Zero Discharge - Treatment Options for Textile Dye Effluent:

A Case Study at Manickapurampudur Common Effluent

Treatment Plant, Tirupur, Tamil Nadu.

S.Eswaramoorthi, K.Dhanapal1 and J.Karpagam

EPIC in India, No.33, Anugraha Gardens, Central Studio Road, Trichy Main Road,
Singanallur, Coimbatore-641005, India.

Abstract

Ground water quality in Tirupur has been significantly affected due to the discharge of large

quantities of textile dye effluent into the Noyyal river - a tributary of Cauvery. This has also

resulted in contamination of Orathupalayam Dam and caused serious environmental degradation

in the downstream areas of Erode and Karur.

At present, around 800 individual dying units and, eight Common Effluent Treatment Plants

(CETP) are existing in Tirupur which processes textile dye effluent. At one of the CETPs, the

Manickapurampudur Common Effluent Treatment Plant (MPCETP), our organisation is engaged

in the research & development work for the treatment of textile dye effluent for the past 3 years.

The treated effluent at this CETP was regularly collected and analysed for pH, total suspended

solids, TDS, COD, BOD, sodium, chloride, sulphate, sulphide, and trace metals (Cu, Zn, Pb, Ni,

Cd). The results showed that the treated effluent obeyed the effluent discharge norms of the Tamil

Nadu Pollution Control Board, except TDS.

In order to reduce effluent load to the Noyyal river, attempts were made at this CETP to

evaporate the effluent using solar energy. Though significant progress has been achieved in this

direction, due to the concerns on air pollution, this method was abandoned.

1
Corresponding author: dhanapal@epicin.org
In continuation of these efforts to achieve zero-discharge, trials were conducted for implementing

reverse osmosis system. Following these trials, this CETP is in the process of implementing

reverse osmosis for water reuse, nano-filtration for salt recovery and, Multiple Effect Evaporator

and solar bed for reject management, and wind mill for power generation.

Though Multiple Effect Evaporator can be successfully utilised for reject management, it

consumes large quantity of wood as a fuel. This will enhance wood demand and CO2 emission

into the atmosphere. In order to reduce wood requirement and CO2 emission, it is planned to

expand the already existing plantations grown by this CETP using the treated effluent.

We conclude our paper with a note on emerging technologies for textile dyeing, which could

totally eliminate the need of water for dying textile fabrics, thereby totally eliminating

environmental degradation.

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Introduction
The textile industry plays an important role in Indian economy. It contributes to 20% of industrial

production, 9% of excise collection, 30% of export revenue, 18% of employment in industrial

sector. The apparel industry is one of India's largest foreign exchange earners, accounting for 12

percent of the country's total exports. Since global trade in textile and clothing is expected to

reach US$ 600 Billions in 2010 from the present level of US$ 356 Billions (Confederation of

Indian Industry, 2004; http://www.ciionline.org), there is an urgent need to augment our textile

production capacity. At the same time, it is very essential that the environmental problems

associated with industrial development is properly addressed to sustain both industrial as well as

economic growth.

Tirupur, a small town, about 50 km from

Coimbatore, is one of the well-known places in

hosiery and knitwear manufacture in international

market (Fig.1). Tirupur's association with the

cotton trade goes at least as far back as the

nineteenth century, the first textile manufacturing

unit was established in the town in 1935 (Banerjee

and Munshi, 2003). Tirupur has entered into the

international trade in 1980s with the manufacture

of cardigans, jersey, pullovers, ladies blouses,

Fig.-1: Location map of Tirupur.
dresses and skirts, trousers, nightwear, sportswear

and industrial wear (Apparel Export Promotion Council, 2004). Small-scale garment

manufacturing for export has developed in Tirupur rapidly in the 1980s and 1990s, using locally

grown cotton in a small-scale textile centre, mostly from the informal sector (Harris et al., 2000).

This growth was fuelled by a parallel decline in agriculture, whereby most of the farmers turned

3
out for other opportunities (Heyer, 2000), which led them to invest in textile processing units.

Thus, most of the firms in Tirupur sub-cluster are typically small in size, and 90% or more are

considered as small-scale industries (Blomqvist, 1996). Almost all bleachers serve domestic

markets, primarily in other States of India, while dyers serve both domestic and export markets

(Crow, 1999).

The main activities in industrial sector here are ginning, spinning, weaving, knitting, bleaching,

dyeing, printing and allied works. The majority of bleachers and dyers, around 78% (Madras

School of Economics, 1998), are linked to the overall knitwear cluster through the job-work

system, while 22% are independent producers (Crow, 1999). There are essentially three types of

firms in the industry viz., direct exporters, indirect exporters, and job-workers. Tirupur

contributes about 85% of hosiery and cotton knitwear produced in India, 75% of which is

exported (Banerjee and Munshi, 2003) to Europe, America and other countries.

Tirupur has become an important textile cluster in India both for overseas market and the

domestic market. It has 2500 knitting and stitching units, around 800 dyeing and bleaching units,

300 printing units, 100 embroidery units and other 200 units catering to compacting, raising and

calendering. Buyers from around 35 countries visit Tirupur frequently. This small town annually

contributes about INR.3600 crores in foreign exchange earnings to our country, besides an

earning matching or surpassing the above figure to cater the domestic market. The dramatic

improvement in Tirupur's export market can be attributed to the disbanding of garment

manufacturing in western countries due to environmental pollution and high cost of labour. The

success story of Tirupur lies in hard core work force, which achieves the set target and demands

in time, the most essential part of any business. The export of knitted garments from Tirupur

started to grow very rapidly around 1985, and in the early 1990s the annual growth rate was

above 50% (Banerjee and Munshi, 2003).

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In hosiery exports, dyeing industries play a critical role. It promotes primary and secondary

employment opportunities, generates income to many people, and also serves to the needs of the

export earnings of our Government. It also provides breeding ground for allied industrial

development, and increased competitiveness through public-private partnership (Sakthivel, 2004).

Due to low annual rainfall (~500 mm/year; Palanisami et al., 2004), textile wet processing

industries in Tirupur buy water through lorries from surrounding villages at a cost of around

INR.115 crores annually. The diesel utilized by lorries for the transportation of water amounts

to INR.52 crores per year. Per day discharge of industrial effluent in to the Noyyal river (a

tributary of river Cauvery originating in the Western Ghats) from Tirupur is estimated at 80

million litres - which alone makes it a perennial river, having otherwise been betrayed by nature.

The pollution of Noyyal river has resulted in the loss of ecology, which amounts to INR.50 crores

annually concerning all interested groups, viz., farmers, civic bodies, etc.

Apart from this, the Orathupalayam Dam, which was constructed a decade ago for storage of rain

water to improve agricultural production in the downstream areas of neighbouring Erode and

Karur districts has been totally contaminated.

Recently, the Honourable High Court of Chennai has ordered the dyeing industries to pay INR.6

crores for the reclamation of Orathupalayam Dam, and also INR.140 crores as a compensation

to the farmers in the downstream areas of Noyyal river. The court further ordered the Tamil Nadu

Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) to take appropriate action to stop further pollution of the

Noyyal river by the dyeing industries. The TNPCB, as a consequence, ordered the effluent

discharging industries to immediately implement Zero Discharge Effluent treatment systems.

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Further, the flux of outsiders from other parts of India to Tirupur in pursuit of their business

interests, and their ability to command the market with low levels of capital stock and capital

intensity of production, have also significantly contributed to competition within the local

community. The ability of outsiders to impart potential competition with local community with

a minimal capital intensity of production (measured by the ratio of the amount of capital that the

company owns to its production) is attributed to the availability of job-workers and use of indirect

exporters for decentralization in the production process. This finally leads to large variations in

the capital intensity of production in the population of direct exporters (Banerjee and Munshi,

2003). This competition within the local production units, has created pressure on the need for

upgradation and modernization to meet the needs of the local as well as international markets.

Irrespective of pressures on local and international markets, Tirupur is poised for a spectacular

growth, owing to the availability of raw materials at lower prices, cheap labour, adoption of

modern production technologies, and above all, the hard work of everyone involved in the

industry. Despite swifts in economic frontiers associated with fluctuations in the prices of raw

materials, it is interesting to note that the industrial growth in Tirupur remains unabated. The

success of Tirupur lies in the efficient distributed network of small units, which shares a large

export order into smaller tasks, like a biological organism, and the whole town works like a

decentralized factory for the global economy (Chari, 2003).

In the future scenario, when the quota system is void (from January 2005 onwards), the

competition might increase in international and local markets. So, right now we have to take

appropriate steps to accomplish cleaner production in the manufacture of environment-friendly

goods, and to minimize the loss of ecology. This will result in improved competitiveness in the

international and local markets, and enhance foreign currency earnings of our country.

6
Textile Wet Processing, Ground Water Contamination, and Need for Concern:

In Tirupur, annually the textile industries alone utilize around 28.8 billion litres of ground water.

This is around 0.1% of present total water potential, and 1% of present water demand of Tamil

Nadu state (Balaji, 2003), and 0.005% of worldwide withdrawal of ground water (Revenga,

2000). Heavy utilization of ground water has severely depleted the ground water table in Tirupur.

Thus, currently Tirupur is faced with severe water scarcity. Presently, the water needs of the

textile wet processing industries are met by the supply of water through lorries, taking up water

from open and bore wells in the surrounding taluks, viz., Avanashi, Palladam, Annur, Kangeyam,

and from several parts of the neighbouring Erode district. As a result, farmers in villages outside

Tirupur have abandoned low-income generating farming, and begun selling ground water to the

industries (Postel, 1999). Roughly between 2,000-3,000 lorries with a capacity to transport

10,000 to 12,000 litres/trip are plying around 7 to 10 trips daily to supply clean water for the

textile wet processing. Considering the water demand of Tirupur, efforts were undertaken to get

water supply from Upper Bhavani reservoir to reduce the burden on the local water resources.

However, when this water supply project gets completed, it will not be enough to meet the

demands of the industrial and domestic sector due to increasing demands for industrial

productivity, and massive migration of labour force to Tirupur under sustained industrial growth.

At present around 800 dyeing units are engaged in dyeing and/or bleaching activities. Most of

these dyeing units are small-scale or cottage industries, and most of them undertake their order

on job-work basis. These job-orders are mostly from direct exporters, who opt to share the

workload in order to meet the deadlines, rather than facing cancellation of the export orders in

the event of labour unrest, unfavourable weather conditions, etc.

Clean water is the critical requirement of these dyeing units, as the quality of the water largely

affects the quality of dyeing and bleaching. While these industries use clean water for processing,

7
the chemicals used by these industries viz., wetting agents, soda ash, caustic soda, peroxides,

sodium hypochlorite, bleaching powder, common salt, acids, dye stuffs, soap oil and, fixing and

finishing agents make the waste water very harmful to the environment. An assessment estimates

that around 78,000 tonnes of salt, and 6,600 tonnes of bleaching powder are used every year in

the dyeing units of Tirupur.

The bleaching, dyeing, and printing processes are water intensive industrial activities. For every

kilogram of yarn, approximately 20-30 litres of water is used. When all the units work with their

full production capacity, in a day approximately 80,000 to 1,30,000 m3 of fresh water is required

for the process (Crow, 1999). The intensity of resources utilization is immense as described in the

resource flow analysis diagram (Fig.2; Lowe, 2001). Increased demand for ground water in

textile wet processing aggravated ground water depletion.

Out of the total water requirement, around 80% is daily transported from nearby villages and

supplied by lorries to the textile wet processing units in Tirupur. The fresh water supplied by the

lorries is mixed up with the locally available ground water for dyeing process in order to save

water costs. As the ground water has higher TDS (around 2500-3000 mg/L), use of this water

in textile dyeing process has further enhanced the TDS values of the discharged effluent, and it

becomes difficult to treat the effluent to achieve desired levels of TDS for discharging as per the

Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board's norms and standards (Table-1), leading to greater

environmental concerns.

According to the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, an estimated 80.70 million litres of

effluent water is discharged daily into the Noyyal River from dyeing and bleaching units in

Tirupur. Another 3 million litres of untreated municipal waste water also find its way into the

river, making it one of the most polluted rivers in the State. Out of the 800 hosiery bleaching and

8
dying units, 277 units have formed eight CETPs with a design capacity of about 42.55 million

litres per day (MLD; Table-2). With an approximate total effluent discharge of 80 million litres

per day, the eight CETPs contribute about 53% of the effluent.

Though the CETPs are successful in removing colour of the effluent to the desired levels, they

are incapable of reducing the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) of the discharges to the permissible

limit of 2100 mg/L, for the reason that good dyeing requires higher concentration of salt, and the

currently employed treatment procedures do not reduce TDS. Thus, discharge of high TDS

effluent into the Noyyal River, and its subsequent percolation into the ground water system in the

down stream aquifers in the areas of Tirupur, Avinashi, Kangeyam, Perundurai, Erode and Karur

have rendered the ground water totally unsuitable both for drinking purpose as well as for

irrigating agricultural lands. Since the Noyyal River is a seasonal river, with fresh water flowing

only in monsoon periods, during other seasons the Noyyal River is found to pollute river Cauvery

at the point of confluence in Kodumudy.

This Orathupalayam dam was constructed way back in 1991 at the cost of INR.16.46 crores with

n water spread area of 1049 acres in order to irrigate an area of 500 acres in Erode district and

9875 acres in Karur district (Govindarajalu, 2003). Now this Orathupalaym Dam has become a

mere storage tank for industrial effluent, which could neither be discharged into the river, nor be

stored due to percolation and contamination of ground water aquifers. Thus, the environmental

pollution due to industrial activity in Tirupur has significantly affected the Noyyal River, totally

contaminated the Orathupalayam Dam, and has caused great economic loss for farmers in the

downstream areas of Erode and Karur districts in addition to contaminating the river Cauvery.

At the same time, the textile industry in Tirupur has to grow further in order to achieve our target

textile product export of US$ 50 Billion by the year 2010. Such growth is now greatly hampered

9
due to immense environmental damage caused to the Noyyal river, ground water system, and

agricultural production, by the textile wet processing industries in Tirupur. In order to solve these

environmental problems, it is essential that the water utilized by the textile wet processing

industries is reused, and water pollution is eliminated through implementation of zero-discharge

system. Since most of the major overseas buyers insist fair and cleaner environment practices by

the textile wet processing industry, adoption of cleaner production technologies is the need of the

hour.

About Manickapurampudur Common Effluent Treatment Plant (P) Ltd. (MPCETP),

Tirupur:

The Manickapurampudur Common Effluent Treatment Plant (P) Ltd. (here after referred as

MPCETP) is located in Manickapurampudur village in Tirupur, on the banks of Noyyal River. It

is formed in the year 1996 by ten individual textile wet processing (bleaching and dyeing) units

(Table-3) with an investment of INR.12.7 millions to treat 1600 m3/day of textile processing

effluent. The average monthly usage of chemicals utilized by the ten members of the MPCETP

is given in Table-4, and the operation cost of the plant from the year 1999 to 2003 is presented

in Table-5.

The investment in the Common Effluent Treatment Plant is a non-profit capital investment, which

curtails profitability in the heavily competing market. However, textile dye effluent causes grave

environmental damages which also results in public health problems, and economic loss to

agriculture. Thus, it is very essential to take into account the environmental problems while

addressing economic benefits through industrial growth.

In order to promote public interest, and to save the environment, the State and Central

Governments have together sanctioned a subsidy of 50% of the total project cost with equal

10
share. Based on the TNPCB's (Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, Chennai) authorized

consultant's design, subsequent technical feasibility approval of Anna University, Chennai, and

National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur, the said subsidy was

granted by both the State and Central Governments.

Both private and government participation made it possible to commence the operations of the

MPCETP in 1999. From that day onwards it is functioning properly. The treated effluent, which

obeys the norms of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, is discharged into the Noyyal River.

In order to regularly monitor the proper functioning of this CETP, the discharged effluent are

regularly analyzed by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, Tirupur, and the analytical results

are given in Table-6. Presently, all the member units of the MPCETP are catering to the needs of

the hosiery garment exporters of Tirupur. The contribution of MPCETP members to the

country's foreign exchange earning is approximately INR.350 millions per year.

Present scheme of effluent treatment at MPCETP, Tirupur:

Presently chemical treatment method is adopted for the treatment of textile dye effluent. The

treatment method, in brief, is as follows. Initially the raw effluent from all member units is passed

to the equalization tank. Here the raw effluent are thoroughly mixed to obtain a homogenous

effluent. Aeration is also carried out in order to reduce Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) and

Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD).

In the second stage, the effluent from equalization tank is supplied to flash mixture and then to

clariflocculator. Here, lime, ferrous sulphate and polyelectrolyte are added to the effluent, which

results in the removal of dyes from the effluent. The sludge generated from the flocculator is

supplied to solar evaporation ponds where sludge is dried and stored in a safer place. The treated

effluent from flocculator is passed through a sand bed to remove suspended matter and organics

11
present in the effluent. Then, the effluent is discharged as per the norms (Table-1) of the Tamil

Nadu Pollution Control Board.

Sludge Management at MPCETP, Tirupur:

Every day around 1000-1500 kg of sludge is generated in the MPCETP, depending on the

quantity and quality of the effluent treated. This sludge is a by product of the chemical treatment

method adopted for the treatment of textile dye effluent. Currently the sludge is stored on-site,

fully covered with 120 GSM thick tarpaulin sheet. This sheet protects penetration of rain water

into the sludge-mass and its subsequent percolation into the ground. This polythene cover also

act as a protection cover against blowing wind in order to prevent air-dispersal of the fine

particles of the sludge. This 120 GSM polythene sheet is tightly held by polythene bags filled with

sludge and stacked around the sludge dump.

The Need for Upgradation and Modernization of Effluent Treatment at MPCETP,

Tirupur:

There are several reasons why upgradation and modernization has become important and need

of the hour. They are:

1. The loss of ecology to the Noyyal River basin exceeded INR.100 crores. Further damage

to the environment and ecology can be arrested only if Zero Discharge system is

implemented.

2. Maintaining discharged effluent's TDS below 2100 mg/L (as per the TNPCB's norms) is

not achievable using the current treatment techniques, since ground water, which is

utilized in the dyeing process, already contains about 2500 - 3000 mg/L of TDS. Thus,

the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board has issued orders to processing units to upgrade

their treating facilities and make use of recycled water for processing purposes.

12
3. Though the Research & Development work carried out at MPCETP by EPIC-In for direct

evaporation of the effluent using micro nozzles has been successful, due to air pollution

concerns it was abandoned. Further, water, which is an important economic resource, can

not be recycled in this process.

4. A time-frame has been set by the regulating authorities for immediate implementation of

the Zero Discharge system. Thus, there is an urgent need to go for the upgradation and

modernization programme.

5. Delay in implementation, or closure of the industry, would severely get reflected in large

scale unemployment, socio-economic disorder, and invasion of foreign industrial power

into our economy, which will pave way for combined destabilization of the country and

its economy.

6. Recovering from such an economic loss and social disorder will cost several thousand

crores rupees to the Government, impeding industrial growth, infrastructure development,

efforts to achieve self-reliance and become an economic powerhouse in the world, and

maintenance of political power balance in the region.

As a result of various meetings and consultations with the TNPCB members, the MPCETP has

decided to adopt the reverse osmosis system for the treatment of textile dye effluent. This way

the processed water can be reused, and the salt can be recovered for recycling. Thus, in pursuit

of its goal on meeting environmental and ethical norms, MPCETP has conducted a Conference

on Improvement of Textile Effluent Treatment & Workshop on Recycling of Waste Water Using

Reverse Osmosis in collaboration with the Regional Office of the Textiles Commissioner,

Coimbatore, in Tirupur on 30th December 2003 in association with EPIC-In, Coimbatore. A pilot

study for a week duration was carried out using Vibratory Shear Enhanced Process (VSEP)

reverse osmosis technology for testing the recovery of water from textile dye effluent. Using this

method, the raw effluent was directly treated by the reverse osmosis system to produce reusable

13
water. This system produced reusable water with a Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) < 500 mg/L for

the feed water having around 10,000 mg/L of TDS. The main advantage of this particular reverse

osmosis system is the elimination of chemicals in the pretreatment process, which might

significantly reduce environmental problems associated with water recovery. Now, MPCETP is

in the process of implementing the reverse osmosis system for water and salt recovery and reuse.

Since, in textiles sector India has the largest export potential (Subodh Kumar, 2002), and Tirupur

has been identified as one of the Small Scale Industrial Cluster among the 358 clusters by UNIDO

(2003), it would be beneficial if this cluster is developed in order to promote our Foreign

Exchange earnings.

Since detrimental impact on the industrial activity at Tirupur due to environmental concerns is

expected to severely damage the growth of our Country in the emerging scenario of open market

economy, there is an urgent need to help out the textile wet processing industries. Also, recently

it was pointed out by the Textile Commissioner (Subodh Kumar, 2002) that the textile industry

accounts for an insignificant percentage of imports and at the same time remains as the single

largest exporter with further potential to grow. He also remarked that the decentralized

powerloom sector and the processing sector are required to be strengthened by way of technology

upgradation to support the growing apparel industry. This view has greatly motivated the

upgradation and modernization of the MPCETP.

Implementation of Zero-Discharge:

EPIC-In, Coimbatore, is providing technical assistance to the Manickapurampudur Common

Effluent Treatment Plant Private Limited (MPCETP), Tirupur, for the modernization and

upgradation of the MPCETP to implement zero discharge system for efficient recycling and reuse

14
of water & salt. The present scheme of achieving zero discharge at the Manickapurampudur

Common Effluent Treatment Plant is as described below, and depicted in Fig.3:

a) Reverse Osmosis (R.O) system for treating 2000 m3/day of textile dye effluent for recovery

of pure water for reuse in textile wet processing.

b) Nano-Filtration (N.F) assembly for salt recovery from R.O. reject and its reuse in

dyeing/other industries.

c) Multiple Effect Evaporator for recovery of reusable water from 200 m3/day of reject from

nano filtration assembly.

d) Solar pond for evaporation of mother liquor from Multiple Effect Evaporator, and

separation of salts.

e) Windmills (6 x 250 kWh = 1500 kWh) for power generation to cater to the needs of the

reverse osmosis, nano filtration, and other electrical appliances of the Common Effluent

Treatment Plant. Since reverse osmosis sytem is power intensive, implementation of

windmill makes this project financially feasible.

In addition, currently existing private forest with an areal coverage of 5 acres will be expanded

to 20 acres by the MPCETP in order to promote environmental benefits.

By this upgradation and modernization process, the MPCETP becomes the first Common Effluent

Treatment Plant in Tirupur to adopt a zero discharge system. As a fully functional model of a zero

discharge system in successful operation, this unit will greatly encourage other units to follow the

suit. This will finally eliminate sludge generation, enhance reuse of salt utilized in the dyeing

process, reduce demand for ground water supply, enhance local ground water table, prevent

further ground water contamination, enhance energy conservation through utilization of non-

conventional energy resources, improve the local micro climate, and avoid loss of ecology.

15
Common Benefits of Upgradation and Modernization of CETPs in Tirupur:

The benefits of upgradation and modernization of all the existing effluent treatment facilities in

Tirupur can be enumerated as given below:

a) Each day, around 10 crore litres of fresh water is utilized by the bleaching & dyeing units

in Tirupur. Around 80% of this fresh water is supplied through lorries at a rate of around

INR.800/- for 10,000-12,000 litres. Thus, approximately, annually an estimated amount of

INR.200 crores is spent for the purchase of fresh water through lorries. If water is recycled

through modernization & upgradation through reverse osmosis, this amount can be saved.

This saving can be effectively utilized for industrial development purposes to meet the

potential competitors in the emerging open market. In addition, ground water depletion and

contamination are drastically reduced.

b) Water recycling greatly reduces dependency on lorries for fresh water. This cuts back

spending of INR.128 crores/year on foreign exchange for importing fuel. Further, the

pressure on traffic is reduced, road damage and frequent repair is avoided, which could

result in low maintenance costs, and improvement in the economy.

c) Annual agricultural productivity loss in villages affected by the industrial activities in

Tirupur amounts to INR.18.14 Crores. The loss to water supply schemes in Tirupur cluster

amounts to INR.32.44 Crores. Annual economic loss for the fisheries sector is estimated

at INR.7.63 lakhs. Thus, the industrial pollution in Tirupur has alone contributed to an

economic loss of INR.51.34 crores annually (Loss of Ecology, 2003). By establishing zero

discharge effluent treatment plant, both damages to the environment and economic loss

could be averted.

d) By implementing zero-discharge system, pollution of Noyyal River, Orathupalayam Dam,

and the down stream areas in the districts of Erode, Karur, as well as Cauvery is deterred.

16
 e) Electrical power requirement for the proposed modernized plant is met by windmill. This

greatly reduces costs of recovery of water and salt from the effluent, making it more

economically viable project. This will help the dyeing industrial sector to offer competitive

price for its products in the international market. Also, this reduces electrical power demand

on State Electricity Board, so that it can be distributed to other power needy industries.

f) The large scale plantation programme, if followed by all the CEPTs, will reduce the demand

on forests for wood and restore eco-balance. Growth of forest in and around Tirupur will

promote rainfall, promote ground water recharge, dilute the high TDS ground water to

natural levels. Earnings in Carbon Currency through forest development will allow us to

emit more CO2 in to the atmosphere for developmental purposes.

g) Production of hazardous waste (sludge) is averted through upgradation to the zero

discharge system.

National Environment Policy and Zero Discharge Scheme of MPCETP, Tirupur:

This project achieves all of the principal objectives of the National Environment Policy - 2004

through implementation of reverse osmosis for water reuse, nano-filtration for salt recovery,

Multiple Effect Evaporator for salt recovery and reject management, power generation through

windmill and afforestation to meet partial needs of the wood supply for the Multiple Effect

Evaporator.

The principal objectives of the National Environment Policy-2004 and how they are met by this

project are listed below:

1) Conservation of critical environmental resources: Through conservation of water resource

by water recovery and reuse.

17
2) Intra-generation equity-livelihood security for the poor: Achieved through augmentation of

ground water potential, prevention of environmental damage to enhance the water quality of

Noyyal River (so that it can be effectively utilized for irrigation purposes), utilization of wind

energy for power production (so that power savings can be utilized in other power intensive

industries), and public health problems are taken care of (by reducing contaminant discharge into

the Noyyal River system, and its subsequent percolation into the ground water).

3) Inter-generation equity: The reclamation of Orathupalayam dam and Noyyal River is made

feasible by the implementation of Zero Discharge system, so that agricultural production get

increased, and future generations are not unduly put to distress.

4) Integration of environmental concerns in economic and social development: Made possible

by implementing zero discharge system, which not only takes care of the environmental pollution,

but also increases the price competitiveness through effective utilization of natural resources,

increases productivity by reduced expenditures toward buying water and salt, promotes

employment through industrial growth, and takes care of Indian economy by getting more export

orders by exercising cleaner production practices.

5) Efficiency in environmental resources use: By water and salt reuse, and wind energy

utilization for running zero discharge system, available environmental resources are effectively

utilized.

6) Environmental governance: In order to achieve this objective, where rationality,

accountability, and reduction in time and costs are essential principles, a reduction in operation

and maintenance cost of the zero discharge system is achieved by the utilization of windmill;

otherwise this project becomes economically unviable. The dependency on transported water is

greatly reduced, so that drought and other calamities could not affect the efficiency of the

processing units.

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7) Enhancement of resources for environmental conservation: This objective is achieved by

augmenting the existing 5 acres of forest cover to 20 acres. Thus, the local micro climate gets

improved, soil fertility is restored, and ecological balance is sustained.

While implementation of this project greatly reduces environmental pollution, it will also help us

to overcome international competition in textiles sector in the open market economy commencing

in the year 2005. Especially, we will be well equipped to compete with our potential competitor -

China, and to meet the target of US $ 50 billion in textiles goods export by year 2010 as

envisaged in National Textiles Policy, 2000.

Recent Advances towards Cleaner Production in Textile Dyeing:

While waste minimization is suggested as one of the criteria for achieving cleaner production,

elimination of use of large quantities of water in textile wet processing is the best way of

implementing zero discharge. On the one hand it prevents pollution of the environment and, on

the other, it promotes water conservation. Such a possibility is unveiled by recent developments

in supercritical CO2 dyeing, which eliminates use of water and salt and improves the quality of

dyeing.

Acknowledgement:

We are very much thankful to Mr.P.Saminathan, Managing Director, Manickapurampudur

Common Effluent Plant (P). Ltd., Tirupur, Tamil Nadu, and all the member units for providing

us with enough data and necessary information for presentation in this conference.

19
References:

Apparel Export Promotion Council, Tirupur. http://www.aepcindia.com/salient.asp

Balaji, S. (2003) State of Environment Report of Tamil Nadu, Department of Environment,

Government of Tamil Nadu.

Banerjee, A. and Munshi, K. (2003) How efficiently is capital allocated? Evidence from the
knitted garment industry in Tirupur. Bureau for Research in Economic Analysis of Development
(BREAD) Working Paper No.004, Department of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology.

Blomqvist, A. (1996) Food and fashion: Water management and collective action among
irrigation farmers and textile industrialists in south India. Linkopeng University, Linkopeng,
Sweden.

Govindarajalu, K. (2003) Industrial effluent and health status: A case study of Noyyal river basin.
In: Martin J.Bunch, V.Madha Suresh and T.Vasantha Kumaran (Eds.), Proceedings of the Third
International Conference on Environment and Health, Chennai, India. 15-17 December, 2003.
Department of Geography, University of Madras & Faculty of Environmental Studies, York
University, 150-157.

Harris, N., Bulbul, L., Mainuddin, K., Meng, K., Naguib, S. and Srinivas, S. (2000)
Garment-Making and Urbanisation: An Introductory Study of Four Cases. Working Paper Series-
6, Urban Development Division, World Bank, pp.60.

Palanisami, K., Raviraj, A., Thirumurthi, S. and Sellamuthu, K.M. (2004) Augmenting ground
water resources by artificial recharge AGRAR. Inception report for the research site at
Kodangipalayam village, Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu, Water Technology Centre, Tamil Nadu
Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, pp.57.

Postel, S. (1999) Pillar of Sand: Can the irrigation miracle last? World Watch Institute,
Washington.

Revenga, C. (2000) Will there be enough water? In: Pilot Analysis of Global Ecosystems:
Freshwater Systems. Earth Trends: Featured Topic, October 2000.

Sakthivel, A. (2004) Tirupur knitwear export cluster, India. In: ITC Executive Forum on National
Export Strategies - Competitiveness through public-private partnership: Successes and lessons
learned, Montreux, Switzerland, 26-29 September 2004.

Chari, S. (2003) Capital as toil: Peasant-workers and the agrarian past in a South Indian industrial
town. School of Development Studies, London School of Economics, University of Natal-
Durban, UK.

Confederation of Indian Industry (2004) Opportunity India: Textile Industry.

http://www.ciionline.org

20
Crow, M.T. (1999) Successfully adjusting to environmental regulation: The small-firm cluster of
Tirupur, India. Dissertation, Master in City Planning, Massachusetts Insitute of Technology,
pp.118.

Heyer, J. (2000) The changing position of thottam farmers in villages in rural Coimbatore, Tamil
Nadu, between 1981/2 and 1996. QEH Working Paper Series No.59, Centre for Development
Studies, University of Oxford, Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford, United Kingdom.

Loss of Ecology (Prevention & Payments of Compensation), Authority for the State of Tamil
Nadu, Chennai. Assessment of Loss of Ecology and Environment in the Noyyal and Amaravathy
River basins due to pollution by industries. Part III: Economic Evaluation of Environmental
Damages. Report prepared by Centre for Environmental Studies, Anna University, September
2003.

Lowe, E.A. (2001) Eco Industrial Park Handbook for Asian Developing Countries. Report to
Asian Development Bank, October 2001.

Madras School of Economics (1998) Economic analysis of environmental problems in bleaching

and dyeing units and suggestions for policy action. Supported by UNIDO project LARGE.

National Environment Policy (2004) Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India,
New Delhi (Draft).

UNIDO (2003) List of 358 SSI clusters in India identified by UNIDO Focal Point in India.
http://www.smallindustryindia.com/publications/books/clusdev/annexure.pdf

21
 Table-1

Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) norms for

Textile Dye Effluent Discharge into Natural Water Systems

S.No. Characteristics Unit Tolerance Limit

1 pH 5.5-9.0

2 Temperature °C 40°C

nm/ Shall pass through

3 Particles size of total suspended solids
micron 850 micron IS sieve

4 Total suspended solids mg/L 100

5 Total dissolved solids (inorganics) mg/L 2100

6 Chloride (as Cl) mg/L 1000

7 Sulphide (as S) mg/L 2

8 Sluphate (as SO2-4) mg/L 1000

9 Fluoride (as F) mg/L 2

10 Ammonical nitrogen (as N) mg/L 50

11 Sodium % -

12 Copper (as Cu) mg/L 3

13 Zinc (as Zn) mg/L 1

14 Phenolic compounds mg/L 1

15 Oil and grease mg/L 10

16 Boron (as B) mg/L 2

Biological oxygen demand;

17 mg/L 30
5 days @ 20°C

18 Chemical oxygen demand mg/L 250

19 Total residual chlorine mg/L 1

20 Arsenic (as As) mg/L 0.2

21 Cadmium (as Cd) mg/L 2

22 Total chromium (as Cr) mg/L 2

23 Chromium (VI) mg/L 0.1

24 Lead (as Pb) mg/L 0.1

25 Selenium (as Se) mg/L 0.05

26 Mercury (as Hg) mg/L 0.01

22
S.No. Characteristics Unit Tolerance Limit

27 Pesticides - absent

28 Alpha emitters µCu/mL 10-7

29 Beta emitters µCu/mL 10-6

30 Free ammonia (as NH3) mg/L 5

31 Dissolved phosphates (as P) mg/L 5

32 Total Kjaldhal nitrogen (as N) mg/L 100

33 Cyanide (as CN) mg/L 0.2

34 Nickel (as N) mg/L 9

35 Residual sodium carbonate mg/L -

(Source: TNPCB, Tirupur)

23
 Table-2

List of Common Effluent Treatment Plants in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu,

With Their Effluent Treatment Capacity

Effluent
No. of member Commenced
S.No. CETP Generation
units during
(m3/day)A

1 Andipalayam CETP 23 Feb. 1999 5,000

2 Angeripalayam CETP 79 Mar. 1999 8,500
3 Chinnakarai CETP 35 Jan. 1999 5,000
4 Kasipalayam CETP 16 Jan. 1999 4,000
5 Kunnankalpalayam CETP 20 Apr. 1999 4,250
6 Manickapurampudur CETP 10 Apr. 1999 1,600
7 Mannarai CETP 21 Apr. 1999 4,200
8 Veerapandi CETP 73 Jan. 1999 10,000
Total 277 42,550
Other individual units 523

A
Permitted amount of effluent generation by Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board.

24
 Table-3

LIST OF MEMBER UNITS OF MPCETP WITH

DISCHARGE CAPACITY

Quantity of effluent
S.No. Name and address of the member unit permitted to the
CETP (m3/day)
Vino Colours 215
1 SF 248/1, Manthoppu, Manickapurampudur
Manoor P.O,.Tirupur 641606
Sun Textile Process 205
2 SF 235/1, 235/2, Peykkattu Thottam
Manickapurampudur, Manoor P.O, Tirupur 641 606
Marvel Dyeing Mill 170
3 SF 275/2, Karaikkattu Thottam
Manickapurampudur, Manoor P.O, Tirupur 641 606.
Pratheepa Process 140
4 SF 236/1, Vembadi Thottam Manickapurampudur
Manoor P.O, Tirupur 641 606
Sri Chakra Colours 240
5 SF 236/2, Manthoppu Manickapurampudur
Manoor P.O, Tirupur 641 606
Akshera Process 155
6 SF 228/1, Peykkadu Thottam Manickapurampudur
Manoor P.O, Tirupur 641 606.
Velmurugan Dyeing & Bleaching 125
7 SF 275/1, Karaikkattu ThottamManickapurampudur
Manoor P.O., Tirupur 641 606
Thiyagu Process 125
8 SF 236/2, Manthoppu Manickapurampudur
Manoor P.O, Tirupur 641 606
Navy Bleaching & Dyeing 150
9 SF 236/2, Manthoppu Manickapurampudur
Manoor P.O, Tirupur 641 606.
Wintech Bleachers 75
10 SF 236/1, Karaikkattu ThottamManickapurampudur
Manoor P.O., Tirupur 641 606
Present level of total effluent discharge 1600 m3/day

25
 Table-4

Average Monthly Usuage of Selected Chemicals

by All the Ten Member Units of MPCETP

S.No. Chemical Quantity (kg/L)

1 Wetting oil 2,400 kg
2 Peroxide 8,000 kg
3 Acetic acid 24,000 L
4 Dye stuff 8,000 kg
5 Salt 80,000 kg
6 Soda ash 32,000 kg
7 Bleaching powder 800 kg
8 Caustic soda 6000 kg
9 Soaping oil 2400 L
10 Softner 2400 L
11 Fixing oil 1600 L

26
 Table-5: Yearly Operation Cost of MPCETP, Tirupur.

Administrative
Quantity of Treatment cost
Cost of treatment chemicals in INR. Electricity cost & other over Total
effluent flow per 100 cu.m
Year heads

Ferrous Total cost of

Lime Polyelectrolyte
sulphate chemicals

1999-2000 4,63,643 2,04,361 - 6,68,004 1,45,027 3,80,019 11,93,250 1,45,038.90 823

2000-2001 7,50,894 3,11,304 - 10,62,198 2,56,075 13,04,539 26,15,813 2,77,955.30 941

2001-2002 8,21,022 4,50,485 2,685 12,74,192 3,21,385 14,22,972 29,88,212 3,29,103.18 908

2002-2003 10,18,219 3,52,808 90,518 14,61,545 4,82,497 13,21,154 32,65,196 4,54,255.00 719

834
Total 30,53,778 13,18,958 93,203 44,65,939 12,04,984 44,28,684 1,00,62,471 12,06,352.38
(average)

27
 MPCETP - Upgradation & Modernization Proposal Under TCIDS Scheme

Table-6
Analytical Results of Treated Effluent of the
Manickapurampudur Common Effluent Treatment Plant, Tirupur.
(Analysed at the District Environmental Laboratory, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, Tirupur)

S No Parameter 29.12.2003 18.9.2003 31.10.2003 30.8.2003 20.6.2003 23.5.2003

1 pH 7.93 9.44 8.85 7.58 7.97 8.57

2 Total suspended solids (mg/L) 80 104 156 132 8 90

3 Total dissolved solids (mg/L) 8404 7300 11568 9120 7252 8518

4 Chloride as Cl (mg/L) 3439 3679 5398 4039 3739 3879

5 Sulphate as SO2-4 (mg/L) 678 509 695 522 823 646

6 COD (mg/L) 73 79 99 43 146 78

7 BOD 3 days at 27°C (mg/L) 9 27 24 7 63 39

8 Oil and grease (mg/L) 4 3 2 1 3 2

9 Total residual chlorine (mg/L) <1 <1 <1 BDL BDL BDL

10 Sulphide (mg/L) <1 <1 <1 BDL BDL BDL

11 Phenolic compound (mg/L) < 0.0005 < 0.0005 < 0.0005 BDL BDL BDL

12 Percentage sodium (%) 88 87 74 77 70.2 58.8

13 Total chromium (mg/L) 0.381 1.095 0.148 0.688 BDL 0.48

28 Prepared by EPIC-In, Coimbatore

 MPCETP - Upgradation & Modernization Proposal Under TCIDS Scheme

S No Parameter 29.12.2003 18.9.2003 31.10.2003 30.8.2003 20.6.2003 23.5.2003

14 Copper (mg/L) < 0.0015 0.22 < 0.0015 0.25 0.07 0.185

15 Zinc (mg/L) < 0.0015 0.56 0.23 0.56 0.6 0.53

16 Lead (mg/L) 0.16 < 0.015 < 0.015 BDL 0.1 BDL

17 Nickel (mg/L) 0.21 0.55 < 0.006 0.93 0.3 BDL

18 Cadmium (mg/L) < 0.0008 0.02 < 0.0008 BDL BDL BDL

29 Prepared by EPIC-In, Coimbatore

 MPCETP - Upgradation & Modernization Proposal Under TCIDS Scheme

Table-6 continued........

S No Parameter 29.4.2003 8.7.2004 20.7.2004 28.6.2004 22.4.2004 26.3.2004

1 pH 8.24 7.68 7.91 8.28 7.31 7.37

2 Total suspended solids (mg/L) 56 108 76 84 46 44

3 Total dissolved solids (mg/L) 3324 10316 9300 9060 7994 10014

4 Chloride as Cl (mg/L) 4019 4705 4037 4835 3827 4194

5 Sulphate as SO2-4 (mg/L) 828 613 651 722 713 658

6 COD (mg/L) 93 160 379 160 48 102

7 BOD 3 days at 27°C (mg/L) 29 67 69 51 10 75

8 Oil and grease (mg/L) 2 3 6 5 <1 <1

9 Total residual chlorine (mg/L) BDL <1 <1 <1 <1 <1

10 Sulphide (mg/L) BDL 10 <1 <1 <1 <1

11 Phenolic compound (mg/L) BDL < 0.0005 < 0.0005 <1 < 0.0005 < 0.0005

12 Percentage sodium (%) 73.5 84 79 81 76 83

13 Total chromium (mg/L) 0.31 0.81 0.26 0.27 < 0.01 0.098

30 Prepared by EPIC-In, Coimbatore

 MPCETP - Upgradation & Modernization Proposal Under TCIDS Scheme

S No Parameter 18.9.2003 31.10.2003 30.8.2003 20.6.2003 23.5.2003

14 Copper (mg/L) 0.072 < 0.0015 < 0.0015 < 0.0015 < 0.0015 0.09

15 Zinc (mg/L) 0.3 0.104 0.24 0.11 0.12 0.01

16 Lead (mg/L) BDL < 0.015 < 0.015 < 0.015 < 0.015 < 0.015

17 Nickel (mg/L) 0.59 < 0.006 < 0.006 < 0.006 < 0.006 < 0.006

18 Cadmium (mg/L) BDL < 0.0008 < 0.0008 < 0.0008 < 0.0008 < 0.0008

31 Prepared by EPIC-In, Coimbatore

 MPCETP - Upgradation & Modernization Proposal Under TCIDS Scheme

Table-6 continued........

S No Parameter 31.1.2004 24.1.2004

1 pH 6.76 7.91

2 Total suspended solids (mg/L) 100 296

3 Total dissolved solids (mg/L) 8528 8024

4 Chloride as Cl (mg/L) 3319 3999

5 Sulphate as SO2-4 (mg/L) 448 648

6 COD (mg/L) 8 88

7 BOD 3 days at 27°C (mg/L) 1 17

8 Oil and grease (mg/L) <1 6

9 Total residual chlorine (mg/L) <1 <1

10 Sulphide (mg/L) <1 <1

11 Phenolic compound (mg/L) < 0.0005 < 0.0005

12 Percentage sodium (%) 61 79

13 Total chromium (mg/L) < 0.01 0.086

32 Prepared by EPIC-In, Coimbatore

S No Parameter 31.1.2004 24.1.2004

14 Copper (mg/L) < 0.0015 0.056

15 Zinc (mg/L) < 0.0015 < 0.0015

16 Lead (mg/L) < 0.015 < 0.015

17 Nickel (mg/L) < 0.006 < 0.006

18 Cadmium (mg/L) < 0.0008 < 0.008

33 Prepared by EPIC-In, Coimbatore

Fig.-2: Resource Flow Analysis for Tirupur Town (Units: Water – Thousand liters per day;
Electrical energy – thousand kWh per year; Others – tons per year).

Source: Lowe, E.A. (2001) Eco Industrial Park Handbook for Asian Developing Countries. Report to Asian
Development Bank, October 2001.

36
 Fig.3

Manickapurampudur CETP – Upgradation & Modernization

Zero Discharge Scheme for Water & Salt Recovery & Reuse

Pure Water (for dyeing)

Dyeing Process

Raw Effluent (Dye Bath + Wash Water)

RO Permeate RO Plant RO Reject

NF Permeate NF Plant NF Reject

Multiple Effect Evaporator

Recovered Water Salt (for reuse) Mother Liquor

Reuse for Dark Shade Fabrics Solar Pan Evaporation

Forest Cover Salt (for reuse)

Article presented by S.ESWARAMOORTHI at the International Conference on
Soil and Groundwater Contamination: Risk Assessment and Remedial Measures
during December 8 -11, 2004 at the National Geophysical Research Institute,
Hyderabad, India

Comments on this article can be forwarded to chitraeswar@gmail.com