Textile industry is one of themost dynamic components of the industrial sectors in Egypt. Textile andclothing industries of Egypt are vital contributors to the countrys foreigntrade and employment. Egypts apparels have a well deserved reputation for qualityand competitive price. Popular international brands such as Gap, Guy Laroche,Pierre Cardin and Tommy Hilfiger come from Egyptian industries. Low labor cost,availability of good quality raw cotton, contributes to the countryssuccessful textile output. One ton of textile exports from Egypt amount to $ 6500 USD as per the 2001 data.

 

Textileindustry in Egypt is confronted with two serious problems. One is thecompetition it faces with the foreign products in both local and internationalmarkets. Second is the toxic discharge of desizing agents used to treat thefabric in textile industries. This problem occurs in three stages of textileprocessing; the warp size, weaving and fabric finishing. The quantity andnature of the sizing agents used influence the quality of the fabric,cost-effectiveness of weaving and the amount of pollution.

 

Textilesizing and desizing:

 

The warp threads of cotton orother blends, needs to be coated with an adhesive substance so that the threadsdo not break while weaving. It forms a cover around the yarn, enhances itstensile strength, lustre, and weight so that it can withstand mechanical forceswhile weaving. This process is known as sizing. Once the weaving is done, thesize must be removed from the fabric, so that they do not interfere withfurther processing steps. Sizing, if present during the subsequent processingwill affect the quality of look and finishing of the fabric. Sizing agents havea high biological oxygen demand (BOD) which will add the waste load of theeffluents. The process of removing the size from the woven fabric is calleddesizing. Desizing will hydrolyze the starch. It is carried out by treating the fabric withchemicals such as acids, alkali or oxidizing agents.

 

Generally sizing is done with three agents:

 

v    Polysaccharides, consisting of starch and its derivatives. Thisis the most common of all the sizing agents used. Starch can be obtained fromvarious natural sources like corn and potatoes. Starch derivatives include dextrins,starch esters and starch ethers.

v    Synthetic vinyl such as poly (vinyl alcohol) (PV-OH), preparedfrom poly (viny) acetate, is used in many textile industries.

v     Protein-basedsizes derived from gelatin and casein. Animal proteins, such as casein or boneor skin glue, are mixed with softening additives such as glycerol, castor oiland used as sizing agents.

 

Desizing of yarn is done in three ways:

 

v    Acid desizing, in which acids are used in elevated temperaturesand starch and other sizing materials are destroyed.

v    Enzyme desizing, a biodegradation method, under which destroysstarch and other materials into a soluble form, and can be washed off duringsubsequent washes.

v    Oxidative desizing in which oxidizing agents such as hydrogenperoxide is used.

 

The statistical data of exportsand imports of textile yarn of Egypt during 2001 2006 is as follows:

 

Textile Yarn

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Imports (US$)

143,138,736

138,075,030

164,221,824

214,630,175

261,169,480

241,794,203

Exports (US$)

126,197,224

112,348,495

129,622,832

110,969,273

93,693,266

90,480,558

 

DataSource: http://comtrade.un.org/

 

 

A large number of textile designers and garment stores in the US make use of the production facilities in Egypt. A 2007 Research Report on the textile products in Egypt estimates that the textile industrial sector of Egypt would have an annual growth of 6.5 percent and is expected to be of supreme importance in enhancing the countrys economy. It employs more than half a million people currently and is further expected to provide increased employment opportunities in future. It has 1500 apparel industries with well equipped machineries. Total apparel production output is estimated to be 3 billion USD per year with an investment cost of 2000 USD. Higher the quantity of yarn processed, more is the extent of desizing agents consumed, thus infecting the environment.

 

Challenges facing the Industry:

 

The two challenges facing the industry currently are pollution factors due to desizing, and competition from foreign products in the local as well as the international markets. The industry used tons of chemicals for processing. The effluents discharged from the desizing process have hazardous and toxic pollutants and are harmful to the environment. Textile industry uses two types of fibres. Natural fibres which consists of wool, hemp, cotton etc and synthetic fibres like polyester lycra etc. Synthetic fabrics are more preferred by the consumers due to its cheap price, and easy to care nature. But manufacturing synthetic fibres creates lot of pollution and it is also hard to recycle them. It takes approximately 40 years for a synthetic fibre to decompose.

 

Health hazards of chemical effluents:

 

The chemical effluents are mostly discharged in the Nile River. The contaminated water can create health hazards. For example, lead can interfere in the functions of enzymes and formation of red blood cells and infect the nerves and brain. Mercury, chromium etc can cause brain damage, convulsion, and numbness. Cadmium will infect the kidneys. Changes in the water pH (pH measures the acid content of water) causes changes in the chemistry of water and this creates serious problems especially in the coastal areas. The dissolved effluents in water may change its nature, thus making it unfit for irrigation purposes. Dissolvents like ammonia will affect the living organisms in the river such as fish etc. The pollution level of River Nile has reached threatening heights.

 

Recovery of sizing agents:

 

Conventional waste treatment consists of burying the effluents in a landfill. These only results in the shifting of effluents from one place to another and consequently in the contamination of ground water, gas formation and cause odors. Industries should adopt technologically sophisticated treatment methods. Sizing materials like starch gets degraded thus making their recovery impossible. On the other hand synthetic sizing agents like polyvinyl alcohol and carboxymethyl cellulose passes through the desizing process without any changes and hence can be recovered through ultra filtration (UF) processes. But many mills do not invest in size recovery equipments as the recovered sizes do not benefit them in any way. Similarly, synthetic sizes are way more expensive than starch comparatively.

 

In a global perspective, textile industry is the second biggest activity to develop economy and the environment pays a heavy price for this. Manufacturers as well as the ultimate consumers should launch the initiative to establish an environmentally friendly textile processing procedure.


References:

 

  1. http://tcdc.undp.org
  2. http://www.freepatentsonline.com
  3. http://www.intracen.org
  4. http://www.infomat.com
  5. Ms. Ilse Hendrickx, Gregory D. Boardman, Pollution Prevention studies in the Textile Wet Processing Industry http://209.85.175.104/search?q=cache:HQ0oNg10Da8J:www.p2pays.org/ref%255C01/00469.pdf+pollution+prevention+in+textile&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=in



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