Case Study: Effectiveness of Wastewater Treatment from

Dyeing Plants in Dhaka (Division)

Course: ENV 501

Batch: MESM-172

Semester: Summer 2017

Date: 18/08/2017

Submitted to: Dr. Kamal Uddin Ahmed

Submitted by:
Sadiyya Sultana, Sarowar Jahan, Zabead Kayser, Ikram
Hossain, Abdisalam Omar Nalaye
Letter of Transmittal

August 18, 2017

Dr. Kamal Uddin Ahmed

Department of Environmental Science and Management
North South University, Dhaka

Dear Sir,

It is our pleasure to submit you our case study report on the “Effectiveness of
Wastewater Treatment From Dyeing Plants in Dhaka”.

We have prepared this report based on the data gathered from three dyeing
plants and their respective Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) within the Gazipur
and Savar areas of Dhaka, secondary sources of data, and related
organizations. Reliable and valid information was used to prepare the
following report.

We strongly feel that our topic is of significant importance for its contribution
to furthering our knowledge on harmful and environmentally damaging
practices within the RMG sector, and we believe that our case study’s results
can contribute to improving environmental policies and regulations within this
industry.

We apologize for any inconvenience that you may face during the review of this
report, and our team will be available for any clarification that is required.

Regards,

Sadiyya, Sarowar, Zabead, Ikram, Abdisalam

Department of Environmental Science and Management
North South University, Dhaka

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1. Introduction – Background and Rationale .............................................................................. 4
2. Methodology ..................................................................................................................................... 10
3. Results ................................................................................................................................................ 14
4. Discussion ......................................................................................................................................... 16
5. Limitations ........................................................................................................................................ 18
6. References ......................................................................................................................................... 19

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1. Introduction – Background and Rationale

The Ready Made Garments (RMG) sector has been the largest contributor to

exponential economic growth in Bangladesh. Starting from its origins in the late 1970s, the

industry has grown rapidly, and within the span of four decades, providing jobs for some

50% of the total industrial workforce and contributing towards 9.5% of the country’s GDP

(Sultana et al. 2013).

However, the industry has been identified as one of the major sources of pollution in

the country, due to the activities involved in the processing end - slashing, bleaching,

mercerizing, screen printing, yarn dyeing and fancy dyeing. Chemicals used in these

industries include acrylonitrile, chlorinated phenols, salicylanilide, organic mercurial

compounds, and copper ammonium carbonates (Sultana et al. 2013). These production

processes not only use large volumes of water, but also generate wastewater in large

quantities. Most of this wastewater comprises of chemicals such as oil, grease, ammonia,

sulfide, leads, artificial colors and dyes, hazardous pollutants, heavy metals and other toxic

substances. The organic compounds degrade the water quality during decomposition by

depleting the dissolved oxygen levels. The non-biodegradable organic compounds tend to

persist in the water system for a long time, and pass into the food chain. Inorganic pollutants,

such as metallic salts, and basic and acidic compounds undergo different interactions, and

deteriorate the water quality. A large amount of salt being released into the wastewater is a

major concern, as most of it is not removed by the conventional method of effluent treatment

(Sultana et al. 2013).

A major concern in this sector has focused on textile dyeing factories, which generate

a large amount of wastewater on a regular basis, usually into the surrounding water

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channels, agricultural fields, irrigation channels, drains, surface water sources, etc. (Munnaf

et al. 2014). This has irreversible damage to ecosystem and aquatic life, as well as on fisheries

and the agricultural economy. There is continuous change in the chemical, biological, and

physical properties of the aquatic environment from the release of textile and dyeing

industrial effluents, such as in temperature, color, odor, noise, turbidity, etc. The presence of

dyes in the water is not only aesthetically objectionable, but can cause many water borne

diseases through the mucous membrane, causing dermatitis, perforation of the nasal

septum, and severe irritation of the respiratory tract (Islam et al. 2011). Sulphates being

released into the wastewater, are converted to poisonous hydrogen sulphide, and a large

amount of evidence shows that residual textile dyes released into the wastewater acts as

respiratory sensitizers and can lead to coughs and asthma (Sultana et al. 2013). Untreated

wastewater can cause rapid depletion of dissolved oxygen if it is directly discharged into the

surface water sources due to the high Biological Oxygen Demand value (BOD). Effluents with

high BOD levels are highly toxic to aquatic life (Hasan et al. 2016).

Within dyeing industries, dyes are generally described as a coloured substance, which

have an affinity to a substrate to which they are being applied. A dye-contaminated effluent

contains residual dye and is defined as a soluble substance used for staining or colouring.

Textiles are generally dyed using reactive, dispersed, indanthrene or other kinds of dyes. Due

to the concern regarding the composition of the wastewater released from dyeing plants and

factories, an authentic wastewater or effluent treatment plant is therefore required in order

to mitigate the damaging effects of the released wastewater into the environment (Islam et

al. 2011).

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Table 1: Types of pollution associated with various coloration processes (Aquatech

Engineering Services Ltd.).

According to the Environmental Conservation Rules 1997, which outlines the

guidelines for the issuance of Environmental Clearance Certificates, fabric dyeing industries

fall under the Red category, which indicates that they must apply and submit an Effluent

Treatment Plant plan along with process flow diagrams, location, design and time schedule

to the Department of Environment (DoE) and Bangladesh Standard for Wastewater from

Industrial Units as per the ECR, 1997. According to the existing laws, all textile and dyeing

factories must have ETPs that must be operating throughout the entire year and all these

ETPs must meet the national water quality standards as well. However, the current scenario

describes a situation that is altogether different. A large number of knit and textile industries

do not have any ETPs. A lot of factories that did have ETPs had kept them closed most of the

time in order to save on electricity. There are a few dyeing plants that do have their own

ETPs, but do not run them up to the mark and are usually not compliant with the DoE

standards. Improper maintenance, malfunctioning of ETPs due to the lack of technical

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knowledge of the ETP operators are some of the reasons why ETPs do not perform up to the

standards.

1.1 Effluent Treatment Plants

ETPs function through a process design in order to treat industrial wastewater for its

reuse and safe disposal into the environment. Untreated wastewater is classified as the

influent, effluents are the treated industrial wastewater and the sludge is the residual solid

parts that are separated out from the wastewater by the ETP. The effluent from the plants

must meet the national effluent discharge quality standards before their discharge into the

environment. There are various types of ETPs and their design varies depending on the

quantity and quality of the effluent, amount of money available for construction, operation

and maintenance and the land available. There are three mechanisms for treatment, which

are primarily physical, chemical and biological. These mechanisms are often combined

together in a single ETP. Four levels of treatment exist, as outlined below (Hasan et al. 2016):

 Preliminary: this involves the removal of large solids that may result in the damage

to equipment or operational problems.

 Primary: this requires the removal of floating and settable materials, such as

suspended solids and organic matter.

 Secondary: this involves the removal of biodegradable organic matter and suspended

solids.

 Tertiary: this involves the removal of residual suspended solids/dissolved solids.

A typical ETP will consist of an entrance screening unit, followed by an equalization tank and

the physiochemical unit, which is usually a combination of neutralization, coagulation,

flocculation and clarifier. One or more biological treatment unit along with the clarifier will

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be used after the physiochemical treatment units. Wastewater from the biological unit is

treated with filters depending on the wastewater quality (Khan et al. 2009). There are

usually many ways of combining the operations and processes within an ETP. A biological

treatment plant will usually include screening, equalization, pH control, aeration and

settling, in order to satisfy the BOD, ph, TSS, oil and grease requirements. These are however

often ineffective due to the complex chemicals within dyes and because it is difficult for the

microbes to degrade them, and there is usually no color removal. Physiochemical treatment

is often combined with biological treatment, where the typical plant components are used

such as screening, equalization, pH control, chemical storage, mixing, flocculation, primary

settling, aeration and secondary Settling.

The physiochemical treatment always precedes the biological treatment units (Hasan et al.

2016). In addition to BOD, COD, TSS, pH, parameters of importance also include color,

odour, total dissolved solids (TSS), turbidity, conductivity, dissolved oxygen (DO),

alkalinity, hardness, metals and ions.

Fig 1: The figure shows the typical process design layout of an ETP.

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Table 2: The table below outlines the list of parameters to be checked at different

sampling points and units of an ETP (Khan et al. 2009).

1.2 Rationale and Objective

In order to investigate the current effectiveness of the ETPs of dyeing plants within

the Dhaka area, our team had conducted a case study within the Gazipur and Savar districts

of the Dhaka division, where three dyeing plants were chosen and wastewater samples were

collected. Our main objective was to capture the current situation of dyeing plants and their

wastewater effluent characteristics and determine if the parameters were up to the DoE

standards in Bangladesh, and if these plants were compliant with the environmental

requirements. It is of significant importance to understand the current situation with regards

to the pollution levels of dyeing plants and their activities and contribute to this body of

literature, so that recommendations can be provided to improve current ETP operations and

implement policies that introduce better monitoring methods and mitigating measures for

the risks that stem from pollution of surrounding water bodies.

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2. Methodology

Three dyeing plants were chosen for the study area, two of them in the Gazipur

(Hotapara and Rajendrapur) area and one in Savar (Hemayetpur), of Dhaka. These areas

were chosen due to the locations due to their central location and close proximity to the city

and the presence of authentic ETPs on site. Wastewater samples were collected at three

different points – untreated wastewater effluent from the dyeing plant, the effluent from the

ETP and water from water canals and waterways nearest to the dyeing plants and ETP

locations. The untreated water sample was collected from the wastewater deposit tank, and

the treated sample was collected from the delivery tank of the ETP. These samples were

collected over a one-day period, on a rainy day. ETP plants were located beside the

dyeing/washing plant on the same premises of the textile factories. The operators, managers

and supervisors were interviewed on the general specifications of their ETPs and process

design, general maintenance and procedures.

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Collection from delivery tanks at ETP outlet.

2.1 Lab Analysis

All samples were brought in for laboratory analysis and the following parameters were

tested for analysis:

Total Suspended Solids (TSS) – TSS is mainly organic in nature, are visible and can be

removed from the wastewater by physical/mechanical means, such as screening and

sedimentation.

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Total Dissolved Solids (TDS): TDS are the solids that are actually in solution, and includes

hardness, alkalinity, cyanuric acid, chlorides, bromides, sulfates, silicates and other organic

compounds. TDS refers to the total amount of mobile charged ions dissolved in a given

volume of water, and expressed in units of mg per unit volume of water (mg/L).

pH – The term used to describe the intensity of the acid or alkalinity. It represents the

effective concentration of hydrogen ions in water.

DO – This refers to the level of free, non-compound oxygen present in water. It is an

important parameter to measure and assess water quality because of its influence on

organisms living within water bodies.

EC – The electrical conductivity is a measurement of the dissolved material in an aqueous

solution, which relates to the ability of the material to conduct electrical current through it.

High levels of salinity in water will usually give high EC values.

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Turbidity – The turbidity of water is the measure of the degree to which water loses its

transparency due to the presence of suspended particles. The more total suspended solids

in the water, the murkier it seems and the higher the turbidity.

BOD and COD levels could not be determined due to laboratory equipment

limitations. However, one of the plants had kindly provided us with their data on the BOD

and COD values from their own sampling study (Appendix).

Table 3: DoE standards of water parameters (Islam et al. 2011).

Parameter DOE Standards (for inland surface

water)
TSS (mg/L) 150

TDS (mg/L) 2100

Turbidity (NTU) 10

DO (mg/L) 4.5-8

pH 6-9

EC (micro Siemens/cm) 1200

After testing and observing the above parameters, the results were then compared to

each other in their different stages of treatment and discharge and the following table was

used to compare our observed values to the Bangladesh Standard for Wastewater from

Industrial Units for inland surface water per the ECR, 1997 and the DoE standards. The

analysis carried out of the results was preliminary in nature. However, we believe that the

following results are sufficient for our understanding of the effectiveness of the ETPs and can

be used for monitoring performances of the treatment plant. For the purposes of our case

study and confidentiality, the three dyeing plants were assigned arbitrary letters, A, B and C

in their classification.

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3. Results

The tables below show the results obtained from the measurements of the water

parameters in the laboratory, for plant A, B and C. Waterway/canal water samples could not

be collected for Plant C.

Table 4: Plant A (Composite Textile)

DO TSS TDS
SL Smell Type pH EC Turbidity
(mg/Ltr) (mg/ltr) (mg/L)
Non
1 Bad Treated 9.65 1 333 540 663 31.63
Water
ETP
2 Bad Treated 7.77 0.54 306 202.85 612 0
Water
Water
from
outside of
3 Bad
Industry
7.49 5.65 41.8 160 834 29.54
(canal
water)
pH is an indicator of the existence of biological life, as most of them thrive in a quite

narrow and critical pH range. The pH of the wastewater from all the plants were generally

very alkaline, but the ETP treated water, as well as the water sample obtained from the canal

water showed the pH to be within the DoE range. Interestingly, for Plants B and C, the TSS of

77 mg/L and 227 mg/L respectively was higher than the non-treated effluent samples. Plant

A recorded the highest observed TSS value, at 333 mg/L, but showed a significant drop to

41.8 mg/L from the surrounding canal water sample. The TSS values recorded for Plant A

and Plant C were higher than the DoE standard of 150 mg/L. TDS values were the highest

recorded and well above range for both the untreated and treated wastewater samples in

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Plant B, at 5220 mg/L and 4020 mg/L respectively, and above the acceptable standard value

of 2100 mg/L. Plant A and Plant C had acceptable values of EC in their treated ETP water,

and below the standard value of 1200 micro Siemens/cm. Turbidity was significantly

reduced in the ETP treated water samples for all the plants and below the DoE standard. All

the plants registered DO values well below the acceptable range in their treated ETP

samples. Plant A and Plant B showed a decrease in their DO values compared to the untreated

water samples. Only the canal water sample showed an improvement in the DO value and

was within the acceptable range of 4.5-8.

Table 5: Plant B (Coats bd)

DO TDS TDS
SL Smell Type pH EC Turbidity
(mg/Ltr) (mg/ltr) (mg/L)

Non Treated
1 Bad
Water
9.27 1.18 49.3 5220 987 17.85
ETP Treated
2 Bad
Water
7.82 0.64 77 4020 1393 5.25
Water from
outside of
3 Bad Industry 7.71 0.96 76.3 330 1531 6.92
(canal
water)

There was also slight deviation from the values observed and recorded for Plant C

(Appendix), which was provided by the Plant itself. All of the values recorded for Plant C for

the ETP treated water were under the acceptable DoE standards and seemed to meet the

requirements. However, our data shows non-conformity in the value and far lower DO in the

ETP treated water.

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Table 6: Plant C (Composite Textile)

DO TDS TDS
SL Smell Type pH EC Turbidity
(mg/Ltr) (mg/ltr) (mg/L)

Non
1 Bad Treated 8.21 0.54 87.9 1450 1739 95
Water
ETP
2 Bad Treated 7.7 0.94 227 590 454 3.43
Water

4. Discussion

Our results and observed values lead us to the conclusion that the overall

performance of the ETPs was inadequate and not up to the national discharge quality

standards, prescribed by the DoE of Bangladesh. Low registered values of the DO is a

concern, as DO is an essential water quality parameter for aquatic life. A low DO (less than 2

mg/L) indicates poor water quality and thus there would be difficulty in sustaining much

sensitive aquatic life in these concentrations, especially for those organisms that rely on

aerobic respiration. This could lead to higher population of anaerobic organisms, and this

would result in the creation of conditions that would make the water body uninhabitable for

gill-breathing aquatic organisms. Hydrogen sulfide is often formed under conditions of

deficient oxygen in the presence of organic materials and sulphites (Islam et al. 2014).

High TDS values are not favourable for aquatic environments, but the canal water

samples registered values lower than the acceptable standard. This may have possibly

occurred due to dilution resulting from heavy rainwater and surface water flow from

surrounding areas. High concentrations of dissolved and suspended solids are a concern

16
because it causes the water to be corrosive, salty or brackish taste, resulting in scale

formation. These can create interference with the hot water heater efficiency for drinking

water consumption. High TDS in both the untreated and treated samples could be attributed

to the high color from the various dyes being used, and may be major sources of heavy metals

(Islam et al. 2014). There is a possibility that the equalization tank was not of sufficient

capacity, or did not have a long enough retention time, which resulted in increases of the

TDS. This could be possibly resulting from chemical dosing in the treatment plant, if the ETP

operator is adding excessive quantities of chemicals. The low TSS values generally were

below the national standard, as effluent from dyeing processes is generally low in the TSS

(Khan et al. 2009). High EC values indicate high levels of salinity in the water, and presence

of the heavy metals and inorganic ions.

4.1 Concluding Remarks

Our study therefore concludes that the volume of wastewater discharged from the

dyeing industries often exceed the acceptable standards for the parameters that were tested.

It is evident from the data above that most of the parameters do not meet the acceptable

standards, and this shows that the ETPs are not effective enough in controlling the water

quality from all dimensions. Evidence gained from the current case study may indicate that

while some of the dyeing plants have their own ETPs, these are not performing effectively. A

lot of the factory owners may be unwilling to operate their ETPs for 24 hours, due to high

electricity and operational costs. This leads to an overall decrease in the efficiency of the

treatment plants. The function of the ETP is to clean the polluted wastewater by appropriate

measures in order to satisfy the national standards, to meet the buyer’s conditions and to

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meet the objections from the groups of affected populations who live in the surrounding

areas. It is therefore of paramount importance that satisfactory ETP operations are ensured

through successive monitoring of different parameters of the wastewater entering the ETP

and at several stages of the ETP process. Some of the underlying problems of the low

performance of the ETPs are the lack of funds, proper government monitoring, corruption

and lack of technical expertise. Therefore, we can understand why the existing ETPs are

running at sub-optimal levels (Khan et al. 2009; Sultana et al. 2013).

5. Limitations

All possible efforts were taken in order to minimize the time lag between the

collection and the analysis of the samples, in order to ensure that no significant changes

would take place in the quality. However, the sampling event was undertaken only once, and

therefore does not reflect other conditions that may possibly influence the parameters, such

as daytime temperature, weather, and season of the year. Due to the process of the nature of

the dyeing process, the effluent reaching the treatment plant can vary throughout the day,

and the samples collected in our study were the composite of several dyeing batches, which

had been combined in the equalization tank. Therefore, we have used the assumption that

the equalization tanks were of sufficient capacity and that its constituents were well mixed

enough to ensure the effluent passing through the system is consistent. We had also made

the assumption that the dyeing operations do not vary very significantly enough for this to

affect the quality over the period being studied. Temperature could not be measured at each

sampling point due to the lack of the equipment, but we are using our assumption based on

observations made in previous studies showing that temperatures recorded were generally

18
higher than the DoE standard. Simple monitoring at each stage of the ETP process can help

to optimize the treatment process and make it more efficient and thus save money on behalf

of the ETP operator through the reduction of chemical dosing and the energy needed to run

some parts of the process (Khan et al. 2009; Sultana et al. 2013).

6. References
Hasan, K.M.F., Mia, M.S.m Jahid, M.A., Ashaduzzsaman, Mueeid, M.A. and Xu, W. (2016).
Implementation and performance analysis of effluent treatment plant for waste water
treatment in the dyeing textile industries. International Journal of Scientific and
Engineering Research, 7(6), 449-461.
Islam, M.M., Mahmud, K., Faruk, O. and Billah, M.S. (2011). Textile dyeing industries in
Bangladesh for Sustainable Development. International Journal of Environmental
Science and Development, 2(6), 428-436.
Khan, M.S., Ahmed, S., Evans, A.E.V. and Chadwick, M. (2009). Methodology for perofmance
analysis of textile effluent treatment plants in Bangladesh. Chemical Engineering
Research Bulletin, 13, 61-66.
Munnaf, A., Islam, M.S., Tusher, T.R., Kabir, M.H. and Molla, M.A.H. (2014). Investigation of
water quality parameters discharged from textile dyeing industries. Journal of
Environmental Science and Natural Resources, 7(1), 257-263.
Operation and Maintenance Manual for Effluent Treatment Plant Installed at Partex denims
Ltd. By Aquatech Engineering Services Ltd.
Sultana, Z., Ali, M.E., Uddin, M.S. and Haque, M.M. (2014). Implementation of ETPs for
Wastewater treatment. Journal of Environmental Protection, 4, 301-308.

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7. Appendix
7.1 ETP function at one of the Plants, as described from interview

Waste Water Storage Tank

↓
Pump to Flash Mixture (three types of chemical using here, Lime, FeSO4, 7H2O
Poly electrolytes)
↓
Primary Clarify (In this tank deposit sludge)
↓
Secondary Clarify (here also deposit some sludge & also checking here water
quality by pH meter)
↓
Biological Tank (here water are keeping cool by blower M/C)
↓
Sedimentation (from this tank water goes to delivery tank. So, here using V nose
to keep the rest of sludge before dispatch the water)
↓
Delivery Tank (here also use blower to keep the water cool before dispatch)

7.2 Photos captured during field sample collection

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7.3 Observed values from samples tested for parameters by Plant C.

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