Treatment of wastewater of the textile industry in Serbia as a precondition for sustainable management of water resources

Abstract

The textile industry is one of the main sources of environmental pollution, primarily due to the types and amounts of waste water it generates. Estimates indicate that around 20% of global water pollution comes from textile manufacturing plants. These wastewaters generally contain a high level of microfibers and textile dust aerosols, various types of organic and inorganic hard-to-degrade chemical substances, pesticides, and heavy metals. The frequent occurrence of uncontrolled discharge of wastewater from textile industry facilities, which seriously disrupt water ecosystems, has conditioned the textile industry sector to establish more efficient systems for wastewater treatment and more responsible behavior towards the preservation of water quality and the environment. In this regard, this paper provides an overview of environmentally acceptable methods of processing wastewater from the textile industry, which can represent solutions for mitigating the negative effects of these waters on the environment.