Decolorizing and detoxifying textile wastewater, containing both soluble and insoluble dyes, in a full scale combined anaerobic/aerobic system

The wastewater originating from the bleaching and dyeing processes in the textile factory Ten Cate Protect in Nijverdal (the Netherlands) was successfully treated in a sequential anaerobic/aerobic system. In the system, a combination of an anaerobic 70-m3 fluidized bed reactor and a 450-m3 aerobic basin with integrated tilted plate settlers, 80–95% of the color was removed. The color was largely removed in the preacidification basin and the anaerobic reactor. Color, deriving from both reactive as well as disperse, was anaerobically removed, indicating that these type of dyes were reduced to colorless products. Interestingly, the vat dyes, the anthraquinones and indigoids, which were thought to be removed mainly aerobically, were largely anaerobically decolorized. Apparently the anaerobic system is capable of effectively removing the color of both soluble as insoluble dyes. The treated effluent of the sequential anaerobic/aerobic treatment showed no toxicity towards the bioluminescent bacterium Vibrio fisheri (EC20 (95%)>45%). Partially bypassing the anaerobic stage resulted in increased toxicity (EC20 (95%) of 9% and 14%) in the effluent of the aerobic treatment and caused significant decrease of color removal. The results of this study show a main contribution of anaerobic treatment in decolorizing and detoxifying the textile wastewater in the sequential anaerobic/aerobic system.