MIL-HDBK-1165
agent and thus acts like chlorine, eliminating the need for
detergents, thus diminishing the rinse cycles and rinse water
discharge. Filters are used to collect dirt and residue from the
water before it is resaturated with ozone and returned to the
wash cycle.
Although ozone is considered toxic at certain
concentrations, equipment manufacturers claim that ozone
laundering systems release less ozone to the atmosphere than a
copier machine and ozone rapidly degrades in water to molecular
oxygen, so there is no danger in handling the wet laundry after
the cleaning process has finished. Ozone laundering has been
used at several large institutions with good results. It is
capable of cleaning the laundry without substantial graying or
degradation of the fabric.
5.3.5.5
Water Recycling, Reclamation, and Reuse. Rinse water
can usually be recycled to the wash cycle for the next laundry
load with no chemical treatment, however, the addition of some
fresh water is required to bring the water quality to desired
levels for use in the wash load, and some filtering may be needed
to catch lint and sediments. Implementing a rinse recycling
system is relatively inexpensive and can reduce water usage by 30
percent. Washwater, on the other hand, must be treated before it
can be recycled back into the wash process. Figure 16 gives the
typical "before and required-after" chemical composition of
laundry water. Many washwater recycling treatment systems use
inorganic coagulants to draw out water impurities in the form of
a sludge. Other systems use step-wise processes, including
filtration and carbon adsorption, to remove various wastewater
components. Depending on effluent quality, rinse or washwater
uses electricity to generate the ozone, causing an increase can
be reused as graywater for applications such as irrigation and
preliminary rinsing at washracks.
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