The technical applicability as well as the effectiveness of physical-chemical processes for the treatment of three kinds of industrial wastewater were evaluated. The wastewaters included a refinery waste, a high-strength acidic chemical waste, and a pharmaceutical waste. The general physical-chemical treatment scheme consisted of chemical coagulation, clarification, and carbon adsorption. Chemical coagulation with metal salts was effective in the removal of suspended solids from both the refinery and the pharmaceutical waste streams. Good removals of phosphorus were also achieved through coagulation and clarification. The extent of organic removal by carbon adsorption varied not only from one industrial waste to another, but also from one kind of carbon to another for a particular waste. The alkaline hydrolysis principle of 'Z-M Process' was not applicable to the three industrial wastes studied. (Author)