Journal of Scientific & Industrial Research

Vol.59, June 2000, pp 446-454

Impact of Industrial Effluents on Soil Health and Agriculture

-Indian Experience:
Part II-Tannery and Textile Industrial Effiuents
P.K. Chhonkar 1 *, S.P. Datta 1, H.C. JoshF and H. Pathak2
1Division of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, 2Division of Environmental Sciences
Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi II 0012, India

A huge amount of effluents generated from tanning and textile industries is being discharged on land or into water courses. These
effluents are characterized by high BOD, COD, Na and total dissolved solids. These eftluents also contain several major primary and
secondary plant nutrients (N, P, K, S, Mg, Ca, etc.) as well as micronutrients and heavy metals. Addition of tannery effluents is reported
to cause deflocculation of soil particles and increase in theN, P and K levels of soils. Similarly, deleterious effects, such as increase in
pH, sodicity and EC in soils due to the use of textile eftluents are reported. However, it is pointed out that the adverse effects of these
effluents get progressively reduced with dilution of eftluents. But database is not adequate to indicate the effect of long-term use of
these effluents on soil health. The impact of the use of these effluents on various crops, trees and shrubs as well as water bodies is
discussed. Salinisation and alkalisation of ground water due to application of these eftluents are also reported. The physicochemical
characteristics of these effluents do not permit its disposal directly into inland water or on land for irrigation, hence, several methods of
treating these effluents for safe disposal are discussed.

Introduction Quantity and Characteristics of Eflluents

Due to rapid industrial development during the last
Tannery Effluents
two decades in India, the disposal of industrial effluents
There are about 3000 tanneries in India 1 mostly spread
has become a serious problem. The tannery and textile
over Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh,
are two important industries in the counry. These two
Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab and Rajasthan.
industries consume huge amount of water and
Annually, about 80 million pieces of hides and 130
consequently generate large volume of waste water which
million pieces of skins are processed by the tanning
contains various organic and inorganic materials as well
industry of the country for manufacturing semifinished
as toxic trace elements . These effluents are usually
and finished leather2 . There are about 680 leather
discharged to nearby river courses. The application of
finishing units in our country producing about 1000
these industrial effluents to land has also been started
million square metre of finished leather per annum 3 . The
during recent years as an alternative means of treatment
quantity of effluents discharged amounts to about 30 to
and disposal. This supplies not only water but also
40 litres per kg of skin/hide processed and in the case of
manurial ingradients and plant nutrients likeN, P, K, S finishing units, the quantity is about 50 litre per kg of
and Ca, etc . If these effluents are treated properly and
raw skin/hide2 A large number of tanneries (about 433)
reusedjudiciuosly in agriculture, it may serve as a source are located in Tamil Nadu and their contribution is about
of irrigation and plant nutrients. Therefore, in the present 70 per cent in the total export of leather and leather
communication (Part II) , the impact of effluents of
products from the country. The distribution of tanneries
tannery and textile factory on soil, plant and water in Tamil Nadu is reported by Sastry4 . AgarwaF delineated
courses are discussed, along with the production potential the distribution of tanneries in detail for Uttar Pradesh,
and characteristics of these effluents in Indian context. Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra
Management of these effluents for their safe disposal is Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar.
also reviewed.
' Author for correspondence Two types of tanning processes are mainly followed
Paper I pertains to Distillery and Paper Mill Effluents, J Sci lnd in India, viz. vegetable tanning and chrome tanning.
Res, 59 (No 5) (2000) pp.350-361
 CHHONKAR et al.: IMPACf OF TANNERY & TEXTILE INDUSTRIES EFFLUENTS ON AGRICULTURE
Consequently, two types of effluents are discharged
during the skin processing, i.e. vegetable tannin which
does not contain chromium and chrome tannin which
contains appreciable amounts of chrornium5. The leather
processing requires large quantities of chemicals like
sodium chloride, chromium sulphate, calcium salts,
ammonium salts, sodium sulphide, acids, alkalies, fat
liquor and organic dyes 6 The tannery effluents are ranked
as the highest pollutants among all the industrial wastes 7 .
The effluents (vegetable tannin) emanating from
tanning industry near Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, showed that
these were highly complex, slightly acidic (pH 6.0) with
a variety of dissolved cations and suspended particles
(57 mg L-1)x. Tannin (127 mg L- 1) , Na (5380 mg L- 1), Mg
(1543 mg L- 1), K (638 mg L- 1), BOD (7678 mg L-1) and
COD (9589 mg L- 1) were high, whereas Zn (2.56 mg
L-1), Ca (4 mg L-1), Mn (0.67 mg L-1) and Pb (0.23
mg L- 1) concentrations were low while Cu and Fe were
not detected. However, Singaram6 had reported much
higher concentrations of Na, Ca, Mg, BOD, COD etc. in
the effluents emanating from tanneries located on the
banks of river Palar in North Arcot, Tamil Nadu. There
was a lot of difference in respect to pollution load
between effluents generated from vegetable tanning and
chrome tanning processes 9 The effluents from chrome
tanning generally contain much higher concentrations
of total dissolved salts, suspended solids, chlorides, etc .
as compared to those from vegetable tanning. However,
sulphate was not present in chrome tanned effluents.
Similarly, chemical analysis of effluents sample collected
from Unnao, Uttar Pradesh revealed alkaline nature
(pH 8.67) of effluent having low di ssolved oxygen
(2 mg L-1) 10 Effluents also contain 0 .705 mg L-1
chromium having high BOD (980 mg L- 1), COD (2080
mg L-1 ) and total dissolved solids (835 mg L-1).
Farooque 11 analysed the tannery effluents collected
from 'fi ll and draw tank ' inside the tannery industry
premises, Lucknow, and reported that these effluents
contained considerable quantities of chlorides (2148 mg
L-1), nitrogen (56 mg L-1), phosphate (15 mg L- 1) and
sulphide (4.7 mg L-1) along with excess of water soluble
salts, BOD, COD and sodium. However, Gupta and
Sujatha 12 reported much higher concentrations of total
nitrogen (216 mg L-1) in effluents collected from small
tannery industries of Madras. Similarly, several
workersl. 13 1415 have also reported high concentration of
total dissolved salts, BOD, COD, chromium etc. in the
tannery effluents.
447
Textile Industry Effluents
In India, major textile mills are located at Ahmedabad,
Bombay, Coimbatore and Chennai. However, medium
and small units are distributed throughout the country.
In Thar desert of western Rajasthan where the water
resources are limited, textile hand processing industries
operate in Pali, Jodhpur and Barmer (Balotra) districts.
There are about 760 hand processing textile units in Pali
city alone which discharge about 18 million litres of
effluents per day 16 In Jodhpur a large volume of effluents
i.e. 7 million litres per day is being produced from about
650 textile hand processing units and some metal rolling
industries 17 An idea of the quantity of effluents generated
from textile industry can be obtained from the fact that
the Buckingham and Carnatic textile mill in Tamil Nadu
produces about 20000 m 3 waste water per day 2 .
In the textile industry chemicals such as sodium
carbonate, sodium hydroxide, sodium chloride, sodium
peroxide, sodium sulphite, sodium nitrite, sodium
silicate, sodium oxychloride, sodium sulphide, sulphuric
acid, hydrogen peroxide, bleaching powder, acetic acid,
tannic acid, detergents, malt or enzymes, dyes, mordants,
starch, gum etc. are used 16 The effluents emanating from
hand processing units of Pali (Rajasthan) were
characterized with high salinity (SAR 82), BOD (400-
800 mg L-1) and COD (900-1500 mg L-1); excessive
concentration of sodium and carbonate ions (RSC 42
meq L-1); high alkalinity (pH 10-11.5); and unduly low
concentration of calcium 16 The total chromium and
phenolic compounds in the effluents of Pali have been
found as 0.18 and 0.24 mg L-1, respectively. Whereas,
the mixed industrial effluents (mainly textile) reported 17
to have pH range 9.0-1 0.0, EC 5-10 dS m-1 , RSC 10-40
meq L-1 and SAR 60-150. The lack of calcium ions in
appreciable amount, occurrence of magnesium ions in
concentration of lesser than 2 meq L-1, and excess of
carbonate ions ( as high as 30 meq L-1) have also been
observed in these effluents.
The effluents collected from Modi Textile Factory
Ltd., Modinagar, Uttar Pradesh was alkaline and reddish
brown in colour, deficient in dissolved oxygen, contained
large amounts of solids (dissolved, suspended and
volatile) and had high values of BOD and COD 1x.
Besides, these effluents were found to contain
considerable amounts ofNH 4 -N (32 mg L-1), phosphorus
( 17.0 mg L-1), chlorides (780 mg L-1), sulphates (400 mg
L-1), sodium (195.4 mg L- 1) , calcium (280 mg L-1) and
magnesium (140 mg L-1). Several other workers have
also reported similar findings 19202 122
448 J SCI IND RES VOL 59 JUNE 2000

Table !-Effect of tanliquor and tannin on nutrient status of soils 26

Parameters Control Tanliquor Control Tannin

pH 7.7 7.4 7.0 6.6
EC (dS m') 0.1 0.1 0.7 0.7

Available Macronutrients (kg ha-1)

N 180.3 172.9 207.4 244.5

p 12.3 58.8 16.5 21.4
K 79.0 101.2 269.2 503.8

Available Micronutrients (mg kg- 1)

Cu 1.0 1.1 5.8 0.1

Fe 9.5 10.5 2.5 0.1
Mn 9.1 27.9 24.7 238.5
Zn 1.5 0.4 103.6 112.4

The composition of waste water varies among Textile Industry Effluents

individual sections of textile factory. For example,
effluents emanating from Buckingham and Carnetic
Textile Mill were alkaline, except that from sizing and
fancy dyeing section which were acidic in reaction 23 The
effluents from sizing section had high BOD and COD,
while the effluent from yarn dyeing section had low
BOD. The effluents from de-sizing had higher BOD,
COD and low suspended solids. Waste water from Khaki
dyeing had high total dissolved solids in addition to 860
mg L-1 of chromium. Pollution load was high from sizing,
de-sizing and fancy dyeing sections .
In Thar desert of western Rajasthan, where the water
resources are highly limited, textile hand processing
industries in Pali, Jodhpur and Barmer districts, discharge
directly large quantities of effluents in nearby seasonal
rivers, viz. Bundi, Jojri and Luni, respectively, causing
serious geo-environmental pollution and anthropogenic
hazards 16 Consequently, Pali has been identified as one
of the most polluted cities in India where the
environmental pollution has acquired serious dimensions.
A similar effect is reported of the textile effluents from
Jodhpur city 17

Current Mode of Disposal of Effluents Impact of Effluents on Soil Health

Tannery Effluents
Tannery is one of the major industries responsible for
water pollution problems of high magnitude. According
to Srinivas et aU, the effluents arising from tanneries of
North Arcot district of Tamil Nadu are generally
discharged into neighbouring fields and hitherto
irrigation tanks in untreated form. These effluents finally
reach the Palar river and from there, these infiltrate into
the earth. The wells and borewells in the area thus tap
the contaminated water. Periyar district (Erode) in this
state also has a large number of tanneries which discharge
their effluents into an irrigation canal (Kalingarayan)
as well as the river Cauvery 24 Similarly, chemical
pollution problems arising from the discharge of
untreated effluents of about 9000 cubic metre per day
from Jajmau tanneries near Kanpur directly into the river
Ganga with high chromium content and generation of
about 400 tons of solid wastes have become a matter of
serious concern 25 .
Tannery Effluents
The addition of tannery effluents is reported to have
undesirable effect on soil properties. The total porosity
and hydraulic conductivity of soil decrease as a result of
addition of these effluents, while bulk density of soil
gets increased6 This may be attributed to the twin effect
of direct accumulation of large quantities of inorganic
and organic materials as well as the interaction of Na
with exchange complex which causes the deflocculation
of soil particles. These adverse effects on soil properties,
however, get progressively reduced with dilution of
added effluents. The untreated tannery effluents ,
containing mainly tannins, deplete oxygen level and exert
high BOD and COD. Sivaswamy26 has studied the effect
of tannery effluents (Chennai) and tannin on nutrient
status of soil (Table 1). In tanliquor treated soils, nitrogen
level was found to decline, whereas status of phosphorus
and potassium improved markedly. But, in tannin
treatment, macroelements get increased appreciably.
 CHHONKAR eta/.: IMPACT OF TANNERY & TEXTILE INDUSTRIES EFFLUENTS ON AGRICULTURE
There was a tenfold increase in Mn level in tannin-treated
soils. In a similar study, the available P and K status of
soil was reported to be increased, whereas application
of tannin resulted in increase in available N, P and K
level of soils 27 Karunyal et af.X have also studied the
effect of vegetable tannin on the elemental status of
garden soil and reported that the soil treated with tannery
effluents was rich in Mg, Mn, Fe, Na and K. However,
the information pertaining to the effect of tannery
effluents on soil health on long-term basis is not available
in literature.
Textile Industry Effluents
A study on the effect of textile industry effluents by
Nema et al. 2x on soils collected from the agricultural
fields adjoining the textile effluents outlet in Jogari river
at Salavas (Jodhpur) revealed high build-up ofNa (289.5
mg/ 100 g), medium in available P (35.8 kg ha1) and
high in available K (308.2 kg ha1). The clogging of fields,
which sometimes tum the land barren , has also been
noticed. Similarly, Ajmal and Khan 1x have reported that
the addition of textile effluents (Modi Textile Factory
Ltd., Modinagar) to soil even on short-term basis (pot
experiment) results into increase in water soluble salts,
organic matter, Na, Ca, Mg, K, NH 4-N, P content of soil
as compared to normal water irrigated soil. Some short
term field trials 29 have too revealed deleterious effects
of textile effluents on soil health.
Impact of Effluents on Crops
Tannery Effluents
Thangapandian et al. 24 have studied the cytological
effect of tannery effluents emanating from Periyar district
of Tamil Nadu on Allium cepa (a useful plant in screening
of mutagen 30) and have reported that the mitotic process
was severely affected (48 %) by the tannery effluents
collected directly from effluent canal. The increase in
inhibition corresponded with increase in effluents
concentration. Anaphase was much affected (54%)
followed by the seggregation stage, the telophase (44%);
the least effect was on prophase (13 %); and the
induction of mitotic abberation was 8.8 per cent. It is
also observed that the directly collected effluents were
more toxic than the ones collected from the point of
mixing with irrigation canal (Kalingarayan) . Even
effluents collected from downstream canal about I km
away from the point of mixing, showed moderate toxicity
indicating that recovery was not achieved . The
mitotoxicity of tannery effluents might be attributed to
449
the presence of various organic and inorganic substances.
Since the downstream sample had mitotoxic effects,
effluents may have chronic impacts on the crops and other
biota in the agroecosystem.
Among the growth processes, seed germination and
early seedling growth have been considered critical for
raising a successful agricultural crops. Saxena et a/. 31
have studied the impact of untreated tannery effluents
of Agra city on germination and seedling growth of four
important pulse crops oflndia, extensively cultivated for
domestic consumption and marketing. The maximum
retardation of seed germination was observed in pea
(33.6%) followed by gram (23.2%), blackgram (15.4%)
and greengram (8.2%) and subsequent growth of
seedlings was also adversely affected by tannery
effluents. It has also been reported that tannins were toxic
to groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) which are capable of
inhibiting and delaying the germination 32 . In the case of
paddy, Leucaena and Acacia, the germination of seeds
was reported to be completely prevented when 100 per
cent tannery effluents were usedx. However, at lower
concentrations of tannery effluents (1 0%), the inhibitory
effect of effluents on seed germination followed the
order: Leucarna > Acacia > Paddy.
Attempts have also been made to compare the effect
of tannery effluents on the growth of pulses and cereal
crops . There was gradual increase in per cent
germination, root and shoot lengths, chlorophyl content
and phytomass of pulse and cereal crops seedlings with
corresponding increase of effluents up to 7.5 and 5.0 per
cent concentrations, respectively (Table 2). The overall
pulse seedling growth was better up to 15 per cent of
effluent concentration over control, whereas it was up
to 7 per cent for cereals, then the adverse effect was
observed with corresponding increase in effluent
concentrations. The retardation of germination and
overall seedling growth of crops can be attributed to high
salinity and other ingredients of effluents like sodium
chloride, tannin chromium, etc. Karunyal et afK have
reported that N a-content of the leaves of tannery effluents
treated plants have shown an increase which was highest
in black gram followed by tomato, Vigna and cotton.
However, the biomass and chlorophyll contents of these
plants increased when treated with 25 per cent effluents
in pots over control. Similarly, vegetative and
reproductive growth as well as yield of lentil (Lens
culinaris Medic .) have been seen promoted as a result
of the use of 25 per cent tannery effluents 11
450 1 SCI IND RES VOL 59 JUNE 2000

Table 2-Effect of tannery effluents on germination, root and shoot lengths (em) of crops 15

Effluent(%) Crops

Vigna radiata Cajanus cajan Sorghum bicolor

A B c A B c A B c
Control 99.00 -8.62 10.37 99.02 6.12 4.50 99.15 10.27 9.54
2.5 99.08 8.75 10.68 99.10 6.27 4.69 99.15 10.44 9.81
5.0 99.35 8.83 11.85 99.25 6.51 4.97 99.50 11.66 10.74
7.5 99.50 9.03 11.01 99.6 56.75 5.52 99.25 10.33 9.69
10.0 99.75 9.41 11.7 1 99.90 7.01 6.06 96.25 9.83 8.70
15.0 99.00 8.69 10.46 99 .51 6.17 4.59 87.83 8.62 7.78
25.0 99.33 8.19 9.35 84.33 5.84 3.81 83.67 7.44 6.17
50.0 72.17 6.08 7.29 62.41 4.53 3.33 55.00 5.77 4.08
75.0 46.00 4.61 4.92 38.17 3.09 2.38 34.33 3.76 2.03

A, B and C denote per cent germination, root length and shoot length, respectively

Beside the field crops, the effect of tannery waste
water on trees and shrubs has also been evaluated 33
Babul (Acacia nilotica), arjun (Termilania arjuna), pipal
(Ficus religiosa), kunji (Pongamia pinnata) and awaram
(Cassia auriculata) performed better as far as tolerance
and growth of these species of trees and shrubs are
concerned, as compared to lisora (Cordia dichotoma) ,
kathsagon (Haplophragina adenophyllum), neem
(Azadirachta indica), jamun (Syzygium cumini), bargad
(Ficus bengalensis), arusa (Adhatoda vasica) and chir
(Pinus roxburghii), when irrigated with tannery waste
waters. It is interesting to note that the barks of babul,
arjun and awaram are important vege table tan nin
materials for the leather industry.
groundnut as compared to pure water 1 Other growth
parameters and total biomass have also been found to be
stimulated as a result of application of diluted textile
efflue nts up to 50 per cent concentration. The
biochemical parameters (starch, total sugar, reducing
sugar, etc.) and chlorophy ll content of ground nut
seedlings were too influenced favourably when effluents
from a dying factory were used in concentrations up to
50 per cent. On the other hand, germination of Cicer
arietinum (Bengal gram) seed was reported to be
adversely affected even when as low as 5 per cent textile
effluent was applied 34 . A similar inhibitory effect of
diluted effluents (as low as 5%) has been observed on
growth and development of nodules of Bengal gram.

Textile Industry Effluents Impact of Effluents on Water Bodies

The germination of kidney bean and lady's finger
seeds has been found to be affected adversely when 75
and 100 per cent concentrations of effluent (Modi Textile
Factory Ltd ., Modinagar, Uttar Pradesh) were used as
compared to control, while there was no effect up to the
concentrations of 50 per cent 1x. As far as biomass of
both the crops is concerned, the use of effluents up to 50
per cent concentrations was found beneficial. A gradual
increase in the sodium content of both the crops was
observed with increase in the effluent concentrations.
The maximum increase in concentrations of potassium,
calcium and magnesium was recorded in both the crops
grown on 50 per cent effluent irrigated soils, followed
by 25, 75 and 100 per cent effluents 1x. It is interesting to
note that unlike other crops, diluted textile effluents
(50%) increased seed germination percentage of
Tannery Effluents
Serious deterioration in the quality of groundwater
occurs as a result of the effluents discharged from the
tanneries in North Arcot district. Chemical analysis data
of water samples from wells located in the tannery
affected zones has revealed that pH and electrical
conductivity ranged from 2.4 to 8.8 and 1.5 to 10.0
mm hos cm-1, respectively whereas, c arbonate,
bicarbonate, sulphate, chloride, sodium and SAR varied
from 30 to 150, 122 to 1159, 8.64 to 103.7, 318.6 to
3115 .2, 207 .0 to 1430.6 and 1.52 to 16.87 mg L-1 ,
respectively 9 . The electrical conductivity of analysed
samples are above 3 mmhos cm1, in most of the places
falli ng in the severe problem range. Consequently, the
agricultural production in the Palar bas in was reported
to reduce to one-fourth within a span of 12 to 15 years,
 CHHONKAR et al. : IMPACT OF TANNERY & TEXTILE INDUSTRIES EFFLUENTS ON AGRICULTURE
Table 3-Effect of textile effluents on quality of water of the riverine wells, located
on the bank of the effluent carrying river Bundi 1 ~
Parameter Raw effluents
EC (dSm 1) 8.5- 13 .9
Sodium 73.0- 124.0
Ca+Mg 0.5- 2.0
Carbonate 4.0- 16.0
Bicarbonate 14.0- 40.0
Sulphate 9.0- 15.0
Chloride 75-112
SAR 60-100
RSC 30-43
All parameters are expressed in (meq L1) except EC.
with as large as 40,000 acres of fertile land becoming
unproductive due to sodium hazard 9
Textile Industry Effluents
The extent of salinisation and alkalisation of
groundwater due to textile hand processing industries of
Pali, Rajasthan have been studied by Gupta and Jain 16
To evaluate the effect of effluents on groundwater quality,
the water samples from theriverine wells i.e. located on
the bank of the effluent carrying river Bundi, at Punaita,
Jevolia, Kerala and Godhwada villages running up to 30
km down stream from the source of origin, have been
analysed (Table 3). A substantial increase in the sodium,
carbonate and bicarbonate contents as well as SAR and
RSC values has been found in water of polluted wells
as compared to that of unpolluted wells. Prior to the
advent of industrialization, the analysis of 84
groundwater samples collected from all over Pali block
indicated the values of EC, SAR and RSC as 0.9 to 26 .0
dSm 1 (mean 10), 2.2 to 49.6 (mean 21.6) and 3.0 to 26.6
meq L1 (mean 2.1), respectively. But 20 per cent of
water samples mostly representing the riverine wells, had
EC lesser than 5 dS m 1 and SAR Jess than 18. Studies
conducted by the Groundwater Department have revealed
that average values of EC, SAR and RSC of polluted
wells were 13.5 dSm 1, 29.7 and 2.2 meq L 1 compared
to corresponding values of 15.5 dS m 1, 14.3 and 1.9
meq L 1 in the case of non-polluted wells 35
451
Polluted well Unpolluted wells
( near river) (away from river)
5.2- 12.5 2.4- 7.4
38.0- 112.0 12.0-47.0
0.3 - 1.2 4.8-17.0
2.0-6.0 0.0
28.0- 38.0 4.0- 16.5
9.8- 15.4 2.6- 16.5
40-90 20-60
39.7- 200 4 2-23 .9
8.0- 47 .7 0.0
Quality Standard for Disposal of Tannery and Textile
Industry Effluents
Although pH of effluents of different tanning
processes varies considerably being highest at liming and
lowest at chrome tanning process, the pH of composite
tannery effluents mostly falls within the tolerance limits
for tannery effluents to be discharged into inland surface
water or on land for irrigation (Table 4). The suspended
solids and BOD of tannery effluents often exceed the
tolerance limits. The effluents contain fairly good amount
of Ca and Mg because lime is used for loosening the
hair which counteracts the hazardous effect ofNa to some
extent, however, higher concentration of Na severely
affects the crop growth right from the germination stage.
The effluents particularly emanating from chrome
tanning process contain much higher concentration of
Cr in comparison with tolerance limit (2 mg L1) which
is likely to affect the metabolic processes of plants.
Generally, CI in low concentrations is not harmful but
fruit trees are reported to be adversely affected due to
thechloride toxicity. Sulphur being an essential element
is helpful in low concentration for normal growth and
development of plants, however, excess quantity of S,
as present in tannery effluents may induce the deficiency
of cationic micronutrients, viz. Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn. Thus,
if the effluent is treated or diluted properly and excess
Cr and Na salts are removed, it can be used for irrigation
to raise crops successfully.
 452 J SCI IND RES VOL 59 JUNE 2000
Table 4-Tolerance limits for disposal of tannery eftluents 1"
Parameters
Into inland surface water
pH
BOD
Suspended solids
Chloride (as Cl)
Chromium (as Cr)
Sulphides (asS)
Sodium(%)
Oil and grease
All parameters except pl-1 are expressed in mg L 1 or otherwise stated
To qualify for safe disposaP 6 , the effluents emanating
from cotton textile industry should have pH as 5.5-9.0,
suspended solids as 100 mg L' , BOD as 150 mg L 1 , oil
and grease as 10 mg L" 1, chromium 2 mg L 1, sulphide
(asS) 2 mg L' and phenolic compounds (as C4 HpH)
5 mg L'. By and large, all these parameters of untreated
textile effluents exceed the tolerance limits for disposal
into inland surface water or on land for irrigation.
However, in most cases, the textile effluents contain total
Cr and phenolic compounds within the tolerance limits.
High values of SAR and RSC and unduly low
concentration of Ca disqualify these effluents for
discharge into inland surface water or on land for
irrigation. But CPCB 36 has not set any limit for SAR and
RSC for textile effluents to be discharged into inland
surface water, although these are the most important
factors which determine the suitability of itTigation water.
Treatment of Tannery and Textile Industry Effluents
Since the physicochemical characteristics of tannery
and textile effluents do not permit its direct disposal
either into inland surface water or land for irrigation,
these effluents require some treatment. The growth
requirement of water hyacinth associated with fast
growth rate makes it suitable for removal of various
pollutants from waste water 1237 Jx _ It has been reported
that water hyacinth is effective in reducing the BOD,
COD and total chromium contents in tannery effluents
to the extent of 43.8 , 65.2 and 55.4 per cent, respectively
after a period of 14 days 12 A 74.6 per cent reduction in
total nitrogen and and 66.6 per cent in phosphate content
Eftluents to be discharged
On land for irrigation
6.0-9.0 6.0-9.0
30 100
100 200
1000 200
2.0 2.0
2.0
60
10 10
of tannery effluents treated with water hyacinth has been
observed. In a similar study 39 70 per cent COD removal
was observed within 8 days of detention with initial
COD value of 760 mg L '. These studies clearly
established the effectiveness of the water hyacinth in
treating effluents in stabilizing lagoons. In some cases,
more than one lagoon may be required with arrangement
of frequent replacement of the wilted hyacinth by fresh
batches.
Similarly, some aquatic macrophytes like Hydrilla
verticillata, Bacopa monnieri and Nymphaea alba have
been found to be effective in reducing the chromium
concentration in the tannery effluent under monoculture
system by more than 50 per cent 10 The mixed cultures
of S. polyrrhiza and H. verticillata could remove 40.2,
43.0 and 45.0 per cent Cr from 75, 50, 25 per cent diluted
tannery effluents, respectively after 14 days 10 But in
absolute terms, the maximum amount of Cr was removed
from undiluted effluents . The outcome of these studies
is quite convincing for bioremediation of Cr rich tannery
effluents by species mixed cultures of many aquatic
macrophytes combinations. However, safe disposal of
Cr-contaminated plants will have to be worked out for a
practical solution to the Cr-pollution.
A huge quantity of chromium sulphate is lost through
the waste water of chrome tanning industries which can
be purposefully removed and -reused for tannin g.
According to Duqhota et al.40, removal of chromium from
tannery effluents in the form of hydroxide using an alkali
appears to be an economical method. AgarwaF opined
that the supernatant liquid (65 %) could be drained above
 CHHONKAR et al.: IMPACT OF TANNERY & TEXTILE INDUSTRIES EFFLUENTS ON AGRICULTURE
the sludge after a period of 12 h. The residual chromium
92 mg L-1 was less than 2% of original concentration as
Cr3+. This can be safely disposed off in nearby water
course after mixing with various other wastes from
tanning industries. The sludge can be removed and
treated with concentrated sulphuric acid and filtered .
About 200 mL of concentrated sulphuric acid is used
for each litre of concentrated sludge to obtain the
maximum recovery of chrome liquor solution at the
minimum cost. Kaul et af.3 evaluated the performance
of full scale waste water treatment facility for fini shed
leather industry and reported that it has been possible to
achieve an effluent BOD level of about 135 mg L-1 with
an influent BOD of about 1260 mg L-1 Phenols and
chromium have been brought to manageable level of
about 0.3 and 0.2 mg L-1
Laboratory studies on chemical treatment of synthetic
textile mill waste water by precipitating some of the
constituents using alum and ferrous sulphate indicate that
the reduCtion in COD could be achieved in_the range of
34-64 per cent in the case of alum and I 0-64 per cent in
the case of ferrou s sulphate22 . Their studies on biological
treatment of waste water by activated sludge and aerated
lagoon has shown that removal of 85 and 80-90 per cent
of BOD were achieved in the case of activated sludge
and aerated lagoon system, respectively.
One model treatment plant has been installed at Pali,
Rajasthan which treats only 1 Mgd (45lac litres per day)
of textile effluents. The plant consists of five processes,
viz. filteration , equalisation, acid treatm e nt,
sedimentation and aeration . Sulphuric ac id (4-5 tonnes
per day) is being mixed after filtering the raw effluent
and making it homogenous. After treatment, pH of the
effluent is reported 16 to be reduced from 11 .5 to 8.5,
TDS from 7000 to 6700 mg L-1 , TSS from 500 mg L-1 to
nil, and COD from 1500 to 180 mg L-1 Though acid
treatment, and other processes are quite efficient in
reducing pH, TSS and COD, etc. SAR and RSC values
still remain very high as SAR i$ reduced from 82 to 55
and RSC is reduced from 42 to 21 meq L- 1 Therefore,
if such a effluent treatment plant has provision for
additional treatment with gypsum to take care of
alkalinity (RSC) and sodicity (SAR) hazards 16.4 1.42, it
could prove more efficient.
Conclusion
The studies reveal that tannery and textile effluents
contain much higher concentrations of BOD, COD, total
dissolved solids, Na, Cr etc. which adversely affect soil,
453
water courses as well as plant growth. These effluents
also contain appreciable amount of plant nutrients, viz.
N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, etc. These studies have highlighted
the possible usage of these effluents as a plant growth
adjuvent either after proper treatment or at a diluted
concentration when availability of water required for
dilution is not limiting. It is also pertinent to mention
that the usage of these effluents is suggested more for
growth promotion of plants than for the disposal of the
effluents, although some effluents would be disposed off
by the irrigation .
Acknowledgement
The authors thank Prof. R.B . Singh, formerly Director,
IARI, New Delhi, and presently, Assistant Director
General, FAO, Bangkok, for his suggestion to take up
this project and advice during the preparation of the
manuscript.
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