Parameters of Water for Textile Wet Processing Industry

Last Updated on 16/12/2022

Water for Textile Wet Processing Industry:
Water is a basic necessity for treating textile materials in the wet processing industry. Due to increases in the standard of living, the use of textile materials has also increased a lot, which in turn necessitates an increase in the production of textiles and also an increase in the demand for water. Conventional machines and treatment methods employ huge amounts of water, especially in the case of natural fibers for which the demand is as high as 150kg of water for every kilogram of material.

Textile industry is the third largest consumer of water in the world. Wet processing engineering is one of the major streams in textile engineering. In every stages of wet processing huge amount of water is used. Soft water is the life line of textile wet processing as well as textile industry for better production quality.

Besides, in textile wet processing, water consumption is far greater than the amounts of fibers processed. It is the ubiquitous solvent for the solutions of chemicals used. Rinsing and washing operations alone consume enormous amounts of water. Steam is still the major heat-transfer medium for many processes, and the quality of water fed to boilers is often critical.

In below table I have given total water consumed in different stages during wet processing:

Important Parameters of Water for Textile Wet Processing Industry:
Water for textile wet processing may come from a variety of sources. These include surface water from rivers and lakes as well as subterranean water from wells. The water may be obtained directly from the source or from the local municipality. Natural and pretreated water may contain a variety of chemical species that can influence textile wet processing.

Here I will discuss different important water parameters for textile wet processing.

Color: 
Color normally indicates the presence of soluble and suspended matter, which affects the textile wet processing. The color of water is measured in terms of Hazen units, by comparing it with a color of a standard solution. A Hazen unit is the color produced by dissolving 1 ppm platinum in the form of chloroplatinic acid, in the presence of 2 ppm cobalt chloride.

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Turbidity: 
Turbidity is caused by the scattering of light by suspended matter which may be organic or inorganic in nature. The turbidity of water is measured against a standard solution having a standard turbidity value 1000 units.

pH: 
pH is the measure of H+ ions concentration, its value indicates the nature of water ,such as neutral , acidic or alkaline. pH of less than 7 indicates acidic, neutral at 7 and alkaline when above 7. The pH scale is having value from 0 to 14.

Total Dissolved solids (TDS):
TDS comprise of inorganic salts and small amounts of organic matter that is dissolve in water. The TDS is measured in ppm (mg/ltr).

Total Suspended Solids (TSS):
The suspended solids are discrete particles which are insoluble in water .These can be removed by filtration and are also measured in ppm.

Alkalinity:
The alkalinity is due to the presence of bicarbonates, carbonates or hydroxides. Alkalinity is divided into caustic alkalinity (above pH 8.2) and total alkalinity above pH 4.5. (Bicarbonate and caustic alkalinity).

Acidity:
Most natural waters are buffered by a CO₂ / HCO₃ system. Corbonic acid is not fully neutralized until a pH of 8.2 and will not depress pH below 4.5. CO₂ acidity is in the pH range of 8.2 to 4.5, mineral acidity due to industrial waste is below pH 4.5.

Disadvantages of Hard or Unsuitable Water Usage in Textile Processing:

1. Formation of hard soaps with calcium and magnesium ions, which results into shade change.
2. Carbonates of calcium and magnesium precipitate iron and aluminum mordant and substantive cotton dyestuffs.
3. Some dyes got duller and even scum formation happens in the hard water.
4. The metal ion impurities such as iron and copper, is a problem in the peroxide bleaching baths, iron is responsible for reducing the brightness of many dyes and is also objectionable in the washing off operations.
5. Hard water is responsible for scale formation in the boilers.
6. If temporary hardness is high, the soft scales are formed which causes corrosion.

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Desirable Water Quality Parameters for Textile Wet Processing:

1. pH → 6.5-7.5
2. TDS → 300 ppm
3. Color → 5 Hazen No.
4. Residue on ignition → 250 ppm
5. Total Hardness → 30 ppm
6. COD → nil
7. Turbidity → nil
8. Suspended Solids → nil
9. Copper → 0.01 ppm
10. Iron → 0.01 ppm
11. Chromium→ 0.01 ppm
12. Manganese → 0.05 ppm
13. Aluminium → 0.2 ppm
14. Chloride →150 ppm
15. Sulphate →150 ppm
16. Nitrite → nil

You may also like:

1. Water Management in Textile Industry – An Overview
2. Water Treatment Plant (WTP) | Process Sequence of Water Treatment Plant
3. Water Hardness Test Method
4. Potential Problems Caused by Hard Water in Textile Wet Processing Industry

Mazharul Islam Kiron

Founder & Editor of Textile Learner. He is a Textile Consultant, Blogger & Entrepreneur. Mr. Kiron is working as a textile consultant in several local and international companies. He is also a contributor of Wikipedia.

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