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TREATMENT OF TEXTILE WASTE.WATER IN BANGLADESH

Article · April 2008

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Dr. Md.Mahbubul Haque

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Md. Mahbubul Haque, Ph.D. silk etc. (ii) Synthetic fiber- man made KnitDyeingUnits
i
fiber that are produced from petroleum Ifuit dyeing industries are one ofthe
product. Dyeing of the above mentioned most highly environment polluting
Introduction hb.rs u.e somewhat diflerent and each of textile industries in Bangladesh. These
Bangladesh is heavilY involved in them requires a dillerent class of dye'
are mainly engaged in processing export
textile pioduction and .*pot't' A lot of Different dyestulfs require dillerent oriented knit fabrics. Different types of
textile mills were established in the types of chemicals and auxiliaries .to textile products require different
country mostly in and around Dhaka city apply them into the labric or. texltle^
methods of treatment procedure. The
in last two decades. A large number of product. As a result the characterlstlcs 01 treatment procedure and machines of
these mills generate and discharge waste ihe textile waste water vary significantly.
woven fabric dyeing and knit fabric
waters. It was repofied by the various Due to variation of characteristics. textile
dyeing are quite different. This is
organization and monitoring authority waste water requires various types of
techniques to treat them. because knit fabrics are soft and require
that the pollution ofthe rivers and canals
gentle handling while woven fabrics are
in and around Dhaka is well above their Description of Textile Indu-
ielatively stiffer and may be subjected to
acceptable level. Various agencies are stries Polluting Environment
trying to safeguard the clean environ- tougher treatment options' For this
ment, Bangladesh Government has Textile wet Processing Plants of reason knit fabrics are dyed in winch
where treatment
already issued various forms of warning Bangladesh may be classed as (i) Knit types of dyeing machine
dyeing units, (ii) Woven dyeing units, iiiar:ried out in averyhigh M:Lratio like
and red alerts to the concemed industries.
A lot of textile wet processing industries liii) nenim plants, (iv) Printing units, and 1:150-200. It was found in various
have already installed effluent treatment (v) Garments washing units. studies that nearly 150 to 200 liters of
plants (ETP) and many of them are at
various stages of installing ETP's.
There are various tYPes of textile Water quality
wet processing plants e.g. (i) the woven parameters
dyeing plants and (ii) knit dyeing plants. pH
The technique for dyeing of
textile
BOD mglL
materials mainly depends on the type of mglL
COD
fiber. Some widely used fiber that are mglL
TSS
produced and exported from Bangladesh
TDS mglL
includes Cotton, wool, silk, linen,
polyester, nylon, viscose, acrylics etc. Oi1 & Grease mglL
These fibers can also be classed into two Colour Co-pt unit
,C
main slasses e.g. (i) Natural fiber-those Temperatuqe
producednaturally e.g. cotton, jute, wool (Recommended bY the DePa rtment of Environment, Government of Bangladesh)

April 2008
ts CoffaX

water is required to dye one kg of knitted
goods. Considering all the factors it was
found that a knitting factory of 10 ton
production capacity generates nearly 100
to I 50 M of waters per hour. However all
the water mentioned above are not
equally har:rnful. Some are very severely
polluted while some are mildly polluted.
On average, it was found that 50% of
waters are polluted and needs to be
treated and the rest of the water can
discharged directly or subjected to very
mild treatment. Thus a general guide line
for knit dyeing is that for a factory of 10
ton dyeing capacity may require efluent
treatment plant of 40 60 M /hr treatment
capacity.
Woven Dyeing Units
Woven dyed fabric is dyed in a
different way than knitted fabrics. The
volume of waste water generated from a
woven dyeing factory is very low in
comparison to knit dyeing process. Aparl
from this the characteristics of woven
dyeing plants are different from those of
knit dyeing plants. Before weaving,
sizing is caried out to increase the
strength of warp yarns. The main
component of sizing is Starch. Wet
process starts with desizing to remove
the starch and other sizing agents from
the fabric otherwise subsequent process
and dyeing will not be perfect. The
discharge from a desizing unit is highly
polluted. Some of the pollutants of
woven dyeing units are as follows:
Starch and other sizing materials,
unfixed dyes, poor washing-off of dyes,
machine cleaning wastes during starl-up,
The characteristics of dyed effluent of
the denim is somewhat different from
that ofknit dyeing plants as because
dyes are used for denim plant while
reactive and dispersed dyes are used for
dyeing knit goods, however the quantity
of generated effluent is extremely low
e.g.1:1.5.
PrintingUnits
Pollutants associated with printing
include suspended solids, solvents,
foam, color and metals, and in general,
large volumes of water are consumed
during the washing-off stages. The main
areas ofenvironmental pollution of
textile printing includes dyes containing
metals, objectionable surfactants, air
emissions, water from washing the print
blanket, leftover print paste, excess paste
from drums, screens and pipes, use of
urea as this increases the nitrogen in the
effluent. Like denim the quantity of
effluent of textile printing industry is
very low but highly polluted.
Garments Washing Units
At present there are a lot of gatment
washing plants which are operating in
Bangladesh. There are basically two
types washing e.g. (i) notmal washing
and (ii) denim washing. The denim
washing involves a lot of operations like
Possible pollutants
Unit in the waste water
srzmg Starch. waxes.
carboxymethyl cellulose. I L/ kg of cloth High BOD and COD
polyvinyl alcohol
-
desizing, enzyrne washing, finishing etc.
These can be achieved by chemical or
vat mechanical methods. Process involves
use of volatile chemical. The pollution
loads from garments washing plants are
not much but quantity is large and
requires some sort treatment.
Important Pollutants
Various types oftoxicities are found
in the textile wastewaters. However in
order to monitor them Deparlment of
Environment (DOE) has identified the
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD),
Chemical Oxygen Demand(COD), Total
Suspended Solids (TSS), Total
Dissolved Solids (TDS), pH, Oils and
grease, color and temperature etc. are
most harmful for environment. The
polluting parameters of other industries
will vary to some extent. Pollutant
concentration in effluents for various
textile industries varies signihcantly.
Effl uent Treatment Methods
Effluent treatment is an imPortant
subject from undergraduate to Ph.D.
level students. Various philosophies,
thoughts and approaches were suggested
to deal with textile as well as other
effluents. Some of the important effluent
treatment steps are described below.
Waste water Nature of waste
volume Water
lSmall 10
l

shut-down and changes of color and Desizing starch, glucose, Around 15 High BOD, COD,
style, salts and alkalies etc. Generally carboxymethyl cellulose, L/kg of cloth Suspended solids,
woven dyeing is carrie dout at a very low polyvinyl alcohol, dissolved solids.
m:l ratio which could be as low as 1:5 (for desizing, dissolved solids
continuous dyeing) hence the quantity of fats and waxes
waste water is very low but the level of Scouring NaOH, Waxes, grease Small10 Strongly a1kaline, dark
toxicity ofthe effluent is very high. Na,CO., Na,O,, SiO_, and L/ kg colour, high BOD
fragments of cloth. of cloth (30% of total)
Denim Plants
Bleaching NaOCi, Cl^, NaOH, Mostly Alkaline constitutes,
Denim plants are particularly H,O,, Acidi etc. washing approx 5%ofBOD
weaving plants and produce denim Unfixed dye (5-40Yo),
Dyeing Various dyes, salts, Large
fabrics. In denim plant dyeing and sizing Salts, fairly BOD (6 %
alkalies, Acids, Na^S,
is carried out on the walp yams and after of thetotal), high COD,
of Na.S,O, and soap etc.
weaving various types finishing Dissolved solids. low
operations are carried out. The effluent suspended solids, healy
discharged from sizing and dyeing units metals a1kali, Oxidizing
are highly polluted as compared to that of and reducing agents,
all other wet processing plants and cause organic acids Cationic
substantial impact on the environment. fixing agents etc.
Off course the volume of effluent is Finishing Traces ofstarch, tallow & Very small Slightly alkaline,
relatively lower than that of knit dyeing. different {inishing agent, Low BOD

April 2008
Cotfti-ii tq
 E

Effluent Segregation treat a mixture of waste with different A. Coagulation - to coagulate the
characteristics. The segregated clean suspended solid to coagulate
The effluent generated from a textile
wet processing plant is of varying type
streams can then be reused with little, or B. Flocculation - to flocculate by
no, treatment elsewhere in the factory. coagulants
having different level of toxicity and
chemical characteristics. For example C. Neutralizalion - to adjust the pH
Treatment Technolo gies between 6.5 to 8.5
the effluent characteristics of Scouring,
Bleaching and Dyeing and printing will Effluent can be treated in a number D. Sedimentation to precipitate
different from each other. One of of different ways depending on the level
be quite small suspended solids
the important task of any effluent of treatment required. These levels are Al1 the above processes contribute
treatment approach would be to separate known as preliminary primary, second-
to removal of substantial amount of all
them according to their level of toxicity. ary and tertiary (or advanced).Three
mechanisms for treatment can be divided the pol I uting pararneters.
The idea is that at first vigorous treatment
is carried out with the most polluted into three broad categories; physical, Secondary Treatment
waters and at ceftain stage the less chemical and biological.
Secondary treatment is carried out to
polluted waters are added to the streams. ETP manufacturers use these
Offcourse the cost of chemicals is almost removel biodegradable organic matters
mechanisms and processes together
same whether effluent treatment is which include removal of BOD and COD
either fully or paftial1y in a effluent
camied out together or separately, but it treatmentplant. & decomposition of organic matter.
the cost ofpower and capacity and cost of Biological treatment can be aerobic and
motors and pumps makes a big differ- Preliminary or Pretreatment anaerobic.
ence. It can be summarize that from Removal of large solids such as rags
economic point of view, it is better to Tertiary/Advanced Treatment
sticks, grit and grease that may damage
treat small amount of highly toxic equipment or result in operational Since the effluent from the textile
effluent rather than a treating a large problems. Preliminary treatment industry is complex and variable, it is
amount less toxic effluent, because in the ,
consists of mainly (i) Screening which is unlikely that a single
latter case the capacity of motor and adopted in a effluent treatment plant to Treatment technology will be suitable for
pump would be higher and more
electricily will be required to run those
remove relatively large solid wastes. and total effluent treatment. Tertiary
(ii) Equalization & Skimming - ro treatment includes removal of residual
motors and pumps. Therefore one of the remove grease & oil and homogenize and
important task of suspended solids/ dlssolved solids. Most
eflluent treatment to remove some BOD & COD.
approach is to separate or segregate the of the eflluent treatment plants use the
effluents according to their level of Primary Treatment Adsorbents (granular activated carbon,
toxicity. This result in a more effective Primary treatment is intended for silica, clays, fly ash, synthetic ion-
treatment system as a smaller volume of removal of floating and settleable exchange media, natural bio adsorbents,
waste water is treated (resulting in lower materials i.e. suspended solids and synthetic bio adsorbents). In Bangladesh
capital and operating costs) and it allows chemical organic matter. Primary the following two types of filters are
for the use of specific treatment methods treatment consists of the following used:
rather than trying finding one method to treatments;
A. Granular Media
Filtration-to removes TSS and
Name of the factory Type of the Concentration of pollutants present in the wastewater any other pollutants in the form
lac(ory BoD CoD TDS TSS oil& Colour ''' 'f nH of par1icle. This filter is also
,pranr ;; L ;;/L ;;l .;; 6;;;. cil; Temo Pr I
useful to protect the Activated
Carbon Filter (ACF) from
Ahsan composire dyeing 300 43r 22ro 82 'T;t- ND ND 9.39
Knir overloading by pollutants such as
Reedisha l(ritex Ltd. Knit dyeing 300 44e :33g ,, ,t ND ND ND 9.01 parliculates, organics.
Fakhruddinn Textile Knit dyeing 450 1000 3500 100 ND Dark ND 9-
9-lI I B. Activated Carbon Filter-
I Carbon adsorption is a'proven
Grameen knirwear dyeing 600 1200 -
Kxit 1000 I 0 Dark ND l0 process in tertiary treatment for the
Southeast KLrit dyeing 450 1000 J500 100 Dark ND ll processing biologically treated
Epyllion Knit Ltd. Krit dyeing 450 t400 3500 200 60 600 60 9 wastewaters, and is one of the
Aboni Textiles Lrd. Knit dyeing 350 I 050 I 3500 200 40 t4O j5 I I many processes used in
the
advanced treatment of waste-
Creenland garrnenls ltd. Knit dyeing 450 1000 4500 100 ND Dark ND 6-9
waters. TheACF is used to remove
Ha-Meem Denim Denim 850 2150 I - 350 20 <1000 35 g relatively small quantities of
Jamuna Denirn Ltd Denirn 640 l3l2 3633 305 :- tl80 - - I , refractory orga-nics, as well as
Paftex denims Denim 1300 2456 5320 900 ND 7620 ND ND inorganic such as sulfides and
Sourc e : p ers o na I c omm unic atio n
heavy nretals remaining in an
ND- Not done otherwi se well -treated wastewater.

zo cott.di-ii April 2008

Sludge Management &
Disposal
Sludge disposal to separate the
sludge .from the thick sluny and then
dispose ofthe sludge as dried cake
Description of Important Treatment
Process
S creening, E quulizution and S kimming
Screens are very simple materials
having iron bars in the form of square
grids. Effluent is allowed to pass through
the grid when large and coarse solid
materials are arested by it allowing
smaller particles and effluent to pass
through. In some several grids are use
with diminishing grid sizes.
Equalization tank is a large chamber
which is designed for retention time of 12
hours. This means if the rate effluent is
30 cubic metre then the capacity of the
equalization tank has to be 30 X 12 : 360
cubic meters. The equalization tank is
specially built where air is blown by two
blowers altemately round the clock on
iontinuous basis. The purposes of
equalization are (i) to supply oxygen so
that DO level increases and (ii) to mix ctrolyte polymer solution is dosed in the
various types effluents and (iii) to reduce flocculation tank followed by flash
the temperature ofthe water.
On the top surface of the equaliza- color removal by the flocculation
tion tank there is a scrapper used to skim process. A substantial amount BOD and
the oily substances.
C o agulutio n an d F lo ccalution
From the equalization tank the
effluent is taken to a small tank which is
also called flash mixing tank of small
retention time. In the flash-mixing tank
coagulants like lime (Calcium
Hydroxide) and flocculants like ferous
sulfate (FeSO ) are dosed. This is done
for coagulation and removal of the total
dye particles. The basic idea ot- adding
coagulant is to bring together all the
suspended and dye particles so that they
can be precipitated out in the flash
mixing tank and flocculation tank by
coagulation and flocculation mecha-
nism. The chemical reaction that occurs
in the coagulation and flocculation
process is shownbelow;
CaO+HO --+ Ca(OH).
The above reaction take place in
flash mixing tank when lime reacts with
water and we get calciurn hydroxide
solution. This solution reacts with the
ferous sulfate solution, which as follows
Ca(OH) +FeSQ --+ CaSQ +Fe(O$.|
+ FeSQ (Unreacted) + Fe (OH), +
Adequate quantity of p.olyele-
mixing tank to enhance the process of
COD etc. are removed in the coagulation
and fl occulation process.
Precipitation and Sedimentstion in
Tabe Settler -1. (To remove the flocs
muteriuls)
From the flocculation tank the
effluent is taken to the tube settler- 1 tank
where the dyes and suspended particles
are precipitated. The flocs formed are
removed in the downstream tube settler 1
by the help of tube settler media. The
effluent will further flow by overflow
system to the pH correction tank where
requisite quantity of acid will be dosed
and pH will be adjusted as per the
requirement.
pH Correction (To udjustthe inlet pH)
The etlluent from tube settler- I tank
corection channel
is then taken to the pH
for neutralization, where 33% HCl acid
is dosed for neutralizing the pH value
around 7 to 8. It may be mentioned that
different dyed effluent may generate
different pH level. For acrylic and basic
dyeing the pH is on the acidic side as
dyeing medium is ,acidic, in that pH
April 2008
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1000
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corection should be made by adding
additional alkali. The pH correction tank
is designed for hydraulic retention time
of around 1 -2 minutes and is provided
with slow speed agitator for thoroughly
mixing of waste with acid/alkali to
maintainedpHvalue.
Biological Treatment
The objective of biological treat-
ment of industrial wastewater is to
remove, or reduce the concentration of
organic and inorganic compounds.
Biological treatment process can take
many forms but all are based around
microorganisms, mainly bacteria. These
microorganisms use components of the
effluent as their food and in doing so
break them down to fewer complexes
and less hazardous compounds. In the
process the microorganisms increase in
number. There are two main tlpes of
processes, these involve suspended
microbial growth (e.g. activated sludge)
and attached microbial growth (e.g. fixed
film). With both approaches large
populations of microorganisms are
brought into contact with effluent in the
presence of excess oxygen. In both
systems the microbial population has to
be retained in the reactor. With sus-
pended growth systems microbes grow
in small aggregates or flocs (this is
known as activated sludge).Activated
sludge (AS) leaves the reactor with the
treated ef{luent but is settled out in a
clarifier and retumed to the aeration unit.
Cotfiiii zt
 -
If the amount of AS is excessive some Reactor(MBBR). Apart from the above basics
may be disposed of rather than being MBBR systems require a final reaction there are some other reactions
recycled. clarifier to remove particles of biofilm that take place in the MBBR reaction
In fixed film systems the microbial that become detached from the medium. tanks. During aeration the oxygen reacts
population grows as a thin layer (a ibio- However, this material is not recycled to withC, S andNwhichis shownbelow.
r

filmi) on the surface of an inerl suppofl the reactor

medium. The classical fixed film system The chemical reactions that took
C+q ---> cQ+
is known as a percolating or biological place in the MBBR reactor can be S+q ---) Sq +
filter and uses small stones as a medium defined according to the following three N+q ---> Nq+
Some untreated ferrous sulfate and
ferrous hydroxide reacts with oxygen
Fibre processed and SPL and the reactions are as follows,
pH SWU SEV
factory operation (I/ke) (I/kg) COD TDS TSS so. FeSO4+q ---) Fe,(SQ),
Polycotton/eofi on' woven 9.3 284 '2:2t 345;' 3'ti 225 Fe(OH),+q ---> Fe(OH)"
Ahricfiniit*n$: .,'',, ,

Cotton woven 9.9 140 64 409 While most ofthe activated sludge is
fabric finishing recycled some may be surplus to
requirements and needs to be disposed
cottorVsynthetice 6.9 ':.'7'1 222 ',I5,2' 495 365 r70
wovgn:f*briefi nishiiig,, .. of, as does detached biofilm from film
reactor. This material must be disposed
cotton knit 97 256 309 159 762 660
fabric finishing appropriately so that the pollutants now
present in this sludge do not enter the
cotton/synthetics woven ll <151 113 3A4 548 277 4A
water cycle. The treated liquid is
fabric finishing .:
discharged to the environment or taken
Synthetics/cotton woven 6.5 226 43 349 2t6 61
fabric hnishing
for further treatment depending on the
'A1l.fibres.k$it,fufo1lg desired standard ofeffluent quality or the
: 8.5 3,64 1.05 .,,,.9. 1,01 62 19 required use of the wastewater.
.f iniqhirg; eiimmission
Biological treatment plants must be
All fibres 120 carefully managed as they use live
commission dyeing microorganisms to digest the pollutants.
Syrrthetics/crittbn;knit 113 For example some of the compounds in
'fabric fushing:,,'. ,, :a' the wastewater may be toxic to the
cotton accessory/ 1',73 413 bacteria used, and pre-treatment with
haberdashery physical operations or chemical
SW/U-Specific water use, SEV- SpeciJic ffiuent volune SPL- Specific pollution load processes may be necessary. It is also
to supporl microbial growth. In the more processes; important to monitor and control pH as
modem system microbes grow on plastic adverse pH may result in death of the
supports. In the traditional percolating
A. Oxidationprocess microorganisms. The ETP must be
filters effluent is sprayed over + + + properly aerated and must b e operated24
the COHNS 02 Bacteria DAP and
medium and trickles through a packed hours a day, 365 days a year to ensure that
UREA ---> Cq + NIL + Energy + Other
bed with oxygen entering from the air. In provided the bacteria are with sufficient
endProducts
more recent reactor designs, the medium food (i.e. wastewater) and oxygen to
(usually plastic) is submerged in ef{luent DAP and Urea are used as food for the keep them alive. Like humans microor-
and air is blown into the base of the microorganism. ganisms need a balanced diet with
reactor. Traditional percolating filters sources of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus
B. Synthesis Process
require large areas of land and are and sulfur. While textile wastes have
unlikely to be ofuse in Bangladesh due to COHNS+q+ Bacteria --| qqNq enough carbon and sulfur (sulfate) they
land costs. Submerged fixed film (New bacteria) are generally lacking in nitrogen and
reactors using plastic media require phosphorous containing compounds. If
much less land and are potentially of C. Endogenous Respiration the microorganism are to grow and work
value in treating textile wastes. These ql+Nq +5O, --+ CO, + NH, + effectively they are likely . to need
plastic media are now widely used and 2r\o addition ofnutrients. Normally materials
known as Moving Bed Biological
ti,!;r'ii1:ttTftlltti.
il=+:l!-ji-i#itiili:rii,+.i!'i.:i;Ll&i:ii:.-...1.-:,,
,i:lii,Eff:I::€Fl',td
-.., .,.-..:,:-:,. .. ,,-.j ;."1.."-,5u'EE

Equalization & Skimming Neutralization Biological treatment (Activated Sludge Process

April 2008
22 Cotfefr
 such as urea and ammonium phosphate constructed, then red category industries matic on the nextpage.
are added. It is possible to replace these can apply for an environmental clearance In Bangladesh mainly two types of
nutrients by substituting the liquid certificate. effluent treatment plants are operating
portion of effluent from toilets, which is e.g (i) Physico Chemical Plants(PCP),
rich in nitrogen and phosphorus From very rough estimation there
(ii) Biological Plants (BP). Both of them
are nearly 600-700 textile wet processing
containing chemicals (the solid porlion uses the above mentioned treatment
industries in Bangladesh. So far nearly
may cause problems). Both activated processes fu 1ly or partially.
300 to 400 factories have already set up
sludge and fixed film systems can
produce high quality effluent but both in
have advantages and disadvantages. In
the AS process the settling and recycling
of AS to the aerobic reactor is vital, and
the settling process can be difficult to
accomplish. Fixed film/MBBR systems
do not require recycling of biomass and
so do not present this problem.

Anaerobic digestion
Anaerobic digestion is the
biodegradation of complex organic
substances in the absence of oxygen to
yield carbon dioxide, methane andwater.
It is an effective process for treating high
COD wastes (e.g. size, desize washing Moving bed plastic media Bacteria in the plastic media
and scouring) and the methane that is
produced can be utilised as energy for
:ffiw .:,E:*;.i*€ffi

heating etc. The reducing conditions in

an anaerobic digester have been found to
cause decolorisation
through cleavage of the
of azo
azo bond and
subsequent destruction of the dye
chromophore. Complete mineralisation
of these degradation products does not
dyes

ffi ffi
ffi
take place and aromatic amines may be
present in the effluent from the digester
(Carliell et al., 1 995).

Effluent treatment plants in

Bangladesh
According to the Environmental
Conservation Rules 1997, industrial
units and projects have been classified
into four categories (Green, Orange A,
Orange B, and Red) based on environ-
mental impact and location. Fabric
dyeing and chemical treatment industries
fall under the Red category and when
applying for site clearance must submit
to the Deparlment of Environment an
ETP plan, including the layout and
location. When the design has been
approved by the Department of
Environment and the ETP has been
Bacteria in the plastic media
or at various stages of setting up effluent
treatmentplant (ETP)
Factors to Consider
Any factory needing to install an
ETP has to consider several factors. For
example, information about the factory's
wastewater is required, including
quantity and quality. To get this informa-
tion the factory will have to take samples
and have them analyzed at a reputable
laboratory. Some of the factors to be
considered are presented in the sche-
ire
Bacteria in the plastic grid medra
Some key information about
two types of plants
1. Initial investment- Cost establishment
of PCP is very low in comparison to BP,
nearly 1:15-20
2. Land area required by PCP is very
small in comparisonto BP
3. Running Cost of PCP is nearly 20
Tk/M of effluent while this cost of BP is
around Tk 5-6. Thus PCP adds nearly 3-
5/kg of knitted goods while BP adds only
Tk 1-1.25.

EBiological treatment (MBBR)ffi Granular Media Filtrationffi Activated Carbon FitterffiDischarge to the environment

Granular Media Filtrationffi Activated Carbon Filterffi Discharge to the environment

April 2008
Cotfdiii z:
Environmental Pollution bv
othermeans
Emissions toAir
Air pollution results from various
textile processes and from energy contain organic bromine
production and has been identified as the
second greatest pollution problem for the
textile industry. Those from process
emissions include volatile organic
substances and particulate matter from
the printing, dyeing, and curing offabric,
and the handling of chemicals. The
emission of volatile organic substances
may lead to the production of photo-
chemical oxidants and cause unpleasant
odours. The textile industry requires a
great deal ofheating and the type offuel
determines the nature of the pollutants.
Boilers are one ofthe majorpoint sources
for air emissions, producing nitrogen and
sulphur oxides. Fugitive sources of air
pollution include volatile emissions from
processed fabric stored in warehouses
and chemical spills. Emissions to air can
be minimized by designing products that
do not require the use of volatile
chemicals, optimizing boiler operations
andreducing the use ofsolvents.
Noise Pollution
There are various ways noise is
created in textile industries. The main
source of noise is due to running of the
equipments. So far two types machines
were diagnosed to be lulnerable for
human being and these are various types
of looms and rotor spinning machine.
Apart from this noise is also arises from
fan systems, transport to and from the
industry.
HazardousWaste
Hazardous wastes are deflned as
wastes, or combination of wastes, that
pose a threat to human health or living
organisms because they are lethal, non-
degradable, and persistent in nature and
can cause detrimental cumulative
effects. These wastes can be solids,
liquids, gas or sludges Most textile
operations produce little or no hazardous
waste, but some (10-200h) may be
generators of hazardous waste. The
main sources from the textile industry are
heavy metals and solvents. Other
components include acids, alkalis,
bleaches, adhesives, polymers, cross-
linking agents, detergents, dye carriers,
chemical finishes, biocides, weed killers,
paint strippers and solvents. The
remainder (l5% (rn/m)) is considered to
be non-hazardous. Carriers containing
z+ Cotfdi-ii
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chlorinated aromatics are considered to
be extremely hazardous and their use
today is limited (Swedish Environmental
Protection Agency, 1989). Organic
phosphorous compounds (e.g. flame-
proofing and completing agents) may
compounds,
such as decabromine diphenyl oxide and
antimony trioxide, which are
bioavailable and bioaccumulative.
The most effective means of
reducing hazardous waste from the
textile industry is one of avoidance by
pre-screening all chemicals. This is rnost
easily achieved by studying the material
safety data sheet (MSDS). If hazardous
chemicals are required, proper handling
and storage is important and workers
should be trained in these areas.
Conclusion/ Suggestions
a) Proper management of
wastewater will reduce the overall
volume of effluent. Not all effluent in a
textile wet processing plant are equally
harmful for the environment, dyeing
effluents are more harmful than rinsing
waters, the rinsing water should be
separated from dyed water and can be
discharged without or with minimum
treatment.
b) If all the factories do not install
appropriate ETP and do not run them
properly then there will be an unequal
price competition among fabric produc-
ers where the honest ETP owners will
always lose the battle.
c) Use of synthetic sizes rather than
starch based sizes will reduce the high
toxicity of the effluent generated from
denim plants. The starch-based sizes
contribute to highest amount ofBOD.
d) Government should reduce or
exempt the tariffs and taxes on the
synthetic sizes, so that synthetic sizes can
replace cheap starch based sizes that
contribute to very high BOD.
e) Attempt should be made to
explore the idea of developing woven
sector. The material to liquor ratio of
woven dyeing is very low in comparison
to knit dyeing. Less efluent means less
raw water will be required, this in tuirr
will reduce the amount of gas/electrical
energy required to pump and heat water.
The profit margin of woven garments is
alsoveryhigh.
f) Attempt should be made to
explore the idea ofdeveloping synthetic
production. The characteristics of
effluent from synthetic dyeing is
different from that of cotton products.
The pollution load is less for synthetic.
April 2008
Less effluent means less raw water will
be required, this in turn will reduce the
amount of gas/electrical energy required
to pump and heat water. The profit
margin of woven gaments is also very
high.
g) Reconstitution of processed
effluent should be examined for every
stage of processing like scouring,
bleaching, mercerization, dyeing and
finishing baths. This will reduce the
quantity of ultimate effl uent.
h) Decisive and efficient use of dyes,
chemical and auxiliaries will reduce the
quantity and toxicity of the effluent to a
great extent. Selection dyes, chemicals
and auxiliaries that generate lower
pollutants will reduce ultimate pollution
load.
i) Like many developed countries,
Govemment can offer free water and
wastewater test facilities. Though some
people may take advantage of this
facility but for greater interest of the
country this type of initiative will help in
understanding, administering and
researching the over all-environmental
pollution scenario.
j) Environment is violated not only
by the textile processing plants but also
by many other factories and establish-
ments like slaughtering houses, sweet
manufacturers, bakeries, poultry farms
etc. Their pollution load should be
examined and should also be brought
under strict scrutiny.
k) Universities may research on
managing and handling efflu-
ent..Researchis essential to study the
effect and toxicity of various dyes,
chemicals and auxiliaries used in our
country. Research
is also necessary to
study and upgrade
the existing treat-
ment procedures in
order to reduce
operating cost and
also to combat
fufure violation of
the environment.
l) Entrepre-
neurs can be enc-
ouraged to set up
industries far away from the crowded
greater Dhaka. This will at least reduce
the pollution burden on the Dhaka
dwellers to some extent. Setting up of
industries near big rivers or coastal areas
could be a much better option because
effluents can be directly released into the
very large river or sea. tr