Integration of biotechnological wastewater treatment units in textile finishing factories: from end of the pipe solutions to combined production and wastewater treatment units.
Increasing costs for water, wastewater and energy put pressure on textile finishing plants to increase the efficiency of wet processing. An improved water management can decrease the use of these resources and is a prerequisite for the integration of an efficient, anaerobic on-site pretreatment of effluents that will further cut wastewater costs. A two-phase anaerobic treatment is proposed, and successful laboratory experiments with model effluents from the cotton finishing industry are reported. The chemical oxygen demand of this wastewater was reduced by over 88% at retention times of 1 day or longer. The next step to boost the efficiency is to combine the production and wastewater treatment. The example of cotton fabric desizing (removing size from the fabric) illustrates how this final step of integration uses the acidic phase bioreactor as a part of the production and allows to close the water cycle of the system.
Feitkenhauer
H
H
Laboratorium für Technische Chemie, ETH Zürich, Universitätstrasse 6, CH-8092, Zurich, Switzerland. feitkenhauer@tech.chem.ethz.ch
Meyer
U
U
D019149:Bioreactors; D001709:Biotechnology; D004867:Equipment Design; D007220:Industrial Waste; D013783:Textile Industry / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
D007220:Industrial Waste; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical