A sustainable solution to treat textile effluent by employing combined coagulation, oxidation and ultrafiltration techniques

Presently, Pakistan is the 8th largest exporter of textile products in the world and this sector is considered the backbone of Pakistan’s economy. Due to intensified use of dyes, chemicals, and water, the textile sector is also listed as the highest contributor to environmental pollution. Therefore, to approach the demand of new global trend towards sustainability, the textile industry along with others need to focus on resource recovery and reuse. The present study was therefore planned for the treatment of textile effluent composed from 04 textile mill samples. The textile effluent is treated by employing coagulation, ozone oxidation, and ultrafiltration techniques. All the samples exceeded the standard limits as given in Sindh Environmental Quality Standard (SEQS 2016). Each individual treatment provided promising results in terms of reduction in pollution load. Overall findings revealed a remarkable decrease in total suspended solid (TSS) (96 %), total dissolved solid (TDS) (78 %), chemical oxygen demand (COD) (93 %), Biological Oxygen Demand-BOD (93 %), oil grease (96 %) and heavy metals (HM) (98 %). It is suggested that combined techniques are the best option for textile effluent treatment.