Treatment of Industrial Textile Wastewater by Forward Osmosis: Dye and Clean Water Recovery

?? Paper Title: Treatment of Industrial Textile Wastewater by Forward Osmosis Aiming to Recover Dyes and Clean Water

?? Publication Date: 2024

? Authors: Carmen M. Sánchez-Arévalo, Laura García-Suarez, Maria Salud Camilleri-Rumbau, Jorg Vogel, Silvia álvarez-Blanco, Beatriz Cuartas-Uribe, M. Cinta Vincent-Vela

?? Published in: Heliyon

Summary

The textile industry is one of the largest water-consuming sectors, generating significant volumes of wastewater. This study explores forward osmosis (FO) as a promising technology to treat textile wastewater and recover dyes. Using the HFFO2 membrane (Aquaporin), real textile wastewater samples, including cotton and wool dyeing wastewater, were treated. The results demonstrated that more than 90% of clean water was recovered, and over 87% of total dissolved solids were rejected.

Materials and Methods

?? Wastewater Sources:

• Cotton dyeing wastewater
• Wool dyeing wastewater
• Equalization tank wastewater

?? Membrane Used:

• HFFO2 Membrane (Aquaporin Inside?)
• 2.3 m2 membrane area
• Recovery rate: Above 90%

?? Forward Osmosis Process:

• Feed solution: Real textile wastewater
• Draw solution: NaCl solution
• Water recovery efficiency: 90-95%
• Dye concentration efficiency: High, allowing potential reuse

Results and Discussion

? High Treatment Efficiency: More than 90% of dyes were removed, and total dissolved solids (TDS) were significantly reduced. ? Dye Recovery Potential: The treated water and concentrated dyes can be reused in subsequent dyeing processes. ? Low Energy Consumption: FO requires less energy than conventional wastewater treatment technologies, making it a more sustainable approach. ? Membrane Cleaning Efficiency: The membrane performance was maintained using a backwash cleaning method.

Conclusion

This study highlights forward osmosis as an environmentally friendly and sustainable solution for the textile industry. It enables water conservation while minimizing chemical usage and environmental impact. The reuse of both treated water and concentrated dyes aligns with circular economy principles in textile manufacturing.

?? #WastewaterTreatment #TextileWastewater #ForwardOsmosis #Sustainability #WaterRecovery