Coloured effluent discharge has long been a problem in the textile dyeing industry. The ever-increasing cost of water and the attentions of the environmental lobby has served to concentrate the minds of many company owners. The use of reactive dyes has added to the problem. Westover, working with several dyehouses and their collaborators in Holland, Belgium and Germany, and using the very wide level of expertise available, has been able to offer a solution -- a system treating the effluent and reclaiming the water for continuous re-use which can be employed by small firms, together with an acceptable payback period lasting for a maximum of two-and-a-half years. The process goes through a number of stages:

* In the combined effluent flow all foreign matter -- pieces of plastic, string, labels, etc. -- is removed by installing a coarse screen in the line;

* The effluent is then gathered in an equalisation vessel and the pH (hydrogen ion concentration) is monitored andneutralised. The dye-house can only take in water with a neutral pH, and the pH of the effluent entering the treatment unit will be the pH of the cleaned water returned for re-use;

* Removal of the suspended solids is achieved by using a dissolved air floatation (DAF) vessel, proceeded by chemical addition via a pipe flocculator;

* To protect/assist the final clean-up phase it is then sometimes necessary to install back-up filters (bags/media, etc.) to ensure that all the solids have been removed;

* Finally, ozone is used to remove colour and bacteria/viruses etc.

The improvements provided by the Westover in-house expertise in upgrading the operation of pipe flocculator, DAF and ozone units, enable the system to work economically and efficiently in a full industrial situation.

The efficiency of the finely-controlled ozone treatment allows for increased effectiveness while minimising costs. The dangers of using ozone are prevented by using equipment that has many built-in safety features, like ozoneproduced and stored in a vacuum vessel and any residual ozone in the water identified, quantified and removed continuously.

The technology has many advantages like all-time availability of low-cost water, no or minimum discharge into sewer or water course, 50 to 80 per cent potential savings on water intake and effluent discharge and avoiding dirty/noxious/difficult effluent.

Licensed to control noise

The Salex Group, based in Essex in the UK, is a major producer of noise and vibration control systems -- much in demand in all industrialising countries. Over the last 10 years, the group has built up a considerable network of overseas licensing operations, including in Brazil and Hong Kong. Local manufacturing enables the systems to be precisely tailored to customer needs and reduces distribution costs.

Choosing the right local partner is essential it the venture is to be a success. The Salex Group brings the proven designs, technology and specialist expertise to enable an entrepreneurial localbusiness to extend its activities into this high-growth area. Increased sales and market presence benefit the local partner and Salex receives down payments for the manufacturing rights and designs, and royalty payments levied on sales.

For details write to:

The JEMU/TPI Secretariat, 151 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 9SS, United Kingdom

Tel: +441712151037, Fax: +441712151089

e-mail: jemu-tpi@tidv.dti.gov.uk

website: http://www.dti.gov.uk/tpi