A review on chemical coagulation/flocculation technologies for removal of colour from textile wastewaters

Textile industry is one of the most chemically intensive industries on the earth and the major polluter of potable water. It generates huge quantities of complex chemical substances as a part of unused materials including dyes in the form of wastewater during various stages of textile processing. The direct discharge of this wastewater into environment affects its ecological status by causing various undesirable changes. As environmental protection becomes a global concern, industries are finding novel solutions for developing technologies that can diminish the environmental damage. However, colour removal from textile wastewater by means of cheaper and environmental friendly technologies is still a major challenge. In this manuscript, several options of decolourisation of textile wastewater by chemical means have been reviewed. Based on the present review, some novel pre-hydrolysed coagulants such as Polyaluminium chloride (PACl), Polyaluminium ferric chloride (PAFCl), Polyferrous sulphate (PFS) and Polyferric chloride (PFCl) have been found to be more effective and suggested for decolourisation of the textile wastewater. Moreover, use of natural coagulants for textile wastewater treatment has also been emphasised and encouraged as the viable alternative because of their eco-friendly nature. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.