Production integrated treatment of textile wastewater by closing raw material cycles.

A method for the in-house treatment of partial wastewater flows and the recycling of treated process water into the textile finishing process was developed in order to recycle effluents from textile finishing industry and feed them back into the production process. The method is based on a two-stage biological anaerobic-aerobic process to split colouring wastewater agents and to degrade organic substances contained in the water as well as a chemical stage to remove the remaining color of the water with the help of ozone. In the framework of a research and development project a demonstration plant for a treatment capacity of 1440 m3 per working day was installed and started in a textile finishing company. At the plant, a wastewater flow and a recycling flow are treated separately in two different treatment lanes. Approximately 40% of the total wastewater flows, i.e. 576 m3/d are treated in the wastewater lane, and a maximum of 60% of total wastewater, i.e. 864 m3/d are treated in the recycling lane. Thanks to the preliminary treatment of wastewater flows, which are discharged into the municipal sewage works, a reduction of average COD levels in the sewage works effluents could be achieved.