined. The results of this study indicate that the anaerobic biological and chemical treatments of WSE treated by combined enzymatic-ultrasound scouring is a promising alternative technology from the point of view of reducing the wastewater pollution and the effective cleaning of effluents coming out from this process.