Water consumption in textile processing and sustainable approaches for its conservation

Abstract The textile industry is one of the major consumers of water, consuming a huge amount of water in various processing steps, such as pretreatment, dyeing, printing, and finishing. The total amount of water consumed depends on the type of fiber, the type of machinery used, and the type of finishing effect required in the final product. Due to the use of different chemicals, such as dyes, soda ash, caustic soda, salt, acid, formaldehyde-based resin, and chlorinated bleaching agent, in the textile processing house, a large amount of effluent is generated that has an adverse effect on the environment. In the past, for minimizing the toxicity of effluent and for reducing the consumption of water and chemicals (saving energy), different processes, namely, irradiation technology, low-liquor continuous processing, microwave-assisted processing, value addition using nanomaterial and biomaterial, foam finishing, digital printing, and others, have been developed. The parameters and technical aspects of these processes are summarized in detail. Various innovative approaches for the treatment of wastewater are also highlighted in the present chapter.