Efficiency of the coagulation/flocculation method for the treatment of dyebath effluents

Textile dyeing processes are among the most environmentally unfriendly industrial processes, because they produce coloured wastewaters that are heavily polluted with dyes, textile auxiliaries and chemicals. The coagulation/flocculation method was studied as a wastewater treatment technique for the decolourization of residual dyebath effluents after dyeing cotton/polyamide blends using reactive and acid dyes. It was discovered that a combination of aluminium sulphate and a cationic organic flocculant yields an effective treatment for residual dyebath wastewaters since almost complete decolourization was achieved, TOC, COD, AOX, BOD and the anionic surfactants were reduced and the biodegradability was increased. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.