KARACHI, PAKISTAN:
In a seminar held at the US-Pakistan Center for Advanced Water Studies (USPCAS-W) at the Mehran University of Engineering and Technology (MUET) in Jamshoro, experts highlighted the importance of co-mingling textile sludge and animal waste to produce renewable energy sources energy and organic fertilizer. This approach offers a sustainable and cost-effective solution to the textile industry.
The seminar focused on the progress and outcomes of three projects funded by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to benefit industries and the general public. Two of these two-year projects have already been completed and include anaerobic digestion technology and combined adsorption distillation (CAD). Another three-year project, titled ‘Conservation of Indus River Water’, is to be completed in two years and will create a framework for further initiatives.
During the seminar, Vice-Chancellor and Technology Expert Professor Dr. Rasool Bux Mahar of Benazir Bhutto Shaheed University of Technology and Skill Development, Khairpur, presented the anaerobic digestion technology. He explained that the project aims to upgrade anaerobic digestion technology for the co-digestion of textile sludge and animal waste. The aim is to produce renewable energy and organic fertilizers, providing an environmentally friendly and cost-effective solution for industry. The project also seeks to gain a systematic understanding of the basic biochemical mechanisms and transformation processes involved in the transformation and stabilization of environmentally relevant textile chemicals and metals present in sludge.
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As part of this initiative, academic research and development (R&D) will be applied to the development and validation of an anaerobic digester at Al-Rahim Textile Industries Private Limited. This digester will fuse semi-solid textile sewage sludge with optimized animal waste to produce biogas and organic matter on an industrial scale. The validated co-digestion technique and process will enable cost-effective and environmentally friendly sludge management, while recovering resources in the form of biogas, biofertilizers and biofuels. The anaerobic digestion system developed as part of this project is patent pending and its design and development services will be provided through a collaboration between USPCAS-W, MUET and partner industries.
Dr. Tanveer Ahmed of USPCAS-W, MUET, provided information on the progress and completion of the Combined Adsorption Distillation (CAD) project. The aim of the project is to design, develop, validate and transfer the CAD technique for reverse osmosis (RO) membrane wastewater or brackish water treatment and large-scale freshwater production. The project, funded by HEC and supported by Al-Rahim Textile Industries, resulted in a new CAD system designed and developed locally. This system can be powered using waste heat from industrial power generators and steam boilers and is capable of efficiently treating saline groundwater or RO membrane waste water. The developed technique has the potential to benefit various industries, including textile, chemical, food, and sugar, by offering a sustainable water purification solution for the treatment of highly polluted RO membrane effluent. Design and development services for industries will be jointly provided by USPCAS-W and partner industries.
Additionally, Director of USPCAS-W, MUET, Prof. Dr Kamran Ansari, provided an overview of the Indus River Water Conservation project. He explained that this project follows an integrated approach based on monitoring water pollution sources, modern techniques to assess water quality using chemical and biological indicators, nature-based treatment solutions and promoting a circular water economy for conservation and preservation of water quality the Indus River. The project will assess the temporal and spatial water quality of the Indus River using modern emerging pollutant techniques. Further objectives include the preparation of preliminary design plans for economical wastewater treatment systems and the development of a strategic action plan for the implementation of a circular water economy in urban and rural communities.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 4u2023.
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