‘Rice husk can cut cost of treating textile wastewater’

Locally available materials such as rice husk and husk powder could replace costly de-colouring agents in removing toxic dyes from textile wastewater, making treatment cheaper and more eco-friendly, a researcher said.

Presenting her research at a discussion at the Ministry of Science and Technology meeting room in the Secretariat held recently, Sabrina Mostafa said the approach would also make it easier for industries to meet the 2024 government environmental guideline.

Sabrina, a Senior Scientific Officer at the IGCRT of the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) and a PhD researcher at RMIT University in Australia, presented her study titled "Process development for the treatment of wastewater from textile industries in Bangladesh", according to a ministry press release.

"New emphasis is being given to using locally available materials, such as rice husk and husk powder, as an alternative to the costly conventional de-colouring agents used to remove toxic and harmful colour," she said.

She said the technology would make textile wastewater treatment significantly more cost-effective and environment-friendly, while allowing the industry to implement "successfully and with ease" the 2024 guideline, which requires colour units to be kept within 150.

Dr Narshad Haque, a scientific officer, joined the discussion from Australia through a virtual platform and commented on the research.

"This method of removing colour from textile wastewater using local natural materials at low cost will play an important role in making Bangladesh's textile sector greener, more eco-friendly and more competitive in the global market," he said.

Speaking as the chief guest, Science and Technology Secretary Md Anwar Hossain stressed treating harmful wastewater from the textile and garment sectors with modern technology to ensure sustainable industrialisation and protect the environment.

He said BCSIR and the sustainability departments of business bodies such as BGMEA and BKMEA must jointly carry out research and process development to treat effluent from the sectors in an environment-friendly manner.

The secretary called for forming a strong and efficient research and development (R&D) team so that effective treatment could begin even before wastewater is discharged from plants.

He also drew attention to reducing the use of chemical dyes and increasing the use of local natural materials, saying this would lower production costs and play a groundbreaking role in protecting the environment.

He urged cutting dependence on costly imported dyes by building long-term partnerships with local chemical manufacturers that have their own R&D facilities in Bangladesh.

The secretary also spoke of developing and applying technologies that use minimum water in textile dyeing, to stop excessive use of groundwater and drinking water. He said findings from new research on reusing or recycling post-dyeing and processed wastewater must be applied in industry.

BKMEA President Mohammad Hatem said such research initiatives would be very timely, eco-friendly and a groundbreaking discovery for the textile industry. 

He said BKMEA is ready to support the Science and Technology Ministry in quickly taking the work from piloting to the implementation stage.

Additional Secretary of the ministry Dr Syeda NowshinParnini, BCSIR Chairman Dr Samina Ahmed, a representative of the BGMEA and representatives of the sustainability department of H&M, among others, attended the programme.�" BSS