Integrated textile effluent treatment method

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Chemical Engineering
• Materials Science

Background:

• Conventional textile wastewater treatment methods are often inefficient, costly, or generate secondary pollutants.
• Existing methods can be time-consuming and may not effectively address all effluent contaminants.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an integrated, eco-friendly, and cost-effective textile wastewater purification process.
• To evaluate the efficacy of sustainable biosorbents derived from Water Hyacinth (WH) and Parthenium Hysterophorus (PH) as alternatives to Activated Charcoal (AC).

Main Methods:

• A sequential treatment process combining filtration, biosorption, aeration, solar-assisted electrolytic precipitation, pH adjustment, and UV-C germicidal treatment.
• Utilizing surface-activated biosorbents from waste weeds (WH and PH) for effluent decolorization and comparing their adsorption capacity with commercial AC.
• Employing solar energy to power an electrolytic precipitation unit.

Main Results:

• Achieved high decolorization (90%-94%), particle removal, and odor elimination.
• Reduced Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) from 2,352 mg/L to approximately 150 mg/L.
• Effectively removed heavy metals (Lead, Arsenic undetected) and brought other parameters like TDS, pH, and EC within standard pollution limits.
• Demonstrated superior performance of WH and PH biosorbents over AC, with a cost-effectiveness of $1.7 USD per 1,000 L.

Conclusions:

• The developed integrated process offers an efficient, sustainable, and economical solution for textile wastewater treatment.
• Waste-derived biosorbents (WH and PH) are highly effective alternatives to AC, showing significantly higher activity.
• The study validates the process's efficacy through statistical analysis (t-test and f-test), confirming its ability to meet pollution control norms.