WASHING POLLUTION PROCESSES POLLUTANTS EFFECTS CURE

COMMON AIR EMISSIONS FROM TEXTILE AND CLOTHING PROCESS

VOLATILE ORGANIC
PARTICULATE
COMPOUNDS
MATTER (PM10)
(VOC’S)

SULPHUR
DIOXIDE

OXIDES OF CARBON
NITROGEN MONOXIDE
 Laundry detergent contains up to eight poisonous chemicals

 It takes 3 washes with a nontoxic detergent

CL BLEACH SODIUM
PHOSPHATES SODIUM HYDROXIDE
to remove the toxins.
HYPOCHLORITE LYE  If it is not a nontoxic detergent, it takes 16
rinses to remove most of the poisons.
 Ban on phosphates led manufacturers to
AMMONIA PHENOIS FILLERS
replace phosphates with caustics which are
100 times more caustic than phosphate
detergents.
 Examples are: Lye (Sodium Hydroxide)
 Potassium Hypochlorite. These caustics
NITRILOTRIACETIC
NTA’S LYE clean by a chemical reaction that burns or
ACID
eats away other substances which wear out
clothes faster and dull the fabric’s colors.
 2. PROCESSES

DYEING &
SCOURING BLEACHING FINISHING GARMENTING
PRINTING
 ENVIRONMENT ISSUES IN SCOURING

 Wool grease is insoluble in water, but soluble in non-polar solvents such

as dichloromethane or hexane. Refined wool grease is a valuable by-
product.

 Suint is the secretion of the sweat glands in the skin.

 Suint is soluble in polar solvent such as water and alcohol.

 Dirt can include a variety of materials such as mineral dirt, sands, clay,
dust and organic materials.
ELECTROPLASTICIDE
ELCTRO PLASTICIDES USED FOR SCOURING
OF WOOL
POLLUTION ORIGINATING FROM CHEMICALS &
AUXILLARIES USED IN SCOURING
•Bleaching – When bleaching cotton, a lot of chemicals, energy and water are part of the process. The company Huntsman
has developed a wetter/stabilizer that maximizes the wetting and detergency of the bleaching process and a one-bath
caustic neutralizer and peroxide remover in order to shorten the bleaching cycle, reduce energy and water required and
deliver more consistent bleaching results. They have developed surfactants that are environmentally friendly (in that they
do not contain Alkylphenol ethoxylates), and the system is both Oeko-Tex and GOTS approved. After fabric or yarn
bleaching, residues of hydrogen peroxide are left in the bath, and need to be completely removed prior to
the dyeingprocess, using a step called bleach cleanup. The traditional method is to neutralize the bleach with a reducing
agent, but the dose has to be controlled precisely. Incomplete peroxide removal results in poor dyeing with distinct change
of color shade and intensity, as well as patchy, inconsistent dye distribution. Enzymes used for bleach clean-up ensure that
residual hydrogen peroxide from the bleaching process is removed efficiently – a small dose of catalase breaks hydrogen
peroxide into water and oxygen. This results in cleaner waste water and reduced water consumption.
• In 2010, a life-cycle assessment was completed comparing PrimaGreen enzymatic bleaching to conventional
textile bleaching methods. According to this LCA, if the enzymatic system were to see wide scale global
adoption, the potential savings in freshwater consumption could be up to 10 trillion liters of water annually, and
greenhouse gas reductions could range from 10-30 million metric tons. (1)
•Biofinishing or biopolishing (removing fiber fuzz and pills from fabric surface) – enzymatic biofinishing yields a cleaner
surface, softer handfeel, reduces pilling and increases luster;
•Denim finishing – In the traditional stonewashing process, the blue denim was faded by the abrasive action of pumice
stones on the garment surface. Nowadays, denim finishers are using a special cellulase. Cellulase works by loosening the
indigo dye on the denim in a process known as ‘Bio-Stonewashing’. A small dose of enzyme can replace several kilograms
of pumice stones. The use of less pumice stones results in less damage to garment, machine and less pumice dust in the
laundry environment; in addition, it’s possible to fade denim without risk of damaging the garment.
•European scientists have just announced a new and environmentally friendly way to produce textile dyes using enzymes
from fungi.
• Recently a new enzymatic scouring process known as ‘Bio-Scouring’ is being used in
textile wet-processing with which all non-cellulosic components from native cotton are completely
or partially removed. After this Bio-Scouring process, the cotton has an intact cellulose structure,
with lower weight loss and strength loss.

•The fabric gives better wetting and penetration properties, making the subsequent bleach process
easy and giving much better dye uptake.

•One of the newest products, PrimaGreen® EcoScour from Genencor, offers sustainability
advantages for eco-scouring in cotton pretreatment, including 30 percent water savings and 60
percent energy savings compared to standard processing. In addition, the mild processing
conditions result in improved fabric quality and enhanced color brightness after dyeing.
FINISHING OF APPARELS
 The toxic chemical compound on laundry detergent

 Here are some general substances created on standard detergent, with the chemical
compounds to build and the risks they have:

Artificial •That are made from petroleum

fragrances: and do not degrade.

Risk to human •Rashes and skin irritation.

health:
Risk to •The loss of marine life and
Environment: algae growth.
Optical Brighteners: Anti-redeposition
• Made from various agent.
synthetic chemicals • Polyethylene glycol
which are not (PEG) is used which is
biodegradable. made from ethylene
Risk to the Environment: oxide, similar to non-
These unnecessary ionic detergent which is
chemicals are not considered to be
extremely toxic to fish toxic. However, it does
and aquatic life add overall pollution.
Washing has a significant environmental impact. The energy used to heat water
is staggering, and the pollution from laundry water into the wastewater stream
is increasing.

Phosphates were
part of all laundry Some ingredients are
detergents - result endocrine disrupters,
was algae bloom others pollute the air
Detergents differ in
and are also often environment, and
their
contaminated with many wreak havoc
biodegradability and
heavy metals — with sensitive skin,
their ingredients.
arsenic, in particular. allergies or other
Phosphates are reactions to
banned-have now chemicals.
phased out
 IMPLICATIONS OF TOXIC CHEMICALS IN FINISHING

 Resins used for anti-crease finish, like urea-formaldehyde, dimethylol ethylene urea
and dimethylol dihydroxy ethylene urea, etc. release formaldehyde during
application which block respiratory tracts and cause uneasiness in breathing.

 Flame-retardant chemicals like tetrakis‘ (hydroxymethyl phosphonium chloride)

and 'tris' cause cancer.

 Qcrylate and methacrylate copolymers containing free

carboxyl groups are invariably used as soil release agents on
polyester and its blends, are resistant to biological attack.
DYEING & PRINTING
SOAPS & DETERGENTS
Used by indian industries, it
has no harmful chemicals
involved.
Especially used for babies clothes
by Arvind Mills.
The seeds come from trees
(Sapindus mukorossi) grown
throughout India and Nepal.

Before this detergent was

released, soapnuts were only
available in their raw form,
and they were fairly
expensive.

cleanut detergent comes in

liquid form and also contains
other ingredients like certified
natural surfactants and
organic soaps.

Used by most of the

industries in India, America
and Germany.
Health Hazards

Brown
lung Byssinosis
disease

Glass Formaldehyd
e may cause
fibers nasal cancer

Vinyl
chloride may Certain
harm liver
effecting dyestuffs
cancer
National Institutes
of Health (NIH) has • Should phenol be absorbed into
declared phenol is the body, death and toxicity are
prone to attack the central
toxic to people, nervous system, heart, blood
especially those vessels, lungs and kidneys.
who are
hypersensitive

• When it reacts with other organic

materials, the results are even
more harmful. Carcinogenic and
Bleach, or sodium toxic compounds are created.
These can cause damage or
hypochlorite. disorders to the reproductive
system, endocrine and immune
systems.
 Effects on human health

• Detergents contain strong alkalis, phosphates or damaging (corrosive)

acids, including benzalkonium chloride.
1.

• Swallowing such poisons indirectly - severe effects on many parts of the

body and symptoms like severe pain, vomiting blood, heart collapse,
2. breathing difficulty and burns or holes in the skin and underlying tissue.

• Petroleum distillates, or napthas- linked to cancer, lung damage and/or

inflammation, and mucous membrane damage
3.