Zero Discharge - Treatment Options For Textile Effluent

Zero Discharge - Treatment Options for Textile Dye Effluent: A Case Study at Manickapurampudur Common Effluent Treatment Plant, Tirupur, Tamil Nadu. S.Eswaramoorthi, K.Dhanapal1 and J.Karpagam EPIC in India, No.33, Anugraha Gardens, Central Studio Road, Trichy Main Road, Singanallur, Coimbatore-641005, India.

Abstract Ground water quality in Tirupur has been significantly affected due to the discharge of large quantities of textile dye effluent into the Noyyal river - a tributary of Cauvery. This has also resulted in contamination of Orathupalayam Dam and caused serious environmental degradation in the downstream areas of Erode and Karur.

At present, around 800 individual dying units and, eight Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETP) are existing in Tirupur which processes textile dye effluent. At one of the CETPs, the Manickapurampudur Common Effluent Treatment Plant (MPCETP), our organisation is engaged in the research & development work for the treatment of textile dye effluent for the past 3 years.

The treated effluent at this CETP was regularly collected and analysed for pH, total suspended solids, TDS, COD, BOD, sodium, chloride, sulphate, sulphide, and trace metals (Cu, Zn, Pb, Ni, Cd). The results showed that the treated effluent obeyed the effluent discharge norms of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, except TDS.

In order to reduce effluent load to the Noyyal river, attempts were made at this CETP to evaporate the effluent using solar energy. Though significant progress has been achieved in this direction, due to the concerns on air pollution, this method was abandoned.

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Corresponding author: [email protected]

In continuation of these efforts to achieve zero-discharge, trials were conducted for implementing reverse osmosis system. Following these trials, this CETP is in the process of implementing reverse osmosis for water reuse, nano-filtration for salt recovery and, Multiple Effect Evaporator and solar bed for reject management, and wind mill for power generation.

Though Multiple Effect Evaporator can be successfully utilised for reject management, it consumes large quantity of wood as a fuel. This will enhance wood demand and CO2 emission into the atmosphere. In order to reduce wood requirement and CO2 emission, it is planned to expand the already existing plantations grown by this CETP using the treated effluent.

We conclude our paper with a note on emerging technologies for textile dyeing, which could totally eliminate the need of water for dying textile fabrics, thereby totally eliminating environmental degradation.

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Introduction The textile industry plays an important role in Indian economy. It contributes to 20% of industrial production, 9% of excise collection, 30% of export revenue, 18% of employment in industrial sector. The apparel industry is one of India's largest foreign exchange earners, accounting for 12 percent of the country's total exports. Since global trade in textile and clothing is expected to reach US$ 600 Billions in 2010 from the present level of US$ 356 Billions (Confederation of Indian Industry, 2004; http://www.ciionline.org), there is an urgent need to augment our textile production capacity. At the same time, it is very essential that the environmental problems associated with industrial development is properly addressed to sustain both industrial as well as economic growth.

Tirupur, a small town, about 50 km from Coimbatore, is one of the well-known places in hosiery and knitwear manufacture in international market (Fig.1). Tirupur's association with the cotton trade goes at least as far back as the nineteenth century, the first textile manufacturing unit was established in the town in 1935 (Banerjee and Munshi, 2003). Tirupur has entered into the international trade in 1980s with the manufacture Fig.-1: Location map of Tirupur.

of cardigans, jersey, pullovers, ladies blouses, dresses and skirts, trousers, nightwear, sportswear

and industrial wear (Apparel Export Promotion Council, 2004). Small-scale garment manufacturing for export has developed in Tirupur rapidly in the 1980s and 1990s, using locally grown cotton in a small-scale textile centre, mostly from the informal sector (Harris et al., 2000). This growth was fuelled by a parallel decline in agriculture, whereby most of the farmers turned

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out for other opportunities (Heyer, 2000), which led them to invest in textile processing units. Thus, most of the firms in Tirupur sub-cluster are typically small in size, and 90% or more are considered as small-scale industries (Blomqvist, 1996). Almost all bleachers serve domestic markets, primarily in other States of India, while dyers serve both domestic and export markets (Crow, 1999).

The main activities in industrial sector here are ginning, spinning, weaving, knitting, bleaching, dyeing, printing and allied works. The majority of bleachers and dyers, around 78% (Madras School of Economics, 1998), are linked to the overall knitwear cluster through the job-work system, while 22% are independent producers (Crow, 1999). There are essentially three types of firms in the industry viz., direct exporters, indirect exporters, and job-workers. Tirupur contributes about 85% of hosiery and cotton knitwear produced in India, 75% of which is exported (Banerjee and Munshi, 2003) to Europe, America and other countries.

Tirupur has become an important textile cluster in India both for overseas market and the domestic market. It has 2500 knitting and stitching units, around 800 dyeing and bleaching units, 300 printing units, 100 embroidery units and other 200 units catering to compacting, raising and calendering. Buyers from around 35 countries visit Tirupur frequently. This small town annually contributes about INR.3600 crores in foreign exchange earnings to our country, besides an earning matching or surpassing the above figure to cater the domestic market. The dramatic improvement in Tirupur's export market can be attributed to the disbanding of garment manufacturing in western countries due to environmental pollution and high cost of labour. The success story of Tirupur lies in hard core work force, which achieves the set target and demands in time, the most essential part of any business. The export of knitted garments from Tirupur started to grow very rapidly around 1985, and in the early 1990s the annual growth rate was above 50% (Banerjee and Munshi, 2003).

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In hosiery exports, dyeing industries play a critical role. It promotes primary and secondary employment opportunities, generates income to many people, and also serves to the needs of the export earnings of our Government. It also provides breeding ground for allied industrial development, and increased competitiveness through public-private partnership (Sakthivel, 2004).

Due to low annual rainfall (~500 mm/year; Palanisami et al., 2004), textile wet processing industries in Tirupur buy water through lorries from surrounding villages at a cost of around INR.115 crores annually. The diesel utilized by lorries for the transportation of water amounts to INR.52 crores per year. Per day discharge of industrial effluent in to the Noyyal river (a tributary of river Cauvery originating in the Western Ghats) from Tirupur is estimated at 80 million litres - which alone makes it a perennial river, having otherwise been betrayed by nature. The pollution of Noyyal river has resulted in the loss of ecology, which amounts to INR.50 crores annually concerning all interested groups, viz., farmers, civic bodies, etc.

Apart from this, the Orathupalayam Dam, which was constructed a decade ago for storage of rain water to improve agricultural production in the downstream areas of neighbouring Erode and Karur districts has been totally contaminated.

Recently, the Honourable High Court of Chennai has ordered the dyeing industries to pay INR.6 crores for the reclamation of Orathupalayam Dam, and also INR.140 crores as a compensation to the farmers in the downstream areas of Noyyal river. The court further ordered the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) to take appropriate action to stop further pollution of the Noyyal river by the dyeing industries. The TNPCB, as a consequence, ordered the effluent discharging industries to immediately implement Zero Discharge Effluent treatment systems.

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Further, the flux of outsiders from other parts of India to Tirupur in pursuit of their business interests, and their ability to command the market with low levels of capital stock and capital intensity of production, have also significantly contributed to competition within the local community. The ability of outsiders to impart potential competition with local community with a minimal capital intensity of production (measured by the ratio of the amount of capital that the company owns to its production) is attributed to the availability of job-workers and use of indirect exporters for decentralization in the production process. This finally leads to large variations in the capital intensity of production in the population of direct exporters (Banerjee and Munshi, 2003). This competition within the local production units, has created pressure on the need for upgradation and modernization to meet the needs of the local as well as international markets.

Irrespective of pressures on local and international markets, Tirupur is poised for a spectacular growth, owing to the availability of raw materials at lower prices, cheap labour, adoption of modern production technologies, and above all, the hard work of everyone involved in the industry. Despite swifts in economic frontiers associated with fluctuations in the prices of raw materials, it is interesting to note that the industrial growth in Tirupur remains unabated. The success of Tirupur lies in the efficient distributed network of small units, which shares a large export order into smaller tasks, like a biological organism, and the whole town works like a decentralized factory for the global economy (Chari, 2003).

In the future scenario, when the quota system is void (from January 2005 onwards), the competition might increase in international and local markets. So, right now we have to take appropriate steps to accomplish cleaner production in the manufacture of environment-friendly goods, and to minimize the loss of ecology. This will result in improved competitiveness in the international and local markets, and enhance foreign currency earnings of our country.

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Textile Wet Processing, Ground Water Contamination, and Need for Concern: In Tirupur, annually the textile industries alone utilize around 28.8 billion litres of ground water. This is around 0.1% of present total water potential, and 1% of present water demand of Tamil Nadu state (Balaji, 2003), and 0.005% of worldwide withdrawal of ground water (Revenga, 2000). Heavy utilization of ground water has severely depleted the ground water table in Tirupur. Thus, currently Tirupur is faced with severe water scarcity. Presently, the water needs of the textile wet processing industries are met by the supply of water through lorries, taking up water from open and bore wells in the surrounding taluks, viz., Avanashi, Palladam, Annur, Kangeyam, and from several parts of the neighbouring Erode district. As a result, farmers in villages outside Tirupur have abandoned low-income generating farming, and begun selling ground water to the industries (Postel, 1999). Roughly between 2,000-3,000 lorries with a capacity to transport 10,000 to 12,000 litres/trip are plying around 7 to 10 trips daily to supply clean water for the textile wet processing. Considering the water demand of Tirupur, efforts were undertaken to get water supply from Upper Bhavani reservoir to reduce the burden on the local water resources. However, when this water supply project gets completed, it will not be enough to meet the demands of the industrial and domestic sector due to increasing demands for industrial productivity, and massive migration of labour force to Tirupur under sustained industrial growth.

At present around 800 dyeing units are engaged in dyeing and/or bleaching activities. Most of these dyeing units are small-scale or cottage industries, and most of them undertake their order on job-work basis. These job-orders are mostly from direct exporters, who opt to share the workload in order to meet the deadlines, rather than facing cancellation of the export orders in the event of labour unrest, unfavourable weather conditions, etc.

Clean water is the critical requirement of these dyeing units, as the quality of the water largely affects the quality of dyeing and bleaching. While these industries use clean water for processing,

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the chemicals used by these industries viz., wetting agents, soda ash, caustic soda, peroxides, sodium hypochlorite, bleaching powder, common salt, acids, dye stuffs, soap oil and, fixing and finishing agents make the waste water very harmful to the environment. An assessment estimates that around 78,000 tonnes of salt, and 6,600 tonnes of bleaching powder are used every year in the dyeing units of Tirupur.

The bleaching, dyeing, and printing processes are water intensive industrial activities. For every kilogram of yarn, approximately 20-30 litres of water is used. When all the units work with their full production capacity, in a day approximately 80,000 to 1,30,000 m3 of fresh water is required for the process (Crow, 1999). The intensity of resources utilization is immense as described in the resource flow analysis diagram (Fig.2; Lowe, 2001). Increased demand for ground water in textile wet processing aggravated ground water depletion.

Out of the total water requirement, around 80% is daily transported from nearby villages and supplied by lorries to the textile wet processing units in Tirupur. The fresh water supplied by the lorries is mixed up with the locally available ground water for dyeing process in order to save water costs. As the ground water has higher TDS (around 2500-3000 mg/L), use of this water in textile dyeing process has further enhanced the TDS values of the discharged effluent, and it becomes difficult to treat the effluent to achieve desired levels of TDS for discharging as per the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board's norms and standards (Table-1), leading to greater environmental concerns.

According to the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, an estimated 80.70 million litres of effluent water is discharged daily into the Noyyal River from dyeing and bleaching units in Tirupur. Another 3 million litres of untreated municipal waste water also find its way into the river, making it one of the most polluted rivers in the State. Out of the 800 hosiery bleaching and

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dying units, 277 units have formed eight CETPs with a design capacity of about 42.55 million litres per day (MLD; Table-2). With an approximate total effluent discharge of 80 million litres per day, the eight CETPs contribute about 53% of the effluent.

Though the CETPs are successful in removing colour of the effluent to the desired levels, they are incapable of reducing the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) of the discharges to the permissible limit of 2100 mg/L, for the reason that good dyeing requires higher concentration of salt, and the currently employed treatment procedures do not reduce TDS. Thus, discharge of high TDS effluent into the Noyyal River, and its subsequent percolation into the ground water system in the down stream aquifers in the areas of Tirupur, Avinashi, Kangeyam, Perundurai, Erode and Karur have rendered the ground water totally unsuitable both for drinking purpose as well as for irrigating agricultural lands. Since the Noyyal River is a seasonal river, with fresh water flowing only in monsoon periods, during other seasons the Noyyal River is found to pollute river Cauvery at the point of confluence in Kodumudy.

This Orathupalayam dam was constructed way back in 1991 at the cost of INR.16.46 crores with n water spread area of 1049 acres in order to irrigate an area of 500 acres in Erode district and 9875 acres in Karur district (Govindarajalu, 2003). Now this Orathupalaym Dam has become a mere storage tank for industrial effluent, which could neither be discharged into the river, nor be stored due to percolation and contamination of ground water aquifers. Thus, the environmental pollution due to industrial activity in Tirupur has significantly affected the Noyyal River, totally contaminated the Orathupalayam Dam, and has caused great economic loss for farmers in the downstream areas of Erode and Karur districts in addition to contaminating the river Cauvery.

At the same time, the textile industry in Tirupur has to grow further in order to achieve our target textile product export of US$ 50 Billion by the year 2010. Such growth is now greatly hampered

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due to immense environmental damage caused to the Noyyal river, ground water system, and agricultural production, by the textile wet processing industries in Tirupur. In order to solve these environmental problems, it is essential that the water utilized by the textile wet processing industries is reused, and water pollution is eliminated through implementation of zero-discharge system. Since most of the major overseas buyers insist fair and cleaner environment practices by the textile wet processing industry, adoption of cleaner production technologies is the need of the hour.

About Manickapurampudur Common Effluent Treatment Plant (P) Ltd. (MPCETP), Tirupur: The Manickapurampudur Common Effluent Treatment Plant (P) Ltd. (here after referred as MPCETP) is located in Manickapurampudur village in Tirupur, on the banks of Noyyal River. It is formed in the year 1996 by ten individual textile wet processing (bleaching and dyeing) units (Table-3) with an investment of INR.12.7 millions to treat 1600 m3/day of textile processing effluent. The average monthly usage of chemicals utilized by the ten members of the MPCETP is given in Table-4, and the operation cost of the plant from the year 1999 to 2003 is presented in Table-5.

The investment in the Common Effluent Treatment Plant is a non-profit capital investment, which curtails profitability in the heavily competing market. However, textile dye effluent causes grave environmental damages which also results in public health problems, and economic loss to agriculture. Thus, it is very essential to take into account the environmental problems while addressing economic benefits through industrial growth.

In order to promote public interest, and to save the environment, the State and Central Governments have together sanctioned a subsidy of 50% of the total project cost with equal

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share. Based on the TNPCB's (Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, Chennai) authorized consultant's design, subsequent technical feasibility approval of Anna University, Chennai, and National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur, the said subsidy was granted by both the State and Central Governments.

Both private and government participation made it possible to commence the operations of the MPCETP in 1999. From that day onwards it is functioning properly. The treated effluent, which obeys the norms of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, is discharged into the Noyyal River. In order to regularly monitor the proper functioning of this CETP, the discharged effluent are regularly analyzed by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, Tirupur, and the analytical results are given in Table-6. Presently, all the member units of the MPCETP are catering to the needs of the hosiery garment exporters of Tirupur. The contribution of MPCETP members to the country's foreign exchange earning is approximately INR.350 millions per year.

Present scheme of effluent treatment at MPCETP, Tirupur: Presently chemical treatment method is adopted for the treatment of textile dye effluent. The treatment method, in brief, is as follows. Initially the raw effluent from all member units is passed to the equalization tank. Here the raw effluent are thoroughly mixed to obtain a homogenous effluent. Aeration is also carried out in order to reduce Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD).

In the second stage, the effluent from equalization tank is supplied to flash mixture and then to clariflocculator. Here, lime, ferrous sulphate and polyelectrolyte are added to the effluent, which results in the removal of dyes from the effluent. The sludge generated from the flocculator is supplied to solar evaporation ponds where sludge is dried and stored in a safer place. The treated effluent from flocculator is passed through a sand bed to remove suspended matter and organics

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present in the effluent. Then, the effluent is discharged as per the norms (Table-1) of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board.

Sludge Management at MPCETP, Tirupur: Every day around 1000-1500 kg of sludge is generated in the MPCETP, depending on the quantity and quality of the effluent treated. This sludge is a by product of the chemical treatment method adopted for the treatment of textile dye effluent. Currently the sludge is stored on-site, fully covered with 120 GSM thick tarpaulin sheet. This sheet protects penetration of rain water into the sludge-mass and its subsequent percolation into the ground. This polythene cover also act as a protection cover against blowing wind in order to prevent air-dispersal of the fine particles of the sludge. This 120 GSM polythene sheet is tightly held by polythene bags filled with sludge and stacked around the sludge dump.

The Need for Upgradation and Modernization of Effluent Treatment at MPCETP, Tirupur: There are several reasons why upgradation and modernization has become important and need of the hour. They are: 1.

The loss of ecology to the Noyyal River basin exceeded INR.100 crores. Further damage to the environment and ecology can be arrested only if Zero Discharge system is implemented.

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Maintaining discharged effluent's TDS below 2100 mg/L (as per the TNPCB's norms) is not achievable using the current treatment techniques, since ground water, which is utilized in the dyeing process, already contains about 2500 - 3000 mg/L of TDS. Thus, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board has issued orders to processing units to upgrade their treating facilities and make use of recycled water for processing purposes.

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3.

Though the Research & Development work carried out at MPCETP by EPIC-In for direct evaporation of the effluent using micro nozzles has been successful, due to air pollution concerns it was abandoned. Further, water, which is an important economic resource, can not be recycled in this process.

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A time-frame has been set by the regulating authorities for immediate implementation of the Zero Discharge system. Thus, there is an urgent need to go for the upgradation and modernization programme.

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Delay in implementation, or closure of the industry, would severely get reflected in large scale unemployment, socio-economic disorder, and invasion of foreign industrial power into our economy, which will pave way for combined destabilization of the country and its economy.

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Recovering from such an economic loss and social disorder will cost several thousand crores rupees to the Government, impeding industrial growth, infrastructure development, efforts to achieve self-reliance and become an economic powerhouse in the world, and maintenance of political power balance in the region.

As a result of various meetings and consultations with the TNPCB members, the MPCETP has decided to adopt the reverse osmosis system for the treatment of textile dye effluent. This way the processed water can be reused, and the salt can be recovered for recycling. Thus, in pursuit of its goal on meeting environmental and ethical norms, MPCETP has conducted a Conference on Improvement of Textile Effluent Treatment & Workshop on Recycling of Waste Water Using Reverse Osmosis in collaboration with the Regional Office of the Textiles Commissioner, Coimbatore, in Tirupur on 30th December 2003 in association with EPIC-In, Coimbatore. A pilot study for a week duration was carried out using Vibratory Shear Enhanced Process (VSEP) reverse osmosis technology for testing the recovery of water from textile dye effluent. Using this method, the raw effluent was directly treated by the reverse osmosis system to produce reusable

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water. This system produced reusable water with a Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) < 500 mg/L for the feed water having around 10,000 mg/L of TDS. The main advantage of this particular reverse osmosis system is the elimination of chemicals in the pretreatment process, which might significantly reduce environmental problems associated with water recovery. Now, MPCETP is in the process of implementing the reverse osmosis system for water and salt recovery and reuse.

Since, in textiles sector India has the largest export potential (Subodh Kumar, 2002), and Tirupur has been identified as one of the Small Scale Industrial Cluster among the 358 clusters by UNIDO (2003), it would be beneficial if this cluster is developed in order to promote our Foreign Exchange earnings.

Since detrimental impact on the industrial activity at Tirupur due to environmental concerns is expected to severely damage the growth of our Country in the emerging scenario of open market economy, there is an urgent need to help out the textile wet processing industries. Also, recently it was pointed out by the Textile Commissioner (Subodh Kumar, 2002) that the textile industry accounts for an insignificant percentage of imports and at the same time remains as the single largest exporter with further potential to grow. He also remarked that the decentralized powerloom sector and the processing sector are required to be strengthened by way of technology upgradation to support the growing apparel industry. This view has greatly motivated the upgradation and modernization of the MPCETP.

Implementation of Zero-Discharge: EPIC-In, Coimbatore, is providing technical assistance to the Manickapurampudur Common Effluent Treatment Plant Private Limited (MPCETP), Tirupur, for the modernization and upgradation of the MPCETP to implement zero discharge system for efficient recycling and reuse

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of water & salt. The present scheme of achieving zero discharge at the Manickapurampudur Common Effluent Treatment Plant is as described below, and depicted in Fig.3:

a) Reverse Osmosis (R.O) system for treating 2000 m3/day of textile dye effluent for recovery of pure water for reuse in textile wet processing. b) Nano-Filtration (N.F) assembly for salt recovery from R.O. reject and its reuse in dyeing/other industries. c) Multiple Effect Evaporator for recovery of reusable water from 200 m3/day of reject from nano filtration assembly. d) Solar pond for evaporation of mother liquor from Multiple Effect Evaporator, and separation of salts. e) Windmills (6 x 250 kWh = 1500 kWh) for power generation to cater to the needs of the reverse osmosis, nano filtration, and other electrical appliances of the Common Effluent Treatment Plant. Since reverse osmosis sytem is power intensive, implementation of windmill makes this project financially feasible.

In addition, currently existing private forest with an areal coverage of 5 acres will be expanded to 20 acres by the MPCETP in order to promote environmental benefits.

By this upgradation and modernization process, the MPCETP becomes the first Common Effluent Treatment Plant in Tirupur to adopt a zero discharge system. As a fully functional model of a zero discharge system in successful operation, this unit will greatly encourage other units to follow the suit. This will finally eliminate sludge generation, enhance reuse of salt utilized in the dyeing process, reduce demand for ground water supply, enhance local ground water table, prevent further ground water contamination, enhance energy conservation through utilization of nonconventional energy resources, improve the local micro climate, and avoid loss of ecology.

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Common Benefits of Upgradation and Modernization of CETPs in Tirupur: The benefits of upgradation and modernization of all the existing effluent treatment facilities in Tirupur can be enumerated as given below:

a) Each day, around 10 crore litres of fresh water is utilized by the bleaching & dyeing units in Tirupur. Around 80% of this fresh water is supplied through lorries at a rate of around INR.800/- for 10,000-12,000 litres. Thus, approximately, annually an estimated amount of INR.200 crores is spent for the purchase of fresh water through lorries. If water is recycled through modernization & upgradation through reverse osmosis, this amount can be saved. This saving can be effectively utilized for industrial development purposes to meet the potential competitors in the emerging open market. In addition, ground water depletion and contamination are drastically reduced. b) Water recycling greatly reduces dependency on lorries for fresh water. This cuts back spending of INR.128 crores/year on foreign exchange for importing fuel. Further, the pressure on traffic is reduced, road damage and frequent repair is avoided, which could result in low maintenance costs, and improvement in the economy. c) Annual agricultural productivity loss in villages affected by the industrial activities in Tirupur amounts to INR.18.14 Crores. The loss to water supply schemes in Tirupur cluster amounts to INR.32.44 Crores. Annual economic loss for the fisheries sector is estimated at INR.7.63 lakhs. Thus, the industrial pollution in Tirupur has alone contributed to an economic loss of INR.51.34 crores annually (Loss of Ecology, 2003). By establishing zero discharge effluent treatment plant, both damages to the environment and economic loss could be averted. d) By implementing zero-discharge system, pollution of Noyyal River, Orathupalayam Dam, and the down stream areas in the districts of Erode, Karur, as well as Cauvery is deterred.

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e) Electrical power requirement for the proposed modernized plant is met by windmill. This greatly reduces costs of recovery of water and salt from the effluent, making it more economically viable project. This will help the dyeing industrial sector to offer competitive price for its products in the international market. Also, this reduces electrical power demand on State Electricity Board, so that it can be distributed to other power needy industries. f) The large scale plantation programme, if followed by all the CEPTs, will reduce the demand on forests for wood and restore eco-balance. Growth of forest in and around Tirupur will promote rainfall, promote ground water recharge, dilute the high TDS ground water to natural levels. Earnings in Carbon Currency through forest development will allow us to emit more CO2 in to the atmosphere for developmental purposes. g) Production of hazardous waste (sludge) is averted through upgradation to the zero discharge system.

National Environment Policy and Zero Discharge Scheme of MPCETP, Tirupur: This project achieves all of the principal objectives of the National Environment Policy - 2004 through implementation of reverse osmosis for water reuse, nano-filtration for salt recovery, Multiple Effect Evaporator for salt recovery and reject management, power generation through windmill and afforestation to meet partial needs of the wood supply for the Multiple Effect Evaporator.

The principal objectives of the National Environment Policy-2004 and how they are met by this project are listed below:

1) Conservation of critical environmental resources: Through conservation of water resource by water recovery and reuse.

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2) Intra-generation equity-livelihood security for the poor: Achieved through augmentation of ground water potential, prevention of environmental damage to enhance the water quality of Noyyal River (so that it can be effectively utilized for irrigation purposes), utilization of wind energy for power production (so that power savings can be utilized in other power intensive industries), and public health problems are taken care of (by reducing contaminant discharge into the Noyyal River system, and its subsequent percolation into the ground water). 3) Inter-generation equity: The reclamation of Orathupalayam dam and Noyyal River is made feasible by the implementation of Zero Discharge system, so that agricultural production get increased, and future generations are not unduly put to distress. 4) Integration of environmental concerns in economic and social development:

Made possible

by implementing zero discharge system, which not only takes care of the environmental pollution, but also increases the price competitiveness through effective utilization of natural resources, increases productivity by reduced expenditures toward buying water and salt, promotes employment through industrial growth, and takes care of Indian economy by getting more export orders by exercising cleaner production practices. 5) Efficiency in environmental resources use:

By water and salt reuse, and wind energy

utilization for running zero discharge system, available environmental resources are effectively utilized. 6) Environmental governance:

In order to achieve this objective, where rationality,

accountability, and reduction in time and costs are essential principles, a reduction in operation and maintenance cost of the zero discharge system is achieved by the utilization of windmill; otherwise this project becomes economically unviable. The dependency on transported water is greatly reduced, so that drought and other calamities could not affect the efficiency of the processing units.

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7) Enhancement of resources for environmental conservation: This objective is achieved by augmenting the existing 5 acres of forest cover to 20 acres. Thus, the local micro climate gets improved, soil fertility is restored, and ecological balance is sustained.

While implementation of this project greatly reduces environmental pollution, it will also help us to overcome international competition in textiles sector in the open market economy commencing in the year 2005. Especially, we will be well equipped to compete with our potential competitor China, and to meet the target of US $ 50 billion in textiles goods export by year 2010 as envisaged in National Textiles Policy, 2000.

Recent Advances towards Cleaner Production in Textile Dyeing: While waste minimization is suggested as one of the criteria for achieving cleaner production, elimination of use of large quantities of water in textile wet processing is the best way of implementing zero discharge. On the one hand it prevents pollution of the environment and, on the other, it promotes water conservation. Such a possibility is unveiled by recent developments in supercritical CO2 dyeing, which eliminates use of water and salt and improves the quality of dyeing.

Acknowledgement: We are very much thankful to Mr.P.Saminathan, Managing Director, Manickapurampudur Common Effluent Plant (P). Ltd., Tirupur, Tamil Nadu, and all the member units for providing us with enough data and necessary information for presentation in this conference.

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References: Apparel Export Promotion Council, Tirupur. http://www.aepcindia.com/salient.asp Balaji, S. (2003) State of Environment Report of Tamil Nadu, Department of Environment, Government of Tamil Nadu. Banerjee, A. and Munshi, K. (2003) How efficiently is capital allocated? Evidence from the knitted garment industry in Tirupur. Bureau for Research in Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD) Working Paper No.004, Department of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Blomqvist, A. (1996) Food and fashion: Water management and collective action among irrigation farmers and textile industrialists in south India. Linkopeng University, Linkopeng, Sweden. Govindarajalu, K. (2003) Industrial effluent and health status: A case study of Noyyal river basin. In: Martin J.Bunch, V.Madha Suresh and T.Vasantha Kumaran (Eds.), Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Environment and Health, Chennai, India. 15-17 December, 2003. Department of Geography, University of Madras & Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University, 150-157. Harris, N., Bulbul, L., Mainuddin, K., Meng, K., Naguib, S. and Srinivas, S. (2000) Garment-Making and Urbanisation: An Introductory Study of Four Cases. Working Paper Series6, Urban Development Division, World Bank, pp.60. Palanisami, K., Raviraj, A., Thirumurthi, S. and Sellamuthu, K.M. (2004) Augmenting ground water resources by artificial recharge AGRAR. Inception report for the research site at Kodangipalayam village, Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu, Water Technology Centre, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, pp.57. Postel, S. (1999) Pillar of Sand: Can the irrigation miracle last? World Watch Institute, Washington. Revenga, C. (2000) Will there be enough water? In: Pilot Analysis of Global Ecosystems: Freshwater Systems. Earth Trends: Featured Topic, October 2000. Sakthivel, A. (2004) Tirupur knitwear export cluster, India. In: ITC Executive Forum on National Export Strategies - Competitiveness through public-private partnership: Successes and lessons learned, Montreux, Switzerland, 26-29 September 2004. Chari, S. (2003) Capital as toil: Peasant-workers and the agrarian past in a South Indian industrial town. School of Development Studies, London School of Economics, University of NatalDurban, UK. Confederation of Indian http://www.ciionline.org

Industry

(2004)

20

Opportunity

India:

Textile

Industry.

Crow, M.T. (1999) Successfully adjusting to environmental regulation: The small-firm cluster of Tirupur, India. Dissertation, Master in City Planning, Massachusetts Insitute of Technology, pp.118. Heyer, J. (2000) The changing position of thottam farmers in villages in rural Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, between 1981/2 and 1996. QEH Working Paper Series No.59, Centre for Development Studies, University of Oxford, Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford, United Kingdom. Loss of Ecology (Prevention & Payments of Compensation), Authority for the State of Tamil Nadu, Chennai. Assessment of Loss of Ecology and Environment in the Noyyal and Amaravathy River basins due to pollution by industries. Part III: Economic Evaluation of Environmental Damages. Report prepared by Centre for Environmental Studies, Anna University, September 2003. Lowe, E.A. (2001) Eco Industrial Park Handbook for Asian Developing Countries. Report to Asian Development Bank, October 2001. Madras School of Economics (1998) Economic analysis of environmental problems in bleaching and dyeing units and suggestions for policy action. Supported by UNIDO project LARGE. National Environment Policy (2004) Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, New Delhi (Draft). UNIDO (2003) List of 358 SSI clusters in India identified by UNIDO Focal Point in India. http://www.smallindustryindia.com/publications/books/clusdev/annexure.pdf

21

Table-1 Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) norms for Textile Dye Effluent Discharge into Natural Water Systems S.No.

Characteristics

1

pH

2

Temperature

3

Particles size of total suspended solids

4

Unit

Tolerance Limit 5.5-9.0

°C

40°C

nm/ micron

Shall pass through 850 micron IS sieve

Total suspended solids

mg/L

100

5

Total dissolved solids (inorganics)

mg/L

2100

6

Chloride (as Cl)

mg/L

1000

7

Sulphide (as S)

mg/L

2

8

Sluphate (as SO2-4)

mg/L

1000

9

Fluoride (as F)

mg/L

2

10

Ammonical nitrogen (as N)

mg/L

50

11

Sodium

%

-

12

Copper (as Cu)

mg/L

3

13

Zinc (as Zn)

mg/L

1

14

Phenolic compounds

mg/L

1

15

Oil and grease

mg/L

10

16

Boron (as B)

mg/L

2

17

Biological oxygen demand; 5 days @ 20°C

mg/L

30

18

Chemical oxygen demand

mg/L

250

19

Total residual chlorine

mg/L

1

20

Arsenic (as As)

mg/L

0.2

21

Cadmium (as Cd)

mg/L

2

22

Total chromium (as Cr)

mg/L

2

23

Chromium (VI)

mg/L

0.1

24

Lead (as Pb)

mg/L

0.1

25

Selenium (as Se)

mg/L

0.05

26

Mercury (as Hg)

mg/L

0.01

22

S.No.

Characteristics

Unit

Tolerance Limit

-

absent

27

Pesticides

28

Alpha emitters

µCu/mL

10-7

29

Beta emitters

µCu/mL

10-6

30

Free ammonia (as NH3)

mg/L

5

31

Dissolved phosphates (as P)

mg/L

5

32

Total Kjaldhal nitrogen (as N)

mg/L

100

33

Cyanide (as CN)

mg/L

0.2

34

Nickel (as N)

mg/L

9

35

Residual sodium carbonate

mg/L

(Source: TNPCB, Tirupur)

23

Table-2 List of Common Effluent Treatment Plants in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu, With Their Effluent Treatment Capacity

S.No.

A

CETP

No. of member units

Commenced during

Effluent Generation (m3/day)A

1

Andipalayam CETP

23

Feb. 1999

5,000

2

Angeripalayam CETP

79

Mar. 1999

8,500

3

Chinnakarai CETP

35

Jan. 1999

5,000

4

Kasipalayam CETP

16

Jan. 1999

4,000

5

Kunnankalpalayam CETP

20

Apr. 1999

4,250

6

Manickapurampudur CETP

10

Apr. 1999

1,600

7

Mannarai CETP

21

Apr. 1999

4,200

8

Veerapandi CETP

73

Jan. 1999

10,000

Total

277

Other individual units

523

Permitted amount of effluent generation by Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board.

24

42,550

Table-3 LIST OF MEMBER UNITS OF MPCETP WITH DISCHARGE CAPACITY

S.No.

Name and address of the member unit

Quantity of effluent permitted to the CETP (m3/day) 215

1

Vino Colours SF 248/1, Manthoppu, Manickapurampudur Manoor P.O,.Tirupur 641606

205

2

Sun Textile Process SF 235/1, 235/2, Peykkattu Thottam Manickapurampudur, Manoor P.O, Tirupur 641 606

170

3

Marvel Dyeing Mill SF 275/2, Karaikkattu Thottam Manickapurampudur, Manoor P.O, Tirupur 641 606.

140

4

Pratheepa Process SF 236/1, Vembadi Thottam Manickapurampudur Manoor P.O, Tirupur 641 606

240

5

Sri Chakra Colours SF 236/2, Manthoppu Manickapurampudur Manoor P.O, Tirupur 641 606 Akshera Process SF 228/1, Peykkadu Thottam Manickapurampudur Manoor P.O, Tirupur 641 606.

155

6

Velmurugan Dyeing & Bleaching SF 275/1, Karaikkattu ThottamManickapurampudur Manoor P.O., Tirupur 641 606

125

7

Thiyagu Process SF 236/2, Manthoppu Manickapurampudur Manoor P.O, Tirupur 641 606

125

8

Navy Bleaching & Dyeing SF 236/2, Manthoppu Manickapurampudur Manoor P.O, Tirupur 641 606.

150

9

75

10

Wintech Bleachers SF 236/1, Karaikkattu ThottamManickapurampudur Manoor P.O., Tirupur 641 606 Present level of total effluent discharge 25

1600 m3/day

Table-4 Average Monthly Usuage of Selected Chemicals by All the Ten Member Units of MPCETP S.No.

Chemical

Quantity (kg/L)

1

Wetting oil

2,400 kg

2

Peroxide

8,000 kg

3

Acetic acid

24,000 L

4

Dye stuff

8,000 kg

5

Salt

80,000 kg

6

Soda ash

32,000 kg

7

Bleaching powder

800 kg

8

Caustic soda

6000 kg

9

Soaping oil

2400 L

10

Softner

2400 L

11

Fixing oil

1600 L

26

Table-5: Yearly Operation Cost of MPCETP, Tirupur.

Cost of treatment chemicals in INR.

Electricity cost

Administrative & other over heads

Year Lime

Ferrous sulphate

Polyelectrolyte

Total

Quantity of effluent flow

Treatment cost per 100 cu.m

Total cost of chemicals

1999-2000

4,63,643

2,04,361

-

6,68,004

1,45,027

3,80,019

11,93,250

1,45,038.90

823

2000-2001

7,50,894

3,11,304

-

10,62,198

2,56,075

13,04,539

26,15,813

2,77,955.30

941

2001-2002

8,21,022

4,50,485

2,685

12,74,192

3,21,385

14,22,972

29,88,212

3,29,103.18

908

2002-2003

10,18,219

3,52,808

90,518

14,61,545

4,82,497

13,21,154

32,65,196

4,54,255.00

719

Total

30,53,778

13,18,958

93,203

44,65,939

12,04,984

44,28,684

1,00,62,471

12,06,352.38

27

834

(average)

MPCETP - Upgradation & Modernization Proposal Under TCIDS Scheme

Table-6 Analytical Results of Treated Effluent of the Manickapurampudur Common Effluent Treatment Plant, Tirupur. (Analysed at the District Environmental Laboratory, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, Tirupur)

S No

Parameter

29.12.2003

18.9.2003

31.10.2003

30.8.2003

20.6.2003

23.5.2003

1

pH

7.93

9.44

8.85

7.58

7.97

8.57

2

Total suspended solids (mg/L)

80

104

156

132

8

90

3

Total dissolved solids (mg/L)

8404

7300

11568

9120

7252

8518

4

Chloride as Cl (mg/L)

3439

3679

5398

4039

3739

3879

5

Sulphate as SO2-4 (mg/L)

678

509

695

522

823

646

6

COD (mg/L)

73

79

99

43

146

78

7

BOD 3 days at 27°C (mg/L)

9

27

24

7

63

39

8

Oil and grease (mg/L)

4

3

2

1

3

2

9

Total residual chlorine (mg/L)

<1

<1

<1

BDL

BDL

BDL

10

Sulphide (mg/L)

<1

<1

<1

BDL

BDL

BDL

11

Phenolic compound (mg/L)

< 0.0005

< 0.0005

< 0.0005

BDL

BDL

BDL

12

Percentage sodium (%)

88

87

74

77

70.2

58.8

13

Total chromium (mg/L)

0.381

1.095

0.148

0.688

BDL

0.48

28

Prepared by EPIC-In, Coimbatore

MPCETP - Upgradation & Modernization Proposal Under TCIDS Scheme S No

Parameter

29.12.2003

18.9.2003

31.10.2003

30.8.2003

20.6.2003

23.5.2003

14

Copper (mg/L)

< 0.0015

0.22

< 0.0015

0.25

0.07

0.185

15

Zinc (mg/L)

< 0.0015

0.56

0.23

0.56

0.6

0.53

16

Lead (mg/L)

0.16

< 0.015

< 0.015

BDL

0.1

BDL

17

Nickel (mg/L)

0.21

0.55

< 0.006

0.93

0.3

BDL

18

Cadmium (mg/L)

< 0.0008

0.02

< 0.0008

BDL

BDL

BDL

29

Prepared by EPIC-In, Coimbatore

MPCETP - Upgradation & Modernization Proposal Under TCIDS Scheme Table-6 continued........

S No

Parameter

29.4.2003

8.7.2004

20.7.2004

28.6.2004

22.4.2004

26.3.2004

1

pH

8.24

7.68

7.91

8.28

7.31

7.37

2

Total suspended solids (mg/L)

56

108

76

84

46

44

3

Total dissolved solids (mg/L)

3324

10316

9300

9060

7994

10014

4

Chloride as Cl (mg/L)

4019

4705

4037

4835

3827

4194

5

Sulphate as SO2-4 (mg/L)

828

613

651

722

713

658

6

COD (mg/L)

93

160

379

160

48

102

7

BOD 3 days at 27°C (mg/L)

29

67

69

51

10

75

8

Oil and grease (mg/L)

2

3

6

5

<1

<1

9

Total residual chlorine (mg/L)

BDL

<1

<1

<1

<1

<1

10

Sulphide (mg/L)

BDL

10

<1

<1

<1

<1

11

Phenolic compound (mg/L)

BDL

< 0.0005

< 0.0005

<1

< 0.0005

< 0.0005

12

Percentage sodium (%)

73.5

84

79

81

76

83

13

Total chromium (mg/L)

0.31

0.81

0.26

0.27

< 0.01

0.098

30

Prepared by EPIC-In, Coimbatore

MPCETP - Upgradation & Modernization Proposal Under TCIDS Scheme S No

Parameter

18.9.2003

31.10.2003

30.8.2003

20.6.2003

23.5.2003

14

Copper (mg/L)

0.072

< 0.0015

< 0.0015

< 0.0015

< 0.0015

0.09

15

Zinc (mg/L)

0.3

0.104

0.24

0.11

0.12

0.01

16

Lead (mg/L)

BDL

< 0.015

< 0.015

< 0.015

< 0.015

< 0.015

17

Nickel (mg/L)

0.59

< 0.006

< 0.006

< 0.006

< 0.006

< 0.006

18

Cadmium (mg/L)

BDL

< 0.0008

< 0.0008

< 0.0008

< 0.0008

< 0.0008

31

Prepared by EPIC-In, Coimbatore

MPCETP - Upgradation & Modernization Proposal Under TCIDS Scheme Table-6 continued........

S No

Parameter

31.1.2004

24.1.2004

1

pH

6.76

7.91

2

Total suspended solids (mg/L)

100

296

3

Total dissolved solids (mg/L)

8528

8024

4

Chloride as Cl (mg/L)

3319

3999

5

Sulphate as SO2-4 (mg/L)

448

648

6

COD (mg/L)

8

88

7

BOD 3 days at 27°C (mg/L)

1

17

8

Oil and grease (mg/L)

<1

6

9

Total residual chlorine (mg/L)

<1

<1

10

Sulphide (mg/L)

<1

<1

11

Phenolic compound (mg/L)

< 0.0005

< 0.0005

12

Percentage sodium (%)

61

79

13

Total chromium (mg/L)

< 0.01

0.086

32

Prepared by EPIC-In, Coimbatore

S No

Parameter

31.1.2004

24.1.2004

14

Copper (mg/L)

< 0.0015

0.056

15

Zinc (mg/L)

< 0.0015

< 0.0015

16

Lead (mg/L)

< 0.015

< 0.015

17

Nickel (mg/L)

< 0.006

< 0.006

18

Cadmium (mg/L)

< 0.0008

< 0.008

33

Prepared by EPIC-In, Coimbatore

Fig.-2: Resource Flow Analysis for Tirupur Town (Units: Water – Thousand liters per day; Electrical energy – thousand kWh per year; Others – tons per year).

Source: Lowe, E.A. (2001) Eco Industrial Park Handbook for Asian Developing Countries. Report to Asian Development Bank, October 2001.

36

Fig.3

Manickapurampudur CETP – Upgradation & Modernization Zero Discharge Scheme for Water & Salt Recovery & Reuse Pure Water (for dyeing)

Dyeing Process

Raw Effluent (Dye Bath + Wash Water)

RO Permeate

RO Plant

RO Reject

NF Permeate

NF Plant

NF Reject

Multiple Effect Evaporator

Recovered Water

Reuse for Dark Shade Fabrics

Forest Cover

Salt (for reuse)

Mother Liquor

Solar Pan Evaporation

Salt (for reuse)

Article presented by S.ESWARAMOORTHI at the International Conference on Soil and Groundwater Contamination: Risk Assessment and Remedial Measures during December 8 -11, 2004 at the National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad, India Comments on this article can be forwarded to [email protected]