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The commercial laundry industry is a vastly important yet gravely underestimated business area. In the last decades, the evolving chemical restrictions, sustainability-based regulations, and safety standards have strongly affected the commercial laundry sector, especially with environmental consideration rising in demand, that is, wastewater treatment and recycling. This paper addresses a growing need in cost-effective engineering, as well as the application, of wastewater recycling technologies for commercial laundries. This study started from the manufacturing of polypropylene capillary membranes using a combination of polyetherpolyamide (PEBAX®) and titanium dioxide nano-sized particles (nano-TiO2) for subsequent "flow coating" modification of membrane surfaces. In the next step, the material characteristics of the polymeric membranes were investigated at lab and pre-industrial scales using scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, contact angle measurements, and defined filtration experiments. The examination of the wastewater reuse potential of novel membranes on a pre-industrial scale was carried out in a field study in a commercial laundry. The treated water has been monitored, for example, by conductometry and surface tension measurements. This study defines the reuse potential of laundry wastewater by using modified polymeric membranes, while at the same time evaluating the critical parameters of this wastewater recycling process in commercial laundries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reuse of treated wastewater has been proven a reliable alternative water resource, which can constitute a significant component of integrated water resources management and provide an effective solution to cope with water scarcity conditions. In Greece, the recent introduction of the Joint Ministerial Decision 145116/11, which specifies requirements concerning the reuse of treated effluents, gives rise to the investigation of reuse potential in water scarce regions. As most Aegean islands struggle with water scarcity, due to their specific geomorphology, climatic conditions, and increased water demand during summer, the implementation of wastewater reuse in this region could provide a key solution to address water stress. The aim of this paper is to propose a step-wise approach for the analysis of treated wastewater reuse potential in the islands of the Aegean Archipelago, and the assessment of its contribution towards the mitigation of water scarcity problems. A Geographic Information System was used for the classification of the islands according to certain criteria (e.g. operative WWTPs, vulnerability to water scarcity, population density, etc.) and their clustering according to wastewater reuse potential. For the cluster of high reuse potential, the quality of treated effluents was compared to the standards specified by the Greek wastewater reuse legislation, to identify potential reclaimed water uses. The contribution of reclaimed water in alleviating water deficits in the islands with high reuse potential was estimated to be significant, thus indicating that it could be an effective option towards water scarcity mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]