July 31, 2013

Cleaning up behind the fashion industry



A reagent capable of removing colour left in the waste water used in the textile industry is an improvement, but choosing quality dyes would lead to less pollution alltogether.

The European fashion industry is a huge consumer of fresh water. Estimates point to 600 million cubic meter of fresh water being consumed yearly in Europe by the textile and clothing industry; not a negligible amount. To reduce the water consumption and the coloured mass effluent, researchers have developed a flocculating agent. Called TEXAFLOK DCL 41, it is able to separate and remove the dyes from the water. It is a highly viscous liquid, which works by reacting with dyestuffs and forming precipitates, leaving a small volume of sludge. This sludge can be then destroyed in the waste waters treatment plants.