Laundry services making waves

No matter the time of day, the laundry at Panorama Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, is a hive of activity.

To ensure the 400-bed licensed hospital always has clean bedding, sterilised theatre linen, towels and scrubs, five washing machines run hour in and hour out. Every 60–90 minutes, depending on whether that specific cycle is a normal one or one intended to deal with infectious items, the machines take a new load, washing more than 7 000 items in a 24-hour cycle.

‘Having clean and hygienic linen is essential for hospitals. It provides a safe environment for patients and prevents the spread of infection,’ says Tersia Bester, Mediclinic Panorama: Support Services Manager. ‘In addition to patient safety, having fresh and clean linen enhances the client experience in all our facilities.’

The exacting hygiene standards in hospitals mean that a highly operational and functional laundry is essential. Under typical operating conditions, the laundry can use up to 42kL of water a day, with all the outflow running into the facility’s sewerage system. The hospital was determined to find a better way to save this natural resource.

In 2022, our Panorama Hospital commissioned an investigation into recovery of the laundry’s wastewater. Because the water that drains away contains detergents, it is turbid and likely to cause limescale build-up, which makes it difficult to be reused without being treated first. Given hygiene concerns, it was also imperative that all biological presence be eliminated.

Our technical partner, Hidro-Tech, collected samples from several wash cycles to evaluate the effect of different materials washed. The firm then set out to develop a recovery system that would provide water of sufficient quality and would operate in an automated process while limiting the quantity of chemical substances used. The solution was a three-step physicochemical process that uses the process of flocculation, which causes fine particles in the water to come together and then settle to the bottom as sediment. The supernatant, i.e. the clear water at the top, is disinfected by means of ozone treatment and UV irradiation, after which it is filtered. The result is clean water and a process that allows for an almost perpetual reuse of the water.

The benefits of the water recovery system are multiple. By treating and recycling wastewater, the hospital saves a precious resource and simultaneously avoids discharging waste. The bottom line benefits as well, as the use of municipal water within the laundry is projected to reduce by 85–90%.

‘The water recovery system is an important step towards greater sustainability at Panorama Hospital. This innovation in our laundry process plays a crucial role in preserving this precious natural resource,’ says Tersia. As a healthcare provider, it is our responsibility to promote health and that means protecting our environment to keep it healthy too.