Types of Water Treatment for Textile

by Engr. Kh. Mashiur Rahman | Nov 1, 2018 | ETP WTP

WTP Water Management Procedure

The existence of this team has made types of water treatment job easier for Auto Textiles Ltd. to establish a better water management WTP system. Department of Environment (DoE) has some obligations regarding water consumption for fabric processing in industrial sectors. These obligations are followed as general guideline countrywide. We respect this guideline. However, the water consumption is directly dependent on technology use or the dyeing/washing machine we are using. It is also dependent on what type of fabric we are dyeing or what type of dyestuff we are using. ,-

Technology Assessment

Technological assessment & advancement can help us to save our time, money & resource. Existing processing system should be assessed if existing machineries can support lowest Liquor Ratio. Old and backdated machineries should be replaced if possible in order to minimize water & chemical consumption. Our team always looks for any innovations regarding dyestuff, dye auxiliaries that may help to reduce liquor ratio and skip wash cycle. If any advance technology is found in the market, our team tries to figure out the efficiency of that technology and discusses with entrepreneurs about the viability of that technology

Proper Metering

Water consumption should be properly metered. We cannot manage water consumption without measuring. Total consumption and total disposal of water should be metered. Furthermore, section wise water consumption record should be kept so that assessment and analysis of water consumption can be done properly. We have two inlets for our dyeing section and two flow meters installed on that inlet give us water consumption data. Water goes to ETP after being used in the dyeing & washing machines. We have two meters for the inlet and outlet of ETP. We generate useful data from the reading of these meters

Adjusting Liquor Ratio

Changing Liquor Ratio is another way to save water and chemicals during wet processing. Changing Liquor Ratio should be adjusted if it can be decreased. Otherwise alternative chemical should be adopted, which requires less Liquor ratio. We use Avitera SE -the dyestuff of Huntsman after Technology Assessment, which is marketed by Huntsman under the logo of Save the Earth. We also use third generation Wash off like Dekol RSA (Resource Saving Agent) and Crosscolor BCSR, which help us to save natural resources like water. We always look for better innovations than the above-mentioned dyestuffs in the market

Process Re-engineering

Fabric processing is a continuous cycle, which involves a lot of chemicals & dyes. A slight change in the fabric recipe can save a lot of chemical/dyes & water consumption. Our production team optimizes the dosage of chemical/auxiliaries by trial and error method. For example, we use a detergent 1gm/liter. Then it is deducted by 10% (.1gm) and some trial batches (by .9gm/liter) are executed. The reports of the batches are reviewed and process designed is redefined. Dosage Optimization of every chemical/dye is done by this way without deteriorating the quality. Existing process design is reevaluated if any single process step can be skipped to form new process design. Suppose, there is a five minute overflow rinsing in a certain process step; our production team reengineer the process step whether it could be possible to eliminate the rinsing by a single filled wash drain cycle and viable for the organization. Same importance is given to both energy consumption and natural resources. Our Senior Manager- Production continuously generates concepts and monitors the overall dyeing process. Forming new process design cannot be done in a day or month. Continuous efforts are required for this.

Spread of Awareness

Awareness building up can save a lot water usage. Imparting training program may help root level workers to be more conscious about water use. Ideas should be discussed and shared among workers. Little awareness can save tons of water everyday. We have posted awareness building up posters on water consumption and efficiency in washrooms and water using places so that awareness among the workers can be developed and water efficiency may rise thereby.

Review/Checking

A review meeting is held every six month regarding previous decisions and upcoming decisions to make. Our General Director (GD) advises this meeting. Every water related issue is openly discussed and shared. Brainstorming and new idea sharing are done so that corrective actions can be taken in procedure level. We always consider 3R principle (Reduce, Reuse & Recycle) whether we can implement this idea in any aspect of water usage

Corrective Actions

Error is a part of decision or action. Corrective actions must be taken to rectify previous faults or lacking. Slight mistakes or faults in procedure level may hamper total development process. So corrective actions must be implemented properly and regular follow-up is very crucial. In our Review Meeting every water usage procedure is scrutinize thoroughly. If any finding is found, they are considered for the next action plan.

We are enthusiastic enough to establish much better environmental practices, resource conservation, wastewater management & waste management for our own goodness and for the conservation of our environment. However, we are thinking and evaluating the chance of reuse & recycle of treated wastewater.

Conclusion

Salt recovery from different types of water treatment is under active consideration. We would like to follow national rules & regulations and apply any contemporary changes to make proper use of water and to save this valuable water. Fortunately, we have an agile Environmental Management Team, which is working relentlessly in this regard.