By: Moustafa S. Moussa
Textile processing industry is characterized not only by thelarge volume of water required for various unit operations but also by thevariety of chemicals used for various processes. There is a long sequence ofwet processing stages requiring inputs of water, chemical & energy andgenerating wastes at each stage. The other feature of this industry, which is abackbone of fashion garments is large variation in demand of type, pattern andcolor combination of fabric resulting into significant fluctuation in wastegeneration volume and load. Textile processing generates many waste streams,including liquid, gaseous and solid wastes, some of which may be hazardous. Thenature of the waste generated depends on the type of textile facility, theprocesses and technologies being operated, and the types of fibers andchemicals used. The overview on the amounts of waste generated within thetextile processes are summarized on Table 1.
Air Pollution
Most processes performed in textile mills produceatmospheric emissions. Gaseous emissions have been identified as the secondgreatest pollution problem (after effluent quality) for the textile industry.Speculation concerning the amounts and types of air pollutants emitted fromtextile operations has been widespread but, generally, air emission data fortextile manufacturing operations are not readily available.
Air pollution is the most difficult type of pollution tosample, test, and quantify in an audit. Air emissions can be classified accordingto the nature of their sources:
Point sources:
- Boilers
- Ovens
- Storage tanks
Diffusive:
- Solvent-based
- Wastewater treatment
- Warehouses
- Spills
Textile mills usually generate nitrogen and sulphur oxidesfrom boilers Other significant sources of air emissions in textile operationsinclude resin finishing and drying operations, printing, dyeing, fabricpreparation, and wastewater treatment plants. Hydrocarbons are emitted fromdrying ovens and from mineral oils in high-temperature drying/curing.
These processes can emit formaldehyde, acids, softeners, andother volatile compounds. Residues from fiber preparation sometimes emitpollutants during heat setting processes.
Carriers and solvents may be emitted during dyeingoperations (depending on the types of dyeing processes used and from wastewatertreatment plant operations. Carriers used in batch dyeing of disperse dyes maylead to volatilization of aqueous chemical emulsions during heat setting,drying, or curing stages. Acetic acid and formaldehyde are two major emissionsof concern in textiles.
The major sources of air pollution in the textile industryare summarized on Table 2.
Water Pollution
The textile industry uses high volumes of water throughout its operations, from the washing of fibers to bleaching, dyeing and washing of finished products. On average, approximately 200 L of water are required to produce l kg of textiles (Table 3) . The large volumes of wastewater generated also contain a wide variety of chemicals, used throughout processing. These can cause damage if not properly treated before discharge to the environment. Of all the steps involved in textiles processing, wet processing creates the highest volume of wastewater.
The aquatic toxicity of textile industry wastewater varies considerably among production facilities. The sources of aquatic toxicity can include salt, surfactants, ionic metals and their metal complexes, toxic organic chemicals, biocides and toxic anions. Most textile dyes have low aquatic toxicity. On the other hand, surfactants and related compounds, such as detergents, emulsifiers and dispersants are used in almost each textile process and can be an important contributor to effluent aquatic toxicity, BOD and foaming. Detailed information on the sources of wastewater for the wet processing of different fibers (cotton, wool and blendes, synthetic fiber) includes, main pollutants, volumes, wastewater characteristics and pollution impact is also available.
Solid Waste Pollution
The primary residual wastes generated from the textile industry are non-hazardous. These include scraps of fabric and yarn, off-specification yarn and fabric and packaging waste. There are also wastes associated with the storage and production of yarns and textiles, such as chemical storage drums, cardboard reels for storing fabric and cones used to hold yarns for dyeing and knitting. Cutting room waste generates a high volume of fabric scraps, which can often be reduced by increasing fabric utilization efficiency in cutting and sewing. The following table (Table 4) summarizes solid wastes associated with various textile-manufacturing processes.
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