ICERIE 2017_241

Proceedings of the
International Conference on Engineering Research, Innovation and Education
2017
ICERIE 2017, 13 15 January, SUST, Sylhet, Bangladesh

Assessment of the Potential of Textile Sludge Recycling in Environment-

Friendly Applications
Touhid Bin Anwar, Bushra Behrose and Shoeb Ahmed*
Department of Chemical Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology
Dhaka- 1000, Bangladesh. Tel: 9665606, Fax: 9665606

Keywords: Abstract:Although, wastewater is often treated in effluent treatment

 Textile sludge, facilities, the sludge from this effluent treatment plants are discarded to the
environment. These piles of dumped sludge come in contact with flood, rain
 proximate
and the surrounding land and water get contaminated. All the efforts of
analysis,
wastewater treatment therefore go in vain as these concentrated pollutants
 compressive (sludge) eventually disseminate into the environment. Therefore, there is a
strength, growing need to look for various applications of sludge for sustainable
 leaching development. Sludge exhibits wide variations in their properties depending on
origin and previous treatment, therefore, needs to be characterized before
planning their disposal method and potential applications. Here, in this study
physical and chemical characterization of typical textile sludge have been
performed. Textile sludge is high in carbon content and has decent (17.36
MJ/kg) heating value that indicates the potential of applications involving
burning of the sludge. Different sludge/clay mixture (0.5% to 5.25% dry
sludge) were used to make bricks, which were evaluated in terms of their
compressive strengths and the leaching behavior. The textile sludge
incorporated clay fired bricks showed up to 77% more compressive strength
compared to standard bricks. The leaching test of clay fired cubes reveal that
this textile sludge can be used for brick making purposes without potential
threat to human health or environment.

1. INTRODUCTION
Bangladesh’s textile industry is the nation’s highest export earner sector. There are currently 4000 production
facilities in this sector that produces wastewater which goes through effluent treatment plant in very scarce
number of factories (Kiron, 2015). Industries with wastewater treatment facilities continuously produce large
amount of sludge that needs proper attention in terms of handling and disposal.The low efficiency of chemical
operations and spillage of chemicals cause a significant pollution hazard (Mohan, 1999). Sludge handling and
processing is becoming a big issue to the companies which are running their effluent treatment plant (ETP)
continuously or intending to run it continuously. Among the few companies which use ETP or CETP, it is often
found that the concentrated solid sludge is also discarded to the environment disregarding environmental
regulations and leading to further pollution (Textile Today, 2013). While the developed countries use sludge
treatment methods for reducing the volume and weight of sludge as well as reducing the potential health hazards

* Correspondingauthor: shoebahmed@che.buet.ac.bd
851 | Anwar et. al., ICERIE 2017

associated with disposal options, developing countries like Bangladesh uses common disposal techniques as
incineration, composting, thermophilic digestion and landfilling (Standards & Guidelines for Sludge
Management, 2016). Proper incineration of solid sludge requires furnace, additional support system, fuels,
trained personnel and precautions against potential fire and safety hazards while probable gas emissions and
leachates marks a potential threat to environment. The high amount of volatile organic matter, heavy metal and
fluctuating consistency of the textile sludge makes landfilling and composting a less desirable disposal method
(Patel, H and Pandey, S. 2009). Advanced treatment methods are to be used for using this sludge in the
agricultural sector to ensure removal of toxic constituents present in this sludge as well as to remove the
pathogens. The common practices of discarding sludge to environment often causes the dumped sludge to come
in contact with flood, rain and the surrounding land and water get contaminated. All the efforts of wastewater
treatment therefore go in vain as these concentrated pollutants (sludge) eventually disseminate into the
environment. Therefore, there is a growing need to look for various applications of this sludge for sustainable
development (Alleman,1987). The objective of this paper is to find alternative usage of this chemical sludge
produced in ETP from textile industries (Shakir et el, 2013). The use of sludge can definitely be explored for
structural and nonstructural applications depending upon the requirement of strength (Shakir, 2013; Mary Lissy,
2014). Thus, incorporation of this sludge with soil to produce environment friendly bricks was the aim of this
study Using sludge along with soil in brick making will not only provide a reusable product but also aid in the
process of disposal of textile sludge in an eco-friendlier way (Kadir and Rahim, 2014).

2. METHODOLOGY
The raw materials used for brick making includes textile sludge, soil and water. The textile sludge was collected
from a textile industry whose primary products are polycotton and knit fabrics. This chemical sludge generated
from its ETP was used as the main ingredient for the brick. The soil used is known as Gazipur cohesive soil
popularly used in brick making in Bangladesh. Distilled water was used to make paste of soil and sludge
mixture.

The chemical sludge was characterized for various physico-chemical parameters and heavy metals using
standard methods such as ASTM for proximate analysis and Calorific value and XRF Spectrophotometer, Hach
Spectrophotometer and Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer for heavy metal analysis.

2.1 Proximity Analysis and Calorific value testing

During the proximate analysis, moisture content of collected sludge (ASTM E871 − 82 (Reapproved 2013)),
volatile organic matter (ASTM E872 − 82 (Reapproved 2013)), ash content (ASTM D1102 − 84 (Reapproved
2013)) and fixed carbon in percentage form. These values are shown in Figure 1. Bomb calorimeter was used to
determine the calorific value of dried sludge at 105oC according to ASTM D 2015-96

2.2 Heavy metal analysis

Heavy metal analysis was performed on Hach spectrophotometer (DR 4000U) and XRF spectrophotometer for
Pb, Cd, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn and Al. Acid dilution method was used to prepare sample for Hach Spectrophotometer
and tablet made from powdered sludge and binder was used for XRF spectrophotometer (SHIMADZU XRF-
1800). The range of these metals found have been represented in Table 1 under Results and Discussions section.

2.3 Brick making procedure

Solid soil was grinded into fine powder and mixed homogenously with properly blended sludge (Baskar et al,
2006). Sieve of mesh no. 25 (aperture of 0.707 mm) was used to make the fine powder. Wooden mold was used
to make brick of size 12.1cm x 11.43 cm x 7cm (4.75’’ x 4.5’’ x 2.75’’), which is half size of standard size
brick. Each brick was air dried for 10 days, then heated at 100oC for 3 days, followed by a burning period of 8
days in Hoffman Kiln at around 1050 oC.
852 | Anwar et. al., ICERIE 2017

Figure 1: (From left) Raw unburnt brick, Mould, Burnt Brick

2.4 Compressive strength test and leaching test of samples

Brick samples were analyzed in terms compressive strength. Later, brick sample of each concentration were
submerged in 500 ml water and kept for almost 40 days. Afterwards, the liquids were analyzed for the presence
of any heavy metals using Hach Spectrophotometer and Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer.

3. RESULT AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Proximity analysis and Calorific value

Moisture content varied in different test run from 80~90 %. Percentage of volatile matter, fixed carbon and ash
content of waste sludge dried at 105oC are shown below in Figure 2. Sludge is consisted of mostly volatile
matter with almost similar fixed carbon and ash content.

[VALUE]

[VALUE] [VALUE]

volatile matter fixed carbon ash content

Figure 2: Proximity analysis of textile sludge on dry basis

The Gross calorific value was found to be 17.36 MJ/kg. This value indicates that it can be used in co-
incineration process such as brick and cement manufacturing. From the proximate analysis and calorific value of
dried sludge, it is evident that textile sludge can be burnt easily.

3.2 Heavy metal analysis

Sludge sample was further analyzed to measure the composition of inorganic elements, especially the heavy
metals. Results of analysis of heavy metals are shown below in Table 1. Multiple times collected samples were
tested and the maximum and minimum values for each parameter is shown here. From the heavy metal analysis,
it is also shown that the presence of heavy metals in the sludge is within maximum allowable range restricted by
government. Nevertheless, it is necessary to find alternative means for alternatives and that is why this
treatability studies were conducted.

Table 1: Heavy metal analysis of sludge generated from textile dying waste water
853 | Anwar et. al., ICERIE 2017

Parameter Concentration
(mg/kg sludge)
Cr 10 - 141.1
Ni 32 - 97.4
Cu 58 - 1136.9
Zn 130.6 - 1837.3
Al 76 - 2124.9
Pb 12
Cd 5.6 - 18

3.3 Compressive strength test and shrinkage comparison:

Compressive strength of different sample bricks and volume comparisons of them are shown in Figures 3-5,
respectively. In this study, the waste sludge was mixed with soil and then was burnt to make brick. The
shrinkage of the sludge incorporated bricks is found to be much higher than the standard value. In our study,
maximum shrinkage was 58.94% while the lowest was 46.26 %. The compressive test is the most important
quality test for any building material. Compressive strength of standard brick varies from a minimum of 8.6
MPa to 17.2 MPa according to ASTM C62-13a specification.

30
strength(MPa)

25
Compressive

20
15
10
5
0
standard A(0.5%) B(1.5%) C(3.5%) D(5.25%)

Brick samples of different sludge percentages

Figure 3: Compressive strength as a function of sludge percentage in brick sample

100.00
% change in compressive

80.00
60.00
strength

40.00
20.00
0.00
A(0.5%) B(1.5%) C(3.5%) D(5.25%)
Brick sample of different sludge percentages
854 | Anwar et. al., ICERIE 2017

Figure 4: Percentage change in compressive strength compared to standard brick (15 MPa, ASTM C62 – 13a)

The compressive strength was found reasonable compared to standard bricks. Average value of multiple
samples are shown in Figure 3where the maximum value for individual sample was 28.6 MPa and the minimum
value was 9.7 MPa. Numerical values show that the compressive strength decreased proportionally with the
increase of sludge percentage. As shown in Figure 4, for the lowest sludge concentration the compressive
strength was almost 77% higher than the standard value and the worst sample (3.5% sludge) was also as good as
the standard (1.7% higher compressive strength than the standard). Unfortunately the shrinkage rate was
relatively high and the final product turned out to be smaller than the standard (figure 5). This is due to the less
compact moulding and high moisture content, which can be corrected easily without altering the sludge
concentration.

1000
average volume
800
difference from standard
Brick volume(cm3)

600

400

200

0
standard A(0.5%) B(1.5%) C(3.5%) D(5.25%)
Brick samples of different percentages

Figure 5: Volume comparison among different test runs and standard half size brick

3.4 Leaching test

Presence of heavy metals in the water samples where the sludge incorporated bricks were submerged and the
results are shown below in Table 2. Amount of metals present in the brick submerged water samples after a
period of 40 days seems to be very low (ppm level) as shown in Table 3. This indicates that the sludge
incorporated bricks can be utilized in building construction.

Table 2:Concentration of heavy metals in leachate

Parameter Sludge Concentrations in Brick Sample

0% 0.5% 1.5% 3.5% 5.25%

Heavy Metal Concentrations (mg/L) in 500ml Leachate
Pb 0.15 0.248 0.210 0.250 0.215
Cd 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
Cu 0.058 0.085 0.052 0.074 0.109
Cr 0.045 0.046 0.034 0.043 0.05
Zn 0.061 0.207 0.135 0.08 0.175

Table 3: Fraction of sludge leached into water

855 | Anwar et. al., ICERIE 2017

Parameter Sludge Concentrations in Brick Sample

0% 0.5% 1.5% 3.5% 5.25%
mg of Heavy Metal Released Per kg of Sludge in Brick
Pb 93.48 25 17 8.8 93.48
Cd 0 0 0 0 0
Cu 32 6.2 5.2 4.5 32
Cr 17 4.1 3 2.05 17
Zn 78 16 5.6 7.2 78

4. CONCLUSION

Since incineration or landfill method of textile waste disposal have negative impact on environment, utilization
of textile waste sludge into fired clay brick can be a good alternative those methods. In this study, proximate
analysis and calorific value determination of waste sludge from effluent treatment plant of a local textile
industry were performed. The sludge was then incorporated with soil in different sludge percentage (0.5%,
1.5%, 3.5% and 5.25%) in a dry basis to make brick. These bricks were found to satisfy the norms of standard
bricks and the compressive strength was found to be reasonable compared to ASTM standards. Though the
shrinkage of the bricks were remarkable, but it can be reduced by varying the amount of water mixed.Also,
leaching test shows that little amount of heavy metals leach from the brick samples.In conclusion, it can be
suggested from this study that textile sludge can be used to produce standard and quality bricks and provide
environment friendly disposal methods as well as reduce the amount of soil required in brick industry.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The authors are grateful to the Department of Chemical engineering, Department of Civil engineering and
Department of Glass and Ceramics for technical support.

REFERENCES
Alleman, J.E. Beneficial use of sludge in building components. Available at:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236521311_Beneficial_use_of_sludge_in_building_components.
[Accessed 11 October 2016]
ASTM E871 − 82 (Reapproved 2013): Standard Test Method for Moisture Analysis of Particulate Wood Fuels
ASTM E872 − 82 (Reapproved 2013): Standard Test Method for Volatile Matter in the Analysis of Particulate
Wood Fuels
ASTM D1102 − 84 (Reapproved 2013): Standard Test Method for Ash in Wood
ASTM D2015: Standard Test Method for Gross Calorific Value of Solid Fuel by the Adiabatic Bomb
Calorimeter
ASTM C62 – 13a: Standard Specification for Building Brick (Solid Masonry Units Made From Clay or Shale)
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). Available at:
http://www.bgmea.com.bd/home/about/AboutGarmentsIndustry[Accessed on 10th October, 2016].
Textile Today 2013. Textile Industries In Bangladesh: A Rising Environmental Degradation Down the Drains
[online]. Available at: http://www.textiletoday.com.bd/textile-industries-in-bangladesh-a-rising-environmental-
degradation [Accessed 4 October 2016]
Kadir, ABA and Rahim, ASBA. 2014. An Overview of Sludge Utilization into Fired Clay Brick. International
Journal of Environmental, Chemical, Ecological, Geological and Geophysical Engineering, Vol: 8, No:8, 2014
856 | Anwar et. al., ICERIE 2017

Kiron. 2015. Readymade Garments Industry of Bangladesh [online]. Available at:

http://www.garmentsmerchandising.com/readymade-garments-industry-of-bangladesh [Accessed on 4th
October, 2016]
Mary Lissy P N, Sreeja MS. 2014. Utilization of sludge in manufacturing Energy Efficient Bricks. IOSR-JMCE,
11(4): 70-73
Mohan, SV. 1999. Advances in industrial pollution control, India: Techno science publications. pp. 250-251
Patel, H and Pandey, S. 2009. Exploring the reuse potential of chemical sludge from textile wastewater
treatment plants in India –A hazardous waste. American Journal of Environmental Sciences, 5(1): 106-110.
R. Baskar, K. Begum and S. Sundaram. Characterization and reuse of textile effluent treatment plant waste
sludge in clay bricks. Journal of University of Chemical and metallurgy. Vol. - 41(4): pp. 473-478, 2006.
Shakir AA, Naganathan S. and Mustapha KNB. 2013. Development of Bricks from Waste material: A Review
Paper. Australian Journal of basic and Applied Sciences, 7(8): 812-818.
Standards & Guidelines for Sludge Management [online]. Available at:
http://www.slideshare.net/zubeditufail/giz-standards-and-guidelines-for-sludge-management. [Accessed on 10th
October ,2016]