Quality comparison of effluent water discharged by
wet processing mills
by Dr. H.R. Sheikh, Professor Emeritus, Textile Institute of Pakistan.
Apparel fabrics with qualities of comfort, hand, drape, crease,
resistance, wrinkle recovery, colour, print, design and attractive
appeal cannot be produced without passing the fabrics through
appropriate pretreatment stages, wet processes and finishing
sequence. However, pre-treatment and wet processing of fabrics
cannot be carried out without the use of good quality water. Typical
wet processes such as desizing, scouring, bleaching, mercerizing,
dyeing, printing and finishing involve intensive use of water. During
survey of wet processing mills in Pakistan Dr. Arshad Vohra (1) found
that most of the mills were consuming upto 400 liters of water to
produce 1 KGM of finished fabric. In contrast, the normal consump-
tion in a best practice mill was only from 90 to 110 litres of water
per KGM of fabric. According to another estimate (2) 200 litres of
water are required to produce one kilogram of finished fabric. For
reducing the consumption of water and associated water based pol-
lution, wet processing mills need to implement control measures
listed below:

Optimization of the process stages without compromising the
product quality.

Supervisors must realize importance of water conservation.

Water consumption per KGM of the fabric must be standard-
ized process-wise. Water meters must be installed to record of
water consumption.

Workers must also be trained, motivated and encouraged to
participate in the water conservation campaign.
Sources of water
As reported by Engineer Mahmood Akbar(3), the wet processing
mills in Karachi rely mainly on the KW&SB supply network for their
water requirements. Some of the other sources are underground
sources, i.e., tube wells, sea water and waste water effluent dis-
charged by the wet processing mills. Excluding the KW&SB supply
and sea water, other sources are also available to the wet processing
mills operating outside Karachi in other parts of the country.
Quality of water
Irrespective of the source, use of good quality water is essential
for wet processing in order to ensure uniformity and brilliance of
dyed and finished fabrics. The quality of water can be improved by
removal of impurities present in water. Consequently, adverse
effects of these impurities on the quality of dyed and finished fabrics
can be eliminated. The procedure suggested by Dr. Niaz Ahmed(4)
and Dr. Shoaib Arif (5) in order to achieve these objects is briefly
reported below:
Colour and Turbidity
The colour and turbidity of water arises from dissolved and dis-
persed organic matters which promote the growth of micro-organ-
ism, give rise to colored spots and emission of foul smell by the dyed
article. Filtration and use of chlorine removes colour and turbidity of
water. Sometimes colour of water is due to the presence of iron and
copper salts which can be removed by the use of sequesterants or
chelating agents.
Mineral content and hardness
Temporary hardness of water is due to the presence of carbon-
ates and bicarbonates and can be removed by boiling. Permanent
hardness is due to the presence of chlorides, nitrates and sulphates
of calcium and magnesium. Ion exchange resins (zeolities), request-
ing or softening agents are used to eliminate permanent hardness of
water. Some of the disadvantages prohibiting the use of hard water
for processing of fabrics are listed as:

Increase in process cost from an increase in soap consumption.

Patchiness in dyed fabrics on account of precipitation of insolu-
ble salts of calcium and magnesium on the fabric in conse-
quence of reaction of hard water with NaOH at high
temperature and also due to the precipitation of certain dyes in
the presence of hard water.

The use of hard water also causes damage to boilers and
cooling towers of textile mills, because of scale formation
resulting from deposits of Calcium Carbonate, Calcium
Sulphate and silicates of barium and magnesium. Poor heat
conductivity of scales wastes thermal energy and raises
process costs.
Dissolved and suspended solids
The dissolved solids in water are mainly sodium cations, chlo-
ride, sulphate or bicarbonate anions. The presence of these solids
not only creates many difficulties in wet processing by hindering sat-
Dyeing Printing Finishing
isfactory dyeing, printing and finishing of fabrics but also accelerates
corrosion of iron plates of boilers. The dissolved solids should be
removed by treatment similar to that adopted for the elimination of
permanent hardness of water. The suspended solids should be
removed by settling process followed by thorough Filtration. The
settling process can be accelerated by the use of flocculating agents.
Dissolved gases
Dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide even in small quantities in
water also create problems in wet processing. Dissolved ferrous ions
are produced by the reaction of steel pipes carrying water and steam
with carbon dioxide, which not only stains the fabric, but also dam-
ages it by catalyzing the bleaching process.
The oxygen dissolved in water damages boiler plates by con-
verting initially formed ferrous bicarbonate into ferric oxide. The for-
mation of ferric oxide continues till dissolved oxygen is fully
exhausted. The sequesterants used for controlling the colour and
turbidity of water absorb oxygen dissolved in water and thus pre-
vent interference of oxygen in vat dyeing as well as possibility of
boiler plate damage. The reaction of sequesterants with oxygen also
leads to liberation of carbon dioxide from water.
Micro-organisms
Bacteria or fungal species may be present in water. However, E-
Coli is the most usual organism present in water. The micro-organ-
isms feed on substrates (fabrics) and hinder level dyeing. The most
effective anti-bacterial fungal agent which destroys micro-organ-
isms is chlorine, which should be used to get rid of micro-organisms.
Industrial effluent
Thr effluent produced by wet processing mills can also be per-
manent sources of water for recycling in order to conserve water.
However, it is necessary that the contaminants present in the efflu-
ent are removed by treatment in Effluent Treatment Plants (EFT) or
Ultra-Filtration and Reserve Osmosis units and water quantity
brought upto the required standard before recycling.
PH value
Some of the wet processes are sensitive to the ph value of water.
Interference with the ph value required for any particular process
can be prevented by using water which has neutral ph value, i.e.
neither acidic nor alkaline.
PTJ October 2008 49
 Actual N.E.Q.S.
Effluent characteristics Effluent
Concentration Limit (mgm Remarks
Characteristics
Textile wet processing operations include desizing, scouring, (mgm per litre) per litre)
bleaching, mercerizing, dyeing, printing and finishing of fabrics. Magnesium 400 No set limit
According to survey of Pakistan Environmental Technology Program Magnesium
Iron 62 8
for the Industry (ETPI) 0.08 – 0.15m3 of water is consumed per should be less
KGM of finished fabric. For production of 12-20 tons per day of Lead 1.10 0.50 than 200 mgm/l
finished fabric, 1000 to 300m3 of waste water is generated Chromium 4.4 1.0
daily.(6) A wide range of chemicals and dyes are used during the
above mentioned wet processes. It includes bleaching agents, Keenjhar Lake is an important drinking water source for the
NaOH, direct, vat, disperse and reactive dyes as well as pigments population of Jamshoro, Kotri, Thatta and Karachi. This important
and salts. Consequently, the effluent discharged by the wet pro- source is being destroyed by the industrial effluent being released
cessing mills contains pollutants, such as organic and inorganic into Kotri Baghar Feeder which flows into Keenjhar Lake. (8) Instead
matter, sludge, dissolved and suspended solids, heavy metals, of settling up Effluent Treatment Plants, the Kotri based industries
salts, etc. Salt concentrations in effluent from cotton dyeing may have set up oxidation ponds. These industries discharge untreated
be upto 200 to 3000 pp. effluent into the oxygen ponds from where the effluent flows into
KB Feeder en-route to Keenjhar Lake. Oxygen ponds are no substi-
The effluent of the wet processing industry must be treated
tute for ETP and merely serve as sedimentation units. Water
properly and toxic elements must be removed before discharge in
Technologist Prof. Dr. Ahsan Siddiqui analyzed samples of water
order to prevent environmental degradation. However, the progress
that flows into KB Feeder. The results are reported as follows:
in the installation of ETPs and UF/RO units is reported to be slow.
Some of the mills which have installed Effluent Treatment Plants, The data reported above clearly shows that the concentration of
Ultra-Filtration or Reverse Osmosis units are Gul Ahmed Textile four varieties of heavy metals found in the samples exceed the limits
Mills, Mustaquim Dyeing and Printing Mills, Al- Abid Silk Mills, prescribed by N.E.Q.S. chromium could cause kidney ailments, lead
Nishat Textile Mills from Karachi. U.S. Denim and Sapphire Finishing can cause brain damage and magnesium causes gastro diseases. Dr.
Mills Ltd.from Lahore and Crescent Bahumian from Pindi Bhattion. Siddiqui also suggested that quantity of heavy metals could be
Dyeing Printing Finishing

brought down by use of Reactors which are being designed and

A couple of mills such as Muhammed Farooq Textile Mills in
developed by the Mehran University of Engineering and
Karachi and Artistic Denim are in the process of planning for the
Technology (MUET).
installation of effluent treatment plants. Currently waste water efflu-
ent generated by the average run of the wet processing mills is dis- Effluent containing heavy metals flowing into Keenjhar Lake will
charged into local environment without any treatment, produce disastrous results. Land of the lake will be destroyed along
Consequently, water of Indus river, various lakes and canals fed by with its aquatic life and plantation. In case Lake water is used for irri-
it is being polluted and is a serious threat to human health, environ- gation, the land so irrigated will become barren as has already hap-
ment and biodiversity. pened with the land surrounding Manchhar Lake. In conclusion, it
may be stated that most of the small and medium size wet process-
Indus river and Keenjhar Lake ing units of the textile industry of Pakistan are at present discharging
untreated effluent into local environments and creating risks for
According to a recent Sindh Environmental Protection Agency human health, aquatic life and biodiversity.
(SEPA) report water of the Indus river is highly polluted (7).The envi-
ronmental protection legislation is not being implemented. Water In fact, these mills follow double standards. They make every
samples were collected from 21 locations in Sindh and quality ana- effort to ensure that water being consumed for wet processing of
lyzed. The results are briefly reported in the following table. fabrics is free from impurities and of good quality so that dyed and
finished fabrics produced by them are of the standard quality. On
From the foregoing data, it is obvious N.E.Q.S laws are not the other hand, they do not bother about the quality of effluent
being implemented. The reasons given in the report are dearth of being discharged and its disastrous consequences. It is, therefore,
qualified staff and clout wielded by polluters. Consequently, pollu- extremely important that NEQS are made stringent and imple-
tion in Indus water and its subsidiaries is increasing fast and posing mented in better and spirit.
a serious threat to human health, fish stock and environment.
Manchar Lake, one of the largest fresh water lakes in Asia had
References
almost been destroyed while another important lake ‘Keenjhar’ is 1. Dr. Arshad Vohra, Lecture at the Seminar, Environmental issues
degrading rapidly!. related to the textile industry,” 19th February, 2002
2. Environment Protection Authority, State Government of
Actual Victoria, Australia, June, 1998,
Effluent N.E.Q.S. 3. Engr. Mahmood Akbar, “Sourcing of water for textile process-
Concentration
Characteristics Limit (mgm/l) ing units in Karachi” Pakistan Textile Journal, October, 2004
(mgm/l)
4. Dr. Niaz Ahmed, Wet Processing of Cellulosic Textiles.
5. Dr. Shoaib Arif “Importance of water quality;” paper read at
More than 1000 per Should not be
Coli form the short course entitled, “Textile wet Processing, Technologies
milli litres certain places present at all.
and Processes,” for executives working in the textile industry in
October, 1999
From 25.5 at Guddu 6. Joseph Egli, “Waste water treatment in the textile industry,
BOD (Biological Barrage to 117.2 at “Pakistan Textile Journal, October, 2007, Pages 60 to 66.
6.50 or lower
Oxygen Demand) Manchar Lake and 60 at
7. Staff Reporter, “ Sepa report says Indus Water highly polluted,
Keenjhar Lake
“Daily Dawn , February 17, 2008
8. M. H. Khan, “ Effluent discharge into KB Feeder endangers mil-
COD (Chemical 63.60 at Guddu to lions,” Daily Dawn February 27, 2008.
5.0 or lower
Oxygen Demand) 121 at Danistar canal
Acknowledgement: Technical information received from Bilal Ghauri, Tahoor Ali,
Mobinul Haque and Muhammed Noman Moghul is gratefully acknowledged. 

50 PTJ October 2008