PRETREATMENT OF TEXTILE INDUSTRY WASTEWATER USING NATURAL OAGULANTS by Mandeep Kaur
Abstract
The textile industry consumes large quantities of water and produces large volumes of wastewater with high color, turbidity, BOD, COD, suspended solids, sulfide, chlorides and heavy metals. Untreated effluents when discharged directly into the open lands or into water bodies can cause irreversible harm to the environment. Coagulation is the most important physical and chemical treatment used in industrial wastewater treatment to diminish the various wastewater parameters. Now a day, more interest has been given on the pretreatment of wastewater coming from industries with natural coagulants because natural coagulants are relatively cost-effective as compared to chemical coagulants. As moringa oleifera and cactus are easily available, they are used as natural coagulant in this research to reduce color, turbidity, nitrates, chlorides, fluorides in dyeing wastewater. Sharman spinning mills is a textile industry which was selected for work and is situated in Ludhiana. The wastewater generated during dyeing process was collected from textile industry. The coagulation of wastewater was done with jar test apparatus was carried out using natural coagulants. Optimum dosage and optimum pH were determined after intensive lab scale testing. The pH value of 10.5 was found to be more efficient for removal of chlorides, nitrates, fluorides for both coagulants, whereas in case of turbidity and color efficient pH was found to be 3.5, but pH 10.5 was considered to be optimum pH because there was significant removal of wastewater parameter characteristics. Similarly the optimum dosage of cactus and moringa oleifera for efficient removal of all parameters was found to be 0.6gm/500ml at pH 10.5.
