1.

Pollutants of textile wastewater

1.1Introduction:

Wastewater discharged from a textile wet processing plant contains various types of
impurities depending on the type of dyes, chemicals, auxiliaries and process used.
Some of these impurities are considered toxic while some are not. Off course the
toxicity or harmfulness also depends on the amount present in a certain amount of
wastewater. Various countries have different standards for acceptable level of
toxicity for various purposes. Different types of water application also require
different level of acceptable toxicity. For example water is used for drinking
purposes, irrigation in the fields, in various types of textile, chemical, food
processing, leather processing and pharmaceutical industries, and also to maintain
the aquatic life in the canals and rivers. In all these cases different level of purity in
terms of toxicity and harmfulness is required. This is mainly intended for wastewater
generated in the various textile wet processing industries. Therefore, the present
discussion will mainly be concentrated on wastewater generated in various types’
textile-processing industries. Table 1 shows the acceptable level of various
parameters of wastewater generated from textile wet processing industry. This is
Bangladesh Govt. Standard. The level of toxicity was considered for water intended
to be discharged into river or canals. The wastewater generated in a textile wet
processing industry can be recycled back for consuming in the plant as raw influent
or even can be used for drinking purposes but this is expensive enough. So
wastewater is generally discharged into the river or canals.

Table 1: Characteristics of wastewater to be discharged into the environment.

(Recommended by the dept. of environment, Government Of Bangladesh)

PH 7–8
BOD < 50 PPM or mg/L
COD < 200 PPM or mg/L
TSS <100 PPM or mg/L
TDS < 2,500 PPM or mg/L
OIL & GREASE < 10 PPM or mg/L
COLOUR CLEAN
TEMPERATURE < 30 0C

The typical characteristic of wastewater generated in a textile wet possessing plant

is given in table 2. Parameters have been referenced about a range rather than a
particular value of the parameters. This is because the characteristics of textile
wastewater for a factory are not always same which may be due to the variation of
raw materials, dyes, chemicals and process. For example a factory sometime
process 100% cotton and sometime process 50/50 cotton & polyester blend or
even 100% polyester. The three different cases will require two different dyes and
chemicals of varying quantity. For white goods no dyes are used at all, in that case
too the effluent characteristics will be different from that of dyeing effluent. For
woven (sized) fabrics the effluent characteristics will be different from that of knit
fabrics. The values shown in table 2 are not actual tested values of a particular
industry rather they are average of various anticipated wet processing pollution
characteristics. The values are assumed on the basis of experience about the
contaminant pollutants present in a textile wet processing industry.

Table 2: Characteristics of wastewater of a typical textile wet processing industry.

PH 8 –14
BOD 400 - 600 PPM
COD 800 - 1,200 PPM
TSS 200 - 500 PPM
TDS 3,000 - 6,000 PPM
OIL & GREASE 30 – 60 PPM
COLOUR Dark Mixed
TEMPERATURE up to 60 0 C

As was mentioned textile wastewater may contain various types of contaminants

but in most cases the toxicity of the above eight parameters are considered
important before discharging them into the environment. The parameters are now
discussed in below

1 .2 Bioc hemica l Ox ygen demand (BOD): The strength of the wastewater is

often determined by measuring the amount of oxygen consumed by microorganism
like bacteria in biodegrading the organic matter. The measurement is known as the
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD).

Microorganisms such as bacteria are responsible for decomposing organic waste.

When organic matter such as dead plants, leaves, grass clippings, cellulose
components, manure, sewage, organic waste like size,*dyes, fats and oils, or even
food waste is present in a water supply, the bacteria will begin the process of
breaking down this waste. When this happens, the bacteria rob the available
dissolved oxygen necessary to survive by the other aquatic organisms like fishes. If
there is a large quantity of organic waste in the water supply, a large number of
bacteria present in the water body will be working to decompose the waste. When
the bacteria consume organic waste they require oxygen. Under this circumstance
the demand for dissolved oxygen (DO) will be very high so the BOD level will be high.
As the waste is consumed or dispersed through the water, BOD levels will begin to
decline. So it can be remedied by increasing the ppm of dissolved oxygen in
effluent.

Nitrogen and phosphates in a body of water can also contribute to high BOD levels.
Nitrates and phosphates are plant nutrients and can cause plant life and algae to
grow quickly. When plants grow quickly, they also die quickly. This contributes to the
organic waste in the water, which is then decomposed by bacteria. This results in a
high BOD level. However in some effluent treatment plant TSP & UREA have
introduced for the growth of bacteria. The temperature of the water can also
contribute to high BOD levels. For example, warmer water usually will have a higher
BOD level than colder water. As water temperature increases, the rate of
photosynthesis by algae and other plant life in the water also increases. When this
happens, plants grow faster and also die faster. When the plants die, they fall to the
bottom where they are decomposed by bacteria. The bacteria require oxygen for this
process so the BOD becomes high in that location. Therefore, increased water
temperatures will speed up bacterial decomposition and result in higher BOD levels.

Textile mill wastewater possesses a very high BOD like 400 – 600 mg/l. It is
necessary to reduce this BOD value up to a level less than 50 mg/l before
discharging them into the environment like canals or rivers. If water bodies of high
BOD are discharged into the sea or very large river then off course the concentration
of BOD decreases due to dilution and have little or no harmful effect on the aquatic
life or environment. Therefore if it is possible to discharge a highly toxic effluent in
sea or large river no treatment is necessary. It should be noted that BOD can reduce
naturally where effluent density is lower. Say for example shitalaxma* a river in
Bangladesh having an appreciatable* current and volume of water but it possesses
a higher density of effluent so the aquatic life of this zone are threaded by textile
effluent.

Dis sol ved Oxy gen ( DO)

The amount of oxygen present in a certain amount of water in dissolved state is
known as Dissolved Oxygen (DO). It is normally expressed as mg/l, water may
contain DO ranging from 0 to 18 mg/l but in most cases of normal waters, DO lies
between 7-9 mg/l. Aquatic lives require certain level of DO to survive in the water
and the DO level require to survive in the water varies from one species to another.
Even if we talk about fish, some fish require more DO to survive than some other
fishes.

Chemical Ox ygen Demand (CO D):

COD is based on the fact that nearly all-organic compounds can be fully oxidized to
carbon dioxide with a strong oxidizing agent under acidic conditions. When some
wastewater is discharged into a water body, the organic compounds are oxidized by
means of the dissolved oxygen present in the water as a result the level of DO falls

This is a means of measuring the ability of wastewater to sustain aquatic life,

essential for the preservation of the environment. It also enables proper
assessment of treatment plant performance. Aquatic organisms and animals
require dissolved oxygen to flourish. The Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) test gives
an indication of the impact of discharge waters on aquatic life by measuring the
oxygen depleting nature of the discharge water.
COD is based on the fact that nearly all-organic compounds can be fully oxidized to
carbon dioxide with a strong oxidizing agent under acidic condition. COD is another
common measure of water-borne organic substances — the process of measuring
COD causes the conversion of all organic matter into carbon dioxide. For this reason,
one limitation of COD is that it cannot differentiate between biologically active and
those which biologically inactive. One major advantage of COD over BOD is that COD
can be measured in just three hours where as BOD measurement takes at least five
days. The value of COD is always higher than BOD, this is because BOD accounts for
only biodegradable organic compounds while COD accounts for all organic
compounds e.g. biodegradable as well as non-biodegradable but chemically
oxidised.

Total su spen ded Solids (TSS) :

TSS is mainly organic in nature, is visible and can be removed from the wastewater
by physical/ mechanical means e.g. screening and sedimentation. TSS is measured
by filtering a certain quantity of effluent and then drying the filtrate at certain
temperature e.g. 1050C followed by weighing. TSS is expressed as parts per million
or in milligram/liter. The pore size of the filter paper is very important in estimating
the TSS, the nominal pore size 1.58 micro meters.

Total Dis sol ved Solids (T DS) :

TDS are the solids that are actually in solution, mean a homogenous mixture.
Dissolved solids generally pass through the system unaffected. TDS -is the sum total
of all of the dissolved things in a given body of water. It's everything in the water
that's not actually water. It includes hardness, alkalinity, chlorides, bromides,
sulfates, silicates, and all manner of organic compounds. Every time we add
anything to the water, we are increasing its TDS if it is being dissolved. This includes
not only sanitizing and pH adjusting chemicals, but also conditioner, algaecides*,
and tile and surface cleaners. TDS also includes airborne pollutants and bather
waste as well as dissolved minerals in the fill water. TDS is referred to as the total
amount of mobile charged ions, including minerals, salts or metals dissolved in a
given volume of water, and is expressed in units of mg per unit volume of water
(mg/L), or as parts per million (ppm).

Some dissolved solids come from organic sources such as leaves, silt, plankton, and
dyes and chemicals used in processing. Dissolved solids also come from inorganic
materials such as rocks and air that may contain calcium bicarbonate, nitrogen, iron
phosphorous, sulfur, and other minerals. Many of these materials form salts, which
are compounds that contain both a metal and a nonmetal. Salts usually dissolve in
water forming ions. Ions are particles that have a positive or negative charge.Water
may also pick up metals such as lead or copper as they travel through pipes used to
distribute water to consumers.
The effectiveness of water purification systems in removing total dissolved solids
will be reduced over time, so it is highly recommended to monitor the quality of a
filter or membrane and replace them when required. TDS may be the most
misunderstood factor in the whole field of chemical processing and public health. In
most cases it is misunderstood because no one knows exactly what effect it is going
to have on any particular body of water. TDS is directly related to the purity of water
and the quality of water purification systems and affects everything that consumes,
lives in, or uses water, whether organic or inorganic, whether for better or for worse.

Different standards advise a maximum contamination level (MCL) of 500mg/liter

(500 parts per million (ppm)) for TDS, however for domestic water suppliers
maintain the TDS within 150 ppm. Off course some water supplies exceed this level.
When TDS levels exceed 1000mg/L it is generally considered unfit for human
consumption. Most often, high levels of TDS are caused by the presence of
potassium, chlorides and sodium. These ions have little or no short-term effects, but
toxic ions (lead arsenic, cadmium, nitrate and others) may also be dissolved in the
water.

At low levels, TDS does not present a problem. In fact, a certain amount of TDS is
necessary for water balance. Hardness and Total Alkalinity are both part of TDS. For
textile processing the acceptable value of TDS is around 65-150 mg/l. The standard
for bath and swimming pool is between 1,000 and 2,000 ppm, with a maximum of
3,000 ppm. For irrigation the acceptable values of TDS are around 1500 ppm. Use
of fertilizers increases TDS of the environment.

When the water evaporates, it leaves behind all of the solids that had been
dissolved in it. This principle is used widely to measure the TDS of a particular body
of water. When everything else seems to be all right, and the water still acts
unlawfully, check the TDS.

High TDS can result in corrosion of metal equipment and accessories, even though
the water is balanced. High TDS can cause eye and skin irritation, even though the
pH is right and there are no chloramines in the water. High TDS can permit an algae
bloom, even with 2-3 ppm chlorine residual.

If we drink water of high TDS some of this will stay in the body, causing stiffness in
the joints, hardening of the arteries, kidney stones, gall stones and blockages of
arteries, microscopic capillaries and other passages in which liquids flow through
our entire body. For effluent treatment reducing TDS is expensive so we must follow
the minimization of TDS during wet processing.

Dy es a nd the En vir on ment :

The loss of dyes to effluent can be estimated to be 10% for deep shades, 2% for
medium shades and minimal for light shades. Dyes are present in the effluent at
concentrations of 10 mg/l to 50 mg/l with 1 mg/l being visible to the naked eye.
Dyes are complex organic compounds which are refractory in aerobic treatment
systems. Some contain metals such as Cr, Cu and Zn.

In the aquatic environment, dyes can undergo bio-concentration, ionization, abiotic

oxidation, abiotic and microbial reduction and precipitation. The ionic dyes such as
acid, direct, basic and metal complex dyes will not volatilize whereas, in principle,
solvent, disperse, vat and sulphur dyes have the potential to be volatile. Sorption*
should also play a major role as dyeing is a sorption process. Hydrolytic reactions
are not important because if the dyes survive the biological treatment processes, it
is unlikely to degrade rapidly in the environment. Photochemical reactions may be
important, as dyes are good absorbers of solar energy. Aquatic plants will not be
able to produce food by the process of photosynthesis. As a result their life will be
endangered. It is expected that anionic dyes would react with ions such as calcium
and magnesium to form insoluble salts and thereby reduce the concentration
available for other biological reactions. Redox reactions should also be considered,
as in early vat dyeing processes, the dyes were reduced microbially before chemical
replacements were introduced. Reduction in the environment would most likely
occur under anaerobic conditions, however, the difficulties of working with
anaerobic systems has limited research in this area. In general, there is very little
literature available on the environmental behavior of dyes. This is probably due to
the lack of suitable analytical techniques. Two methods are widely use for
discoloration. One is physical sedimentation of dyeing by coagulating and
flocculating here dyes remove completely. Ozonization is applicable for discoloration
mean breaking pie bond of chromophoeric group of dyes but dyes may remain in
discharge water.

Tempe ratu re :

Temperature of water is a very important factor for aquatic life. It controls the rate
of metabolic and reproductive activities, and determines which aquatic species can
survive. Different aquatic species require different quantity of DO to survive in the
water. Temperature inversely affects the rate of transfer of gaseous oxygen into
dissolved oxygen. On the other hand at higher temperature the metabolic rate of
aquatic plants and animals increases producing an increase in oxygen demand.
International regulations related to water temperature and aquatic life classifies
water, as "Class 1 Cold Water Aquatic Life" should never have temperatures
exceeding 20°C, while waters classified, as "Class 1 Warm Water Aquatic Life"
should never have temperatures exceeding 30°C. These regulations also state that
temperature for these classes shall maintain a normal pattern of day to day and
seasonal fluctuations with no abrupt changes and shall have no increases in
temperature of a magnitude, rate, and duration deemed harmful to the resident
aquatic life. Generally, a maximum 3° C increase over a minimum of a 4-hr period,
lasting 12 hrs maximum, is deemed acceptable. Temperature preferences among
aquatic species vary widely, but all species tolerate slow, seasonal changes better
than rapid changes. Respiration of organisms is temperature-related; respiration
rates can increase by 10% or more per 1° C temperature rise. Therefore, increased
temperature not only reduces oxygen availability, but also increases oxygen
demand, which can add to physiological stress of organisms. Increased temperature
influence the activity of bacteria and toxic chemicals secreted by the bacteria in
water.