Removal of Anionic Surfactant from Residential Laundry Wastewater using Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) seeds

Abstract

The study presented in this article investigated the removal of a long chain anionic surfactant from residential laundry wastewater using jackfruit (<em>Artocarpus heterophyllus</em>) seeds. The main ingredients of laundry wastewater are the surfactants. Therefore, great attention should be given to the treatment and disposal of laundry wastewater. The use of natural substitutes in treating wastewater has no harmful effects, and it is considered an effective step towards protecting the environment and promoting sustainability. Jar test experiments were conducted in order to determine the optimum conditions for the removal of surfactants, chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand (BOD), turbidity in terms of effective dosage, and pH control. The surfactant, COD, BOD, and turbidity removal efficiencies were 91.66%, 82.86%, 77.66%, and 85.14% at the optimum initial pH value of 6, the optimum dose of 2.5 g/L, and optimum mixing time of 25 minutes, respectively. It can be concluded that <em>Artocarpus heterophyllus</em> seed powder was a feasible and cost-effective natural coagulant for the removal of anionic surfactant from laundry wastewater. The results showed that the pseudo-second-order equation is the suitable model for this system.