ARTICLE IN PRESS

Journal of Environmental Management 83 (2007) 4150

www.elsevier.com/locate/jenvman

Review

Guidelines and legislation for dye house efuents

C. Hessela, C. Allegrea, M. Maisseub, F. Charbita, P. Moulina,
a

Laboratoire en Procedes Propres et Environnement (LPPE-UMR6181), Universite Paul Cezanne dAix-Marseille III,
Europole de lArbois, BP 80, 13545 Aix en Provence cedex 04, France
b
Clariant, 70 avenue du General de Gaulle, 92058 Paris la Defense cedex, France
Received 4 February 2005; received in revised form 6 February 2006; accepted 6 February 2006
Available online 15 May 2006

Abstract
Increasing attention has been paid over the years to the environmental problems related to industrial activities. Environmental
standards have been established and control organisms have been created with a view to applying restrictive legislation. In the dyeing
industry, ennoblers discharge in the environment large volumes of strongly coloured efuents that are heavily loaded with pollutants and
highly concentrated in salts. This chemical load is generated during the different steps of textile preparation. After reviewing the
characteristics of these efuents, this paper gives a comparative review of the current legislations on the dyeing industry emissions. It
examines more closely the discharge legislation, rst in France and then in other countries around the world. A comparison of the six
most representative parameters shows how different the applied constraints are in different countries.
r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Dye-house; Environment; Guidelines; Legislation

Contents
1.
2.

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Dyeing efuents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1. Mineral salts and hydrolysed reactive dyes in
2.2. Protocol for reactive dyeing . . . . . . . . . . . .
3. Standards and legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.1. Legislation in Europe and France . . . . . . . .
3.2. Dye house efuents in France . . . . . . . . . . .
3.3. Legislation and norms in other countries . . .
3.3.1. Colour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.3.2. BOD5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.3.3. COD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.3.4. Suspended solids . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.3.5. Salinity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.3.6. Detergents and oil and grease . . . . .
4. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Corresponding author. Tel.: +33 4 42 90 85 05; fax: +33 4 42 90 85 15.

E-mail address: philippe.moulin@univ.u-3mrs.fr (P. Moulin).

0301-4797/$ - see front matter r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2006.02.012

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42
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ARTICLE IN PRESS
42

C. Hessel et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 83 (2007) 4150

25000

More and more water is being consumed, due to

demographic growth and the expansion of industrial
activity, while water supply has remained constant. This
is daily becoming a more alarming global problem. Bad
water management has contributed to an irreversible
reduction in fresh water availability. Political authorities
are now aware of this vital problem, as the European
Directive dated 20 December 2000 demonstrated: Water
is not a commodity like any other, but a precious resource
that must be protected and treated. The purpose of this
directive is to guarantee everyone access to good quality
water at the lowest possible price. It is, therefore, an
obligation for everyone to take action in order to save on
this resource and use it in a responsible way.
The textile industry covers a wide range of activities,
from preparation of the raw material to ennoblement
treatment. Ennoblement is the collective term for pretreatment, dyeing, printing, and nishing of textile
material. These activities are all energy- and waterconsuming as well as highly chemically polluting. When
dyeing textile materials, water serves two purposes. Water
vapour acts as a heating agent for the dyebaths, while
liquid water ensures the transmission of the dyes onto the
bre. Cotton is the most commonly used bre worldwide
and has the highest water demand. Reactive dyeing of
1 kg of cotton requires about 150 L of water, 0.6 kg of
NaCl, and 40 g of reactive dyes. More than 80,000 tonne
of reactive dyes are produced and consumed every year.
One can easily imagine the total amount of pollution
generated. Given their benecial technical characteristics,
reactive dyes are used to dye more than half the global
production of cotton. Unfortunately, they are the least
environmentally friendly of all dyes, generating efuents
that are strongly coloured and highly concentrated in salts.
The short- and medium-term perspectives of the textile
industry show that even though the general situation is
stable, the consumption of reactive dyes will go on
increasing to the detriment of other classes of dyes (Dulak,
1990).
Now the main environmental concern of the textile
industry is the amount of water used as solvent. According
to the EIPPCB (European Integrated Pollution Prevention
and Control Bureau) estimates, the textile industry releases
more than 0.2 million of tons of salts in the environment
every year. More than 7000 different compounds and
additives are used for the preparation of textile materials,
and up to 1 kg of these substances are used for each
kilogram of fabric.
In geographical terms, 40% of the dyestuffs used
worldwide are produced in Europe, whose textile industry
is mainly located in Italy, France, Spain, Germany, and the
United Kingdom. Outside Europe, the two major dyeing
countries are Japan and the United States (Fig. 1). During
the 1980s, there was a restructuring of the dyestuff
industry, due to various economic factors (Dulak, 1990).

20000
(x 103 Tons)

1. Introduction

15000

Emerging countries
USA
Eastern Europe
Western Europe
Japan

10000
5000
0
1960

1970

1980
Year

1990

2000

Fig. 1. Evolution of the consumption of textile material for dyeing, in

thousands of tons, as a function of time for different geographical zones
(PVD: developing countries).

The European economic recession in the 1980s urged dye

manufacturers to relocate production plants in countries
where production costs were low, as Asian and Eastern
European producers were getting more and more competitive. At the same time, certain production processes were
abandoned. The growing environmental concern necessitating more strict legislation was the second factor
responsible for this restructuring. This was felt far more
strongly in industrialized countries, and the dyeing industry
of the western countries was urged to take action to protect
the environment and the safety of its employees. As a
result, the most dangerous substances were abandoned
along with the most unsafe production techniques. The
purication of wastewater and the treatment and incineration of wastes required by the legislation increased
production costs signicantly (Dulak, 1990).
During restructuring, the dye manufacture and dyeing
industry were largely relocated to developing countries,
where more recent legislations did not call for the same
respect of emission standards. But what is the present
situation? Are the limits getting stricter? Can the rigour
with which these limits are applied account for the present
geographical location of dye houses? What countries are
the least/the strictest about the main pollutants released by
the dyeing industry?
After briey describing the different steps of a reactive
dyeing process and the environmental problems related to
this type of process, a comparative review of the guidelines
currently applied to the dyeing industry in France, Europe,
and other countries will also be given.

2. Dyeing efuents
2.1. Mineral salts and hydrolysed reactive dyes in
wastewater
In the textile industry, water is used as the main solvent
for removing impurities and applying dyes and nishing

ARTICLE IN PRESS
C. Hessel et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 83 (2007) 4150

agents. The various baths are discharged in the environment as aqueous efuents (a small amount of water
evaporates during the drying step). An overview of the
environmental loads is given in Table 1. The data reported
here were obtained from an extrapolation to the whole of
Europe from the results of a research study carried out in
Germany and Austria. The report shows that a large
percentage of the pollution generated by textile industry
activities can be attributed to substances that are already
present on the raw material. From the data reported in
Table 1, it can be seen that the pollutant load is mostly
salts, detergents, and organic acids. Dyestuffs have been
omitted because they do not represent a signicant load
compared to the other substances used in the process.
Nevertheless, they are responsible for the efuent colouration, which, apart from being unaesthetic, may reduce light
transmission to aquatic life.
The degree of xation of a dye on a bre varies
depending on the type of bre to be dyed, the shade of
the dye, and the dyeing parameters. Therefore, the xation
rates of different dyes can only be given as guidelines
(Table 2). Dyestuffs, and more especially reactive dyes,
may have poor xation rates and, hence, may be hard to
remove from wastewaters because of their low biodegradability and their low level of absorption onto activated

Table 1
Main charging from textile industry in Europe (http://www.textile.fr/
autres/eurat0.htm)
Substances

Environmental loads
(tonnes year1)

Salts
Sizing agents
Preparation agents (mainly mineral oil but
also ester oil)
Surfactants (detergents, dispersing agents)
Natural bre impurities and associated
material)
Carboxylic acid

200,000250,000
80,000100,000
25,00030,000
20,00025,000
50,000100,000
15,00020,000

Table 2
Percentage of non-xed dye that may be discharged in the efuent as a
function of dye classes
Dyestuffs

EPA

OECD

Spain

Acid dyes
Basic dyes
Direct dyes
Disperse dyes
Azoic dyes
Reactive dyes
Metal complexes
Chrome dyes
Vat dyes
Sulfur dyes

1020
1
30
525
25
5060
10

25
25

720
23
520
820
510
2050
25

520
3040

515
02
520
010
1025
1035
515
510
530
1540

EPA: US Environmental Protection Agency.

OECD: Organization for Economic Cooperation Development.

43

Table 3
Quantity of mineral salt used during the exhaust of cotton with reactive or
direct dyes
Shade

Dye (%)

Amount of salt
applied with direct
dyes (g L1)

Amount of salt
applied with reactive
dyes (g L1)

Paste/light
Medium
Dark

o1.5
1.02.5
42.5

2.57.5
7.512.5
12.520

3060
7080
80100

sludge. Dyeing processes use different types of salts for

different purposes. Exhaust reactive dyeing of cotton, for
example, requires large amounts of salts, much larger than
those needed in other dyeing processes (with direct dyes for
example) and dye manufacturers have tried to tackle this
problem (Table 3). Salts are not removed by conventional
wastewater treatment processes and are therefore ultimately discharged in the nal efuent. In arid or semi-arid
regions their large-scale use by dye houses can lead to salt
concentrations in ground waters above the toxic limit, and
this increased groundwater salinity increases the osmotic
pressure of mammalian and aquatic species. It is also
important to note the toxicity of electrolytes towards
aquatic life and bacterial growth in municipal or industrial
wastewater treatment plants, as they increase the osmotic
pressure inside organic cells.
2.2. Protocol for reactive dyeing
The steps of exhaust reactive dyeing of 200 kg cotton
with a liquor ratio of 7:18:1 are as follows:
Preparation: The preparation of the material for dyeing
is a two-step operation, both steps taking place in the same
bath (First bath). First, the material is demineralized in the
presence of a selected detergent. Then, a stabilizer is added
to regulate the hydrogen peroxide decomposition rate. The
rst rinse at 80 1C (Second bath) removes the various oil
and parafn residues. Then caustic soda and hydrogen
peroxide residues are eliminated by dilution. After a second
and last rinse (Third bath), the bres are ready for dyeing.
Dyeing: The addition of large amounts of alkalis
necessary for the dye xation impairs the smooth progress
of the dye on the bre (Fourth bath).
Rinsing: This is the most time consuming phase and
continues to cause an unacceptable waste of water. The
dyed material is rinsed to eliminate the electrolytes and the
reactive dyes. These two components are different in nature
and are, therefore, eliminated by means of different
mechanisms (Fifth and sixth baths).
Soaping: The specic soaping agent used to eliminate the
last residues of hydrolysed reactive dyes is the sodium salt
of a polycarboxylic acid (Seventh bath). After soaping,
rinsing is carried out at 50 1C to eliminate the unxed dye
residues and the soaping agent and to neutralize and cool
the fabric (Eighth bath).

ARTICLE IN PRESS
C. Hessel et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 83 (2007) 4150

44

Table 4
Principal pollution caused by different dye baths
Bath

1Bleaching
2Rinsing
3Neutralization
4Dyeing
5Rinsing
6Rinsing
7Soaping
8Rinsing

BOD (mg L1)

COD (mg L1)

Conductivity (mS cm1)

1850
515
292
501
312
169
312
110

1805
530
252
199
289
118
244
107

5700
1540
830
1440
970
590
960
310

5300
1550
575
590
600
330
655
250

3.2
1.0
0.3
78
20.2
5.0
1.5
0.3

2.8
0.78
0.37
67.7
17.4
4.3
1.1
0.24

Example of dyeing with reactive dyes.

ADark shade with Drimaren HF.
BDark shade with Drimaren K.
Identical dark shade when dyed either with Drimaren HF or with Drimaren K.
The best xation ratio obtained with the new Drimaren HF gives the smallest values of BOD and COD for the dyeing, rinsing, and soaping baths.

An example of the principal characteristics of the baths

is given in Table 4. Pollutants vary from one bath to
another. Generally all the baths are collected in a retention
basin where they are mixed and homogenized. The total
volume collected is then either mixed with household
efuents that are sent to a municipal wastewater treatment
plant or directly treated in the dye house wastewater
treatment plant and released into the environment. Wastewater produced by reactive dyeing processes is characterized by high COD and BOD values (due to the presence of
soluble and insoluble organic residues from the bleaching
treatment and of dyeing auxiliaries), a colouration due to
hydrolysed reactive dyes, a heavy salinity, and the presence
of substances such as cotton brils in suspension. Despite
the complexity of such efuents, their treatment is based on
a combination of usual processes.

3. Standards and legislation

Water is used in practically all-human activities,
domestic as well as industrial. It is essential for all life
forms on our planet and, thus, deserves to be adequately
protected. A great many guidelines, recommendations, and
propositions have been developed to try to ensure the
protection of this vital resource. The different types of
water legislation, for Europe and France, will be examined
in this section. A great many texts have been issued, but
our research has shown that there is no one ofcial
document listing the different efuent limit values applied
in different countries. We have, therefore, decided to draw
up a document for each country summarizing information
on discharge norms for dyeing manufacturers.
First, we have considered the French textile industry and
the pollution parameters that seem to us representative of
this industry and then compared them with their counterparts in other countries. Unfortunately this review is not
extensive, but it can be used as a database by dyeing

manufacturers. It ought to be completed and regularly

updated.

3.1. Legislation in Europe and France

It is an obligation for the European Union member
states to comply with European legislation. It is often left
to the states to set their own limit values and to decide on
how to enforce them. There are different kinds of
legislative documents. Directives oblige the European
Union member states to achieve certain results. European
Regulations take precedence over national laws and are
binding on all member states as soon as they are issued.
Decisions on the other hand are mandatory only for
countries that have been designated. They decide not only
on the result to be achieved, but also on how to achieve it.
Recommendations and Opinions give guidance to countries
and enterprises on how to better function. These texts are
not associated with legal constraints and cannot be cited in
front of a court of justice for jurisdiction in the European
Union.
The French legislation is composed of laws, regulations,
decrees, and recommendations. Laws are voted by the
Parliament according to the legislative procedure established by the Constitution. Regulations are general texts
issued and signed by the French executive authority, i.e. the
Prime Minister or the President. They may be intended to
ensure the implementation of laws. Decrees, signed by the
President or the Prime Minister, cover more precise
prescriptions. They give guidance in the application of
laws and are valid general or individual decisions. There
are also other more specic decrees. They can be
established on different levels, with general application by
one or several ministers of the state, or individual
application by the regional authority, the Prefect (French
local authority). Recommendations are texts without any
obligatory force. They are written instructions from a

ARTICLE IN PRESS
C. Hessel et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 83 (2007) 4150

superior authority to his/her subordinates to help them in

the comprehension of certain texts (http://aida.ineris.fr/).
3.2. Dye house effluents in France
It can be seen from the development of French guidelines
since 1953 that, contrary to what might be expected, they
have not become stricter over the years (Fig. 2). Instead the
legislation has become more demanding through the
creation of taxes and more efcient controls. The costs
related to water use and wastewater treatment represent a
non-negligible part of the operational expenses of companies in France and in many other countries as well.
Institutes have been created to control whether regulations
are complied with: in France, the Ministry of Environment
was founded in 1971; in 1976 new legislation on classied
installations (Installations Classees pour la Protection de
lEnvironnement) was implemented; in 1992, the DRIRE
(Direction Regionale de lIndustrie, de la Recherche et de
lEnvironnement), the Regional Department of Industry,
Research, and Environment, was created to replace the
DRIR.
According to law, classied installations are installations
that may threaten any danger or nuisance, whether in
regard to neighbourhood amenity, public health, safety or
sanitation, agriculture, protection of nature and environment, or conservation of sites and monuments (Code de
lEnvironnementarticle L 511-1). Depending on the
seriousness of the risks or inconveniences, classied
installations will be subject to declaration or authorization.
The activities of installations subject to authorization are
delimited by the decree of 2 February 1998. The decree of
authorization issued for an individual company species
the emission limits with which it must comply.
The activities of installations subject to declaration are
often determined by model decrees issued for each type of
industry by the Minister of Environment and Sustainable
Development. The declaration procedure is lighter than the
authorization procedure, since declared installations have
2000
1800
1600

(mg.L-1)

1400

COD
BOD
SS
Ntot

1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
1953

1993
Year

1998

Fig. 2. Variation of French emissions versus time for discharges into

municipal wastewater treatment plant.

45

less impact on the environment. The decree of 25 July 2001

applies to textile industries subject to declaration. It applies
to the activities of dyeing, impression, nishing, coating,
bleaching, and washing of textile materials. The installations subject to a declaration procedure are those treating
between 50 kg and 1 tonne of textile bres each day,
while those treating more than 1 tonne of textile bres per
day are subject to an authorization procedure (http://
aida.ineris.fr/; http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr; http://www.
environnement.gouv.fr)
Table 5 lists the French norms (http://aida.ineris.fr/;
http://www.environnement.gouv.fr) applied to various
compounds and under specic conditions: ux, analysis
method, discharge location, emission limit values, and/or
decree. Units are all expressed in mg L1 if not otherwise
stated. In France, the norms vary depending on the
discharge location and it can be seen that those applied
to discharge into a municipal treatment plant are less strict
than those applied to discharge into the environment.
Moreover, the difference is signicant, which implies that
treatment plants are expected to be efcient. It is important
to note that there is no norm concerning the discharges of
the saltschlorides and/or sulphatesused in the textile
industry. These salts are not removed or destroyed by
standard wastewater treatments, which may lead to water
highly loaded with salts being discharged in the environment. The colour of the efuents discharged into a
treatment plant is not considered either. The colouration
of some of the baths might exceed 500 mg L1 PtCo (the
unit applied in France).
The emission limit values for COD and BOD are much
lower than the COD and BOD values measured in the rst
dyeing preparation bath. This can explain why the different
baths are mixed before being sent to the municipal
wastewater treatment plant. The French dye manufacturers
have to pay taxes, whether or not they are complying with
the standards.
3.3. Legislation and norms in other countries
Many federal countries, like the United States (http://
www.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/cfrassemble.cgi?title 200240),
Canada (http://www.menv.gouv.qc.ca/indexA.htm), and
Australia (http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/Water/EPA/#Other),
have national environmental legislation, which, like in
Europe, establishes the limit values to comply. Many
countries, like Thailand, have copied the American system.
Others have copied the European model, like Turkey or
Morocco. In some countries, for example India, Pakistan,
and Malaysia (www.ostc-was.org/environment/water.html
#3.2.1), the emission limits are recommended, not mandatory, limit values.
Only the six most important parameters for the textile
industry will be presented hereafter. These parameters are:
Biochemical Oxygen Demand, 5 days (BOD5), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Suspended Solids (SS),
salinity (chloride or sulphate), colour, and detergents or

ARTICLE IN PRESS
C. Hessel et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 83 (2007) 4150

46

Table 5
French discharge norms for textile dye manufacturers as a function of discharge location
Compounds

Arrete 2/2/1998 (for a production higher than 1 tonne day1)

Arrete 25/7/2001 (for a production higher

between 50 kg day1 and 1 tonne day1)

Particular conditions

Particular
conditions

Discharge location
Municipal
wastewater
treatment

pH
Temperature
Color
BOD5 (for no
decanted efuent)
COD (for no
decanted efuent)

SS (total)

Total nitrogen

Chloride
Fluoride
Sulphate
Total
hydrocarbons
Oil and greases
Detergent
Cyanides
Boron
Phenol
Halogenous
organic
compounds
Arsenic
Chromium total
Chromium
hexavalent
Copper
Manganese
Nickel
Lead
Tin
Zinc
Total metals

o30 kg day1 for pisciculture water

Flux430 kg day1
Flux415 kg day1
Fluxo100 kg day1 for pisciculture
water
Flux4100 kg day1 soit 50 kg day1
Flux445 kg day1
Fluxo15 kg day1
Flux415 kg day1
Evaporation by lagun
Average conc. per month when
uxX50 kg day1
Flux no specied
In the sensible area average conc. per
month when uxX150 kg day1
In the sensible area average conc. per
month when uxX300 kg day1

Nature

Discharge location
Municipal
wastewater
treatment

5.5opHo8.5
30 1C
100 mg Pt L1
100
30

Flux415 kg day1
Fluxo15 kg day1

800

300

Flux445 kg day1

2000

Nature

100

800

o300

125
2000
600

100
35
150

Flux415 kg day1
Fluxo15 kg day1
Flux415 kg day1

600
100
30

30
150
15
10

With compounds ux4150 g day1

SO2
4
Flux4100 g day1

15

Flux41 g day1

10

Flux4100 g day1

100

Flux41 g day1

0.1

Flux41 g day1

0.1

Flux43 g day1
Flux430 g day1

0.3
1

Flux43 g day1
Flux430 g day1

0.3
5

Flux45 g day1
Flux41 g day1

0.5
0.1

Flux41 g day1
Flux45 g day1
Flux41 g day1

0.1
0.5
0.1

Hexavalent ux45 g day1

Flux410 g day1
Hexavalent ux45 g day1
Hexavalent ux45 g day1
Hexavalent ux420 g day1
Hexavalent ux420 g day1

0.5
1
0.5
0.5
2
2
Flux4100 g day1

15

oil. Table 6 presents the applicable norms for the six

parameters mentioned above, depending on the discharge
location. It should be noted that sometimes, for some
countries, information about a parameter is not given. This
does not mean that this parameter is not taken into
account in these countries. There may be a norm, which
has not been made available to us. There is nothing in the

0.3

table concerning the United States, since the limit values

for the six parameters are set by the state legislations and
there are no average values.
3.3.1. Colour
In some countries like France, Austria, and Italy, there
are limit values for the efuent colouration. However, these

ARTICLE IN PRESS
C. Hessel et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 83 (2007) 4150

countries use different units, which makes comparison

impossible. The oldest unit is the Hazen, in use since the
beginning of the 20th century. In France, the current unit is
mg L1 PtCo units. The colouration values are determined by a comparative analysis with model solutions
prepared according to perfectly dened procedures. In
France, a sample of the coloured efuent is diluted by a
factor 30; if there is no visible colouration after dilution,
the efuent is said to be complying with the norm. In this
table: yes/no indicates whether a country has specied
standards/restrictions or not (whatever the unit). It seems
that only three countries have up-to-date limit values
concerning the colour of efuents discharged into treatment plants, while the other countries do not take this
parameter into account at all. Six countries have limit
values for discharge into the environment. Reactive dyes
are not eliminated by standard wastewater treatments and
we can see that this specic pollution is taken into account
in European countries, but not in countries like Morocco
or India.
3.3.2. BOD5
The Australian limit value for BOD5 is outstanding: it
shows a far higher tolerance for discharge into municipal
wastewater treatment plants (4000 mg L1) than in other
countries. For the other countries for which numerical
values were obtained (Hong Kong, France, and other
European countries) it can be seen that the rst dyeing
baths are not accepted by municipal wastewater treatment
plants due to their high organic load. This explains why
dye manufacturers mix their different baths before sending
the mixture to municipal wastewater treatment plants. As
for discharge into the environment, the limits are in most
cases lower than 40 mg L1, which indicates that protecting
the environment from biodegradable compounds has
become a matter of general concern. On the other hand
in Chile, Turkey, and Japan, the limits for discharge into
the environment are relatively high.
We can conclude that treatment plants in France and
Singapore, for example, are efcient and well adapted: the
BOD5 limit is higher for the efuents entering the plant
than for those leaving the plant. On the contrary, it seems
that Mexican treatment plants are not at all well adapted
since strict limit values (40 mg L1) are specied, whatever
the discharge location.
3.3.3. COD
In France, the same can be concluded about the
efciency of treatment plants concerning COD. Four
European countries and Hong Kong impose high limit
values for discharge into municipal wastewater treatment
plants. All the cotton ennoblement baths can, thus, be
directly discharged. A great many countries authorize
emissions with COD limit values as high as 600 mg L1.
This means that the different dyeing baths must be mixed
before being sent to treatment plants. Regarding discharge
into the environment, the COD limit value is about

47

200 mg L1 in all countries except Chile, Czechoslovakia,

and Thailand, which have high limits.
3.3.4. Suspended solids
For discharge to municipal wastewater treatment plants,
only Thailand imposes a high suspended solid limit value.
Three other countries have relatively high limits, South
Africa, Australia, and Portugal. Most of the other
countries have limit values about 500 mg L1. Regarding
discharge into the environment, all these countries have
relatively low limits, around 50 mg L1.
3.3.5. Salinity
Dyeing efuents contain two types of salt: sodium
chloride and sodium sulphate. We have indicated the
norms regarding NaCl; those regarding Na2SO4 and
salinity are missing. The data obtained vary widely. The
rst thing to be observed is that in many countries there is
no NaCl emission limit for discharge into a municipal
wastewater treatment plant (Japan, Austria) or into the
environment (Morocco) or whatever the destination of the
efuent (Austria, India, France, Mexico, and Argentina).
We can see that many countries take this salt pollution into
account. However, countries that have normalized discharge to treatment plants have set their limits between 0.5
and 2000 mg L1. Discharge location seems to have little
inuence on limit values, which are of the same magnitude
whether the efuents are discharged into municipal wastewater treatment plants or into the environment. In Italy,
they are even similar. Chile accepts high salt concentrations
for discharge into the environment.
These limit values are much lower than the salt
concentrations in cotton exhaust reactive dyeing efuents
even if the dyeing baths are mixed. These data show that
salinity has not yet been given as much attention as other
parameters such as BOD5, COD, or suspended solids. With
time these emissions may lead to major ecological problems
similar to those encountered for the production of drinking
water from seawater. It is clear that a treatment and
valorization process, through the recycling of the mineral
salts, may pave the way to a standard (Allegre et al., 2002,
2006).
3.3.6. Detergents and oil and grease
There is no direct relation between the amount of
detergents and the amount of oil and grease in efuents.
Nevertheless, a correlation between total oil and grease and
fatty alcohol-based detergents has been established in
Canada: the total oil and grease parameter seems to
reect the amount of fatty acid- and fatty alcohol-based
detergents. Some countries impose a limit for detergents
(Portugal, Argentina), for oil and grease (Belgium, Switzerland), and for both parameters (China, Indonesia). On
average, the limit values for oil and grease are lower
than 50 mg L1. The limit values for detergents are often
the same whatever the discharge location, lower than
10 mg L1.

Australia

www.sydneywater.com.au/html/yourBusiness/tradewaste/pdf/current_policy.pdf, Appendix 2, page 30

http://www.yvw.com.au/corp_index.html

Austria

Bundesministerium fur Land- und Fortswirtschaft, Umwelt und Wasserwirtschaft

Verordnung uber die Begrenzung von Abwasseremissionen aus Textilbetrieben, Kodex Wasserrecht, 1 aout 2001

Belgium

Chapter 34: legislation, tableau comparatif de normes de rejets

Canada

Toxics and Pollution Prevention Section, Environmental Protection Branch, Quebec Region
http://services.ville.montreal.qc.ca/air-e_Hlt43787722a_Hlt43787722
http://www.menv.gouv.qc.ca/indexA.htm

Spain

Parametres dabocament xats al Reglament Guia de lU`s i els Abocaments dAigues Resduals al Clavegueram, juin 1999

Chile

Anteproyecto de norma para la regulacion de contaminantes asoceados a` las descargas de residuos liquidos a` aguas superciales
Norma de emision para la regulacion de contaminantes asociados a las descargas de residuos industriales liquidos a sistemas de alcantarillado

ARTICLE IN PRESS

Clariant society

C. Hessel et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 83 (2007) 4150

Argentina

48

Table 6
Current norms for the six most representative parameters for the textile industry, according to discharge location and country

Czechoslovakia

Governmental decree no. 61/2003 Coll., Annexe I

Ministry for environment of the Czech Republic

France

Arrete du 2 fevrier 1998

Arrete du 15 juillet 2001

Germany

Clariant company

Great Britain

Water Services Ltd.

Chapter 34: legislation, tableau comparatif de normes de rejets

Hong Kong

Clariant company
Handy reference book for pollution prevention and control, bleachers and dyers

Hungary

Ministry of environment and water, Hungary

India

Clariant company
The Environment (Protection) Rules, 55, 1986

Indonesia

Clariant company

Italy

Clariant company
Tabella 3. Valori limiti i emissione in acque seperciali e in fognatura

Japan

Clariant company

Malaysia

Clariant company
Malaysian textile manufacturers association

Mexico

Norme Ofcielle du 6 janvier 1997 ECOL-001-96 et ECOL-002-96

Morocco

Clariant company

New Zealand

Ministry for the environment, New Zealand

Pakistan

Clariant company
Pakistan national efuent quality standard

Portugal

CITEVE (Technological Center for the Textile and Garment Industries of Portugal)Decreto-Lei 236/98236/98, Annexe XVIII
Portaria 423/97, du 25 juin 1997

Quebec

Clariant company
Section, environnemental protection branch, Quebec region
http://services.ville.montreal.qc.ca/air-eau/fr/reglairf.htm
http://www.menv.gouv.qc.ca/indexA.htm

Singapore

http://app10.internet.gov.sg/scripts/nea/cms/htdocs/article.asp?pid=963
Code of practice on pollution control, annexe IX

South Africa

Clariant company

Switzerland

Chapter 34: legislation, tableau comparatif de normes de rejets

Thailand

www.ostc-was.org/environment/water.html#3.2.1

Trinidad and
Tobago

Clariant company
Permissible levels of water pollutants into the environment

Turkey

Clariant company

Venezuela

Decreto No. 3.219, 1999

ARTICLE IN PRESS

http://www.epa.gov.tw/english/LAWS/Efuent.htm

C. Hessel et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 83 (2007) 4150

China

49

ARTICLE IN PRESS
50

C. Hessel et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 83 (2007) 4150

4. Conclusion

Acknowledgements

It is difcult to draw a simple and global conclusion from

this review of the norms currently applied to dye house
efuents. Parameters and norms vary from one country to
the other, as does their enforcement. As expected, limit
values are higher for discharge into municipal wastewater
treatment plants than for discharge into the environment.
The difference is signicant in France, Singapore, and
Portugal; it is smalleven zero for some parametersin
Mexico. This seems to indicate that the former countries
have highly efcient municipal wastewater treatment plants.
Concerning the payment of pollution taxes, besides the
existing procedure, new procedures are being created (Allegre
et al., 2006). However, exceeding limits does not necessarily
imply the payment of taxes. In France, for example, dye
manufacturers, even complying with the norms, have to pay
for the generated pollution. In certain countries limit values
serve only as guidelines. Since there is no strict control, even
if a dye manufacturer exceeds the limit, he will not be ned.
The relocation of dye houses in Asian countries and Eastern
Europe is not only due to the ecological point of view. It is
obvious that several countries have not yet even considered
the issue of mineral salt emission, which amounts to 0.2
million tons per year.

The authors wish to thank Virginie Bauduin for many

helpful discussions.

References
(Date of the web page access for all web-based references:
1 January 2004).
Allegre, C., Moulin, P., Charbit, F., Maisseu, M., Golder, M., 2002.
Traitement des bains de teinturerie en vue de la reutilisation de leau et
du NaCl dans le procede. Patent FR 0211363.
Allegre, C., Moulin, P., Maisseu, M., Charbit, F., 2006. Treatment and
reuse of reactive dyeing efuents. J. Membrane Sci. 209, 1534.
Dulak, C., 1990. Les matie`res colorantes: evolutions et perspectives.
Lindustrie Textile 1215, 8084.
http://www.textile.fr/autres/eurat0.htm.
http://aida.ineris.fr/.
http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr.
http://www.environnement.gouv.fr.
http://www.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/cfrassemble.cgi?title 200240.
http://www.menv.gouv.qc.ca/indexA.htm.
http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/Water/EPA/#Other.
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