Water in Textiles and Fashion

Consumption, Footprint, and Life Cycle Assessment

Subramanian Senthilkannan Muthu

• Publisher: Woodhead Publishing
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9780081026335
• eBook ISBN: 9780081026540
• Topic: Technik & Maschinenbau
• Subtopic: Maschinen- und Anlagebau

Water in Textiles and Apparel: Consumption, Footprint, and Life Cycle Assessment provides a thorough analysis of one of the most urgent issues facing the textiles industry. As water is essential to the textile production system, and as availability of water is reduced due to natural and anthropogenic factors, the industry must respond. With a thorough treatment of both life cycle assessment and water footprint perspectives, this book provides practical strategies for responsible water use across the textile supply chain. Readers will learn essential information from research and industry case studies that will help them understand the textile industry's role in this issue.- Combines different perspectives, life cycle assessment, government policies, businesses strategies, and case studies to provide a holistic view on the topic- Addresses water consumption in every life cycle phase of textile production- Explores emerging strategies for water conservation in the textiles sector

1

Introduction—Water

P. Senthil Kumar; P.R. Yaashikaa Department of Chemical Engineering, SSN College of Engineering, Chennai, India

Abstract

Water is one of the basic needs and is required by all life on earth. It dominates a majority of the space on our planet, covering about 71% of the total surface area of Earth. Hydrology is the study of the distribution, availability, consumption, and movement of ground water. Water exists in all three of its states, namely, solid (ice), liquid, and gas (stream)—explaining the importance of understanding the science and structure of water. It is a transparent colorless chemical substance with one oxygen atom covalently bonded to two hydrogen atoms. Water is cycled continuously on Earth through evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation, and other means. Water consumption and use is defined as the water that is drawn continuously from surface or ground and that is utilized in such a way that it is no longer available for further use. Many industrial processes, such as power generation, irrigation, mining, bleaching, paper and pulp production, textile manufacturing, and food processing, require water as one of the main constituents of the process. The term water pollution refers to water that has been contaminated by anthropogenic substances and not fit for human consumption. Industries also contribute to this pollution and, as a result, many treatment plants that have primary, secondary, and tertiary treatment processes have been set up for treating the contaminated water. Pathogens in this polluted water can cause waterborne diseases in living beings. Population growth and technological improvement are the main factors for water pollution. Life will be impossible on Earth if the present situation continues as a great demand for water, and a scarcity of it, may occur.

Keywords

Consumption; Pollution; Use; Water; Withdrawal; Water treatment

1.1 Introduction

Water (H₂O) is the most valuable asset and an inexhaustible compound on the Earth's surface, covering in excess of 70% of the planet (Hossain, 2015). Water exists in three states in nature, namely, liquid, solid, and gas. It is in powerful balance between the fluid and gas states at standard temperature and pressure. At room temperature, it is tasteless, odorless, and colorless with a slight trace of blue. Numerous substances break down and dissolve in water and it is generally alluded to as the universal solvent. As a good solvent, water in nature may not be totally pure and its properties may shift marginally from those of pure water. In any case, there are likewise numerous compounds that are basically, if not totally, insoluble in water. Water is regularly found in each of the three basic states and it is necessary for all life on Earth. Water as a rule makes up 55%–78% of the human body (Hossain, 2015) and plays numerous critical roles therein. It is a major part of the vast majority of the body's cells, with the exception of fat cells, and it additionally cushions and lubricates the brain and the joints. It transports nutrients and diverts waste from the body cells. It additionally manages body temperature by redistributing heat from dynamic tissues to the skin and cooling the body through sweat. The greater part of the water in the body is found inside the cells of the body (around 66% is in the intracellular space), and the rest is found in the extracellular space, which is comprised of the spaces between cells and the blood plasma. Water is the principle constituent of the human body. It is typically around 60% of body weight in adult males, and is marginally lower, around 50%–55%, in females because of their higher muscle-to-fat ratio. The brain and muscles are around 75% water, the blood and the kidneys are around 81%, the liver is around 71%, the bones are around 22%, and fat tissue is around 20%. The body requires adequate water to survive and work properly (Hossain, 2015). People cannot live without drinking water for more than a couple of days—depending upon climate, movement levels, and different variables—while other nutrients might be disregarded for quite a long time, even months. No other nutrient is more basic or is required in such large quantities. Water is integral to the most fundamental physiological capacities, for example, directing pulse, body temperature, hydration, and digestion. A regular family unit utilizes a great deal of water. Many individuals use chemicals on their yards and gardens and afterward water them with unadulterated water. The water washes the chemicals off of the plants and after that may go down a storm drain straight to the waterways and streams in which fish make their homes. A great deal of water is required by farms. Water is used in hydroelectric plants, which use the dynamic energy of falling water to make power. Of all the power on the planet, around 20% is produced by hydropower (Hossain, 2015). Hydropower generation prevents a great deal of contamination. Hydropower generation is perfect and does not leave any waste. Hydropower reduces the amount of oil and coal required for power generation. Water is likewise fundamental in industry. It is heated and the steam is utilized to run hardware. Water is used to cool hot metal, for example, in the generation of steel. Water is likewise used to cool the air. It is a critical component in numerous items, such as chemicals, drugs, salves, shampoos, beautifying agents, cleaners, and also drinks. Water is utilized as a part of preparing food and in multitudinous plants and modern procedures, including paper manufacture. Water used in food and beverages must be completely pure, while different enterprises, for example, an assembly plant, may utilize a lower quality of water (Chaplin, 2001). This chapter includes a detailed discussion of water and its sources, measures of water consumption and utilization, methods involved in determining water usage, water withdrawal techniques, how groundwater and surface water are polluted, treatment techniques, and the challenges in controlling and maintaining water quality. Because water is an important resource, maintaining the quality of water remains as a major concern.

1.2 Water and its sources

Surface and ground water are the two noteworthy sources of water. Surface water consists of waterways, streams, lakes, and wetlands. Ground water is located in the pore spaces inside rocks and alluvium, in cracks, and in arrangement openings or courses in territories underlain by solvent carbonate rocks.

1.2.1 Surface water

Surface water begins for the most part as precipitation and is a blend of surface runoff and ground water. It incorporates large rivers, lakes, and the little upland streams that may start from springs and gather runoff from the watersheds. The amount of runoff depends on countless variables, the most vital of which are the amount and force of precipitation, the atmosphere and vegetation, and additionally, the land, geology, and the geographical highlights of the area. The nature of surface water is represented by its content of living things and by the measures of mineral and organic materials that it might have acquired. As rain falls through the environment, it cleans the air and assimilates oxygen and carbon dioxide. While streaming over the ground, surface water gathers sediment and particles of organic material, some of which will at last go into solution. It likewise grabs more carbon dioxide from the vegetation and smaller-scale living beings and microscopic organisms from the topsoil and from rotting matter. In inhabited watersheds, contamination may incorporate fecal material and pathogenic life forms, as well as other human and mechanical waste that has not been appropriately discarded. In provincial territories, water from little streams draining disconnected or uninhabited watersheds may have satisfactory bacteriological and compound quality for human use in its regular state. In many cases, surface water is liable to contamination and infiltration by pathogenic life forms and thus cannot be used by humans without treatment. It should be noted that reasonable water is not really fit for human use and that one can’t depend completely on self-cleaning to create potable water.

1.2.1.1 Benefits of utilizing surface water as a noteworthy source of water

• • Easily found and no complex hardware is required for finding a surface water source.
• • Surface water is for the most part gentler than groundwater, which makes treatment considerably less complex.

1.2.1.2 Challenges

• • Easily contaminated with organisms and chemicals that cause waterborne contamination and dangerous ailments.
• • Turbidity frequently changes with the amount of precipitation. An increase in turbidity increases the treatment cost and operational cost.
• • The temperature of surface water additionally changes with the temperature of the surroundings.

1.2.2 Groundwater

Groundwater is the water that fills subterranean pore spaces and fractures. Groundwater occurs in various land developments. Almost all stones in the upper portion of the Earth's outside layer, irrespective of their nature, have openings called pores or voids. Groundwater streams underground and can disintegrate shake, particularly limestone, forming sinkholes. Because groundwater is not visible, its nature and type are not well understood. Groundwater is easily tainted by human movement. Groundwater passes through water infiltration into the subsurface. Some dissipates, some is taken up by plants, some wets the surfaces of particles, and some permeates to the water table. Groundwater provides 66% of the world's freshwater supply.

1.2.2.1 Benefits of utilizing groundwater as a source of water

• • Not as effectively contaminated or polluted as surface water.
• • The nature of groundwater is consistently steady.
• • Groundwater sources are mostly lower in bacteria than surface water sources.

1.3 Science of water

Water is a fluid substance made of atoms—a solitary, huge drop of water weighing 0.1 g contains around 3 billion trillion of them. Every molecule of water is comprised of three atoms: two hydrogen atoms in a kind of triangle with one oxygen atom—giving us the popular substance equation H₂O (Fig. 1.1). The marginally imbalanced structure of water atoms implies they draw in and stick to a wide range of substances. That is additionally why a wide range of substances will break down in water, ...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Contributors
• Editor's Biography
• 1: Introduction—Water
• 2: Water and Textiles
• 3: Water consumption in textile processing and sustainable approaches for its conservation
• 4: Water withdrawal and conservation—Global scenario
• 5: Water footprint management in the fashion supply chain: A review of emerging trends and research challenges
• 6: Water footprint in fashion and luxury industry
• 7: Analysis of water consumption and potential savings in a cotton textile dye house in Denizli, Turkey
• 8: Water conservation in textile wet processing
• 9: Water requirement and sustainability of textile processing industries
• 10: Advances in the sustainable technologies for water conservation in textile industries
• Index