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Management of environment problems in textile finishing thanks to pollution management and environmental accountancy

Exploitable results

As result of detailed inspection of water treatment plants, many improvements have been achieved or, in some cases, proposed like: screen filters for suction lines, level-indicator-control switches, reverse osmosis, pilot plant tests, modulated frequency pumping, process control instruments, installation of baffles, press-filters to concentrate sludge and others. Specific results have been: more ecological cotton cleaning and bleaching processes; recipes with alternatives to current processes using less chemicals or less polluting biodegradable products have been achieved and methodology to following trials to be carried by SMEs have been proposed; it was demonstrated that in some cases up to 50% saving in rinsing water in preparation stages could be obtained if a proper process is used instead of the current one and industrial feasibility of recycling bleaching rinsing water was demonstrated; recovery of half the volume of used bleaching bath is technically possible although difficulties can arise for practical reasons such as current plant procedures. The publication of the report of the more significative achievements of the project opens to finishing enterprises outside of consortium access to guidelines to reduce their water consumption and pollution. Water quality criteria, water treatment management, improvement of equipment and procedures, environment regulations and textile wastewater treatment will help industry to manage its environmental impact. The results can be summarised as follows: diminution of water consumption by 10 to 15%; reduction of chemicals and auxiliary products in preparation stages by about 20%, partly by the use of lower bath ratios and partly resulting from development new recipes; lower wastewater treatment costs and taxes resulting from lower polluting processes and of water saving; better industrial practices result in less repetition of operations.

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