Knitting Fair get new that among many pollution-creating industries, textile has a larger share in terms of its impact with regard to noise, air, and effluent. It is, therefore, felt worthwhile to study the environmental hazards associated with various operations of textiles. In this paper, pollution arising out of noise and air is discussed. Areas of concern and their appropriate rectifying procedures are also taken into account.
Ecological degradation happens in natural fiber right from cultivation to finishing of the ultimate product. Prominent parameters and the possible package of corrective measures are highlighted. Synthetic fiber industry is not an exception to environmental pollution and therefore various pollution-creating activities are pointed out. Management of various textile wastes is also mentioned in this paper.
Introduction
Indian textile industry is a unique combination of growth, development and export performance. This identity is now been checked and challenged. Where is the problem? The concern is because of the anthropogenic sources of pollution. Green parties today insisting upon the manufacturing, processing and disposal of textile products as per environmental norms. The commercial decision in global business now depends on how much conscious we are in protecting our environment. So, there is a wake-up call for the textile industry.
What we are doing to harm our environment? Which are the areas causing destruction to our biosphere? What should we do to remain in the competition? Will our business exist? These are the questions to be investigated and the motivating factor for this study.
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Eco Degradation in Textile Industry
Textile industry contributes 30% of India’s export. It produces over 400 million meters of cloth and around 1000 million kg of yarn per annum. The textile sector is labour intensive and nearly a million workers are associated in various unit operations of about 700 mills. There exist a number of important environmental benchmarks, associated with the key environmental issues. Because of the nature of the industry, many of these are directed towards wet processing which tends to be the most obviously polluting sub-sector.
Textile wet processing activity contributes about 70% of pollution in the textile industry. It is estimated that there are around 12,500 textile processing units wherein the requirement of water ranges from 10 litres with an average of 100 litres per kg [1]. Right from cotton cultivation and manufacture of fibres, spinning, weaving, processing and finishing, more than 14,000 dyes and chemicals are used and a significant quantity of these goes in the solid, liquid and air wastes, thereby impart pollution of air, land and surface water.
Towards the end of the 20th century, the world has become more environmentally conscious and thus the green textile concept is emerged to facilitate eco-management in the textile arena. Different unit operations, which contribute to eco-degradation, are described and analysed in this chapter.
Noise Pollution
Noise is one of the most pervasive environmental problems. There is no doubt that it has an adverse effect on human beings and their surroundings.
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Noise Levels in Textile Machinery
1.Noise Levels in Yarn Production
Because of high spindle speeds reached on new machines (ring spindles up to 20000 rpm, rotor up to 110000 rpm) spinning mills can generally be assumed to generate a great deal of noise. Noise levels of 70 to 100 dB are commonly recorded in workrooms.
2.Noise Levels in Weaving and Knitting
Although considerable progress has been made in the weaving sector over the last 20 years, the whole area of noise nuisance and, closely associated with it, vibration coming from looms, cause major problems.
Noise levels of 100 to 120 dB must be expected in weaving rooms, according to the design, type, fitting, erection and number of looms used, fabric structure, building type and size etc. The vibration transmitted from the running looms to the building can, under certain circumstances, cause a nuisance to the local population and damage to nearby buildings, and to avoid these special vibration absorbers are now provided.
However, the permissible limit set up at 90 dB by Federal Standards of the USA for a maximum exposure duration of 8 hours per day. Typical values of the noise level in textile machines are shown in Table I.
Noise Level Remedial Measures
Noise level can be lowered by the use of noise control enclosures, absorbers, silencers and baffles and by the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), such as earmuffs. Where technical methods are insufficient, noise exposure may be reduced by the use of hearing protection and by administrative controls such as limiting the time spent in a noisy environment and scheduling noisy operation outside normal shifts or at a distant location. Even though noise-reducing measures may have been incorporated in the design of the machinery, the greater output may generate higher noise levels. For instance, every doubling of the speed of rotary machines the noise emission rises by about 7 dB, warp knitting machines by 12 dB and in fans by around 18 to 24 dB.
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Noise pollution is a problem that has unsatisfactorily been tackled so far. Though noise-absorbing sheets are used to cover the inner walls of loom shed, still more appropriate means need to be devised. In modern shuttle less looms because of better engineering designs of the machines the noise level is lesser. But those shuttle-less looms are costly.
Source: Subrata Das, Dr.
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Wool is possibly the oldest fiber known to humans. It was one of the first fibers to be spun into yarn and woven into the fabric.
Of the major apparel fibres, wool is the most reusable and recyclable fibre on the planet. The eco-credentials of wool are enhanced by its long service life and suitability to be recycled to new textiles for clothing, resilient upholstery or products that call on its natural resistance to fire and temperature extremes. Aside from premium next-to-skin apparel, wool can be used in industrial applications such as thermal and acoustic insulation or in pads to soak up oil spills.
At the disposal stage, natural fibres such as wool reduce the impact of the textile industry on pollution and landfill build-up. In warm, moist conditions such as in soil, wool biodegrades rapidly through the action of fungi and bacteria to essential elements (i.e. Nitrogen and Sulphur) for the growth of organisms as part of natural carbon and nutrient cycles.
Growth
Wool is possibly the oldest fibre known to humans. It was one of the first fibres to be spun into yarn and woven into a fabric. Wool mostly comes from sheep but also from alpacas, camels, and goats. Australia, Eastern Europe, New Zealand, and China are major wool producers. The American woollen industry began in the Massachusetts settlements in 1630, where each household was required by law to produce wool cloth.
Harvesting
Then, they need a haircut. The process is called sheering. A sheering specialist can sheer 200 sheep in a day. A ewe, or female sheep, can produce up to 15 pounds of wool. A ram, or male sheep, can 20 pounds of wool. The sheared wool is called raw wool and since sheep don’t take showers, it must first be cleaned.
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Next, the wool is carded – that means brushing the wool to straighten the fibres. Once done by hand, these days a carding machine passes the wool through a series of rollers covered with wire bristles. The carded fibres are gently scraped into strands called roving. The roving is spun into yarn that is then woven into cloth. In the past, the task of spinning usually was the job of unmarried females – they became spinsters.
Fleece is a ball of wool taken from a single animal in a shearing. But not all wool is equal – even when it comes from the same animal. The highest quality wool comes from the sides, shoulders, and back. The lowest quality comes from the lower legs.
Grading of Wool Fibers
Wool is graded for fineness and length. The length varies from place to place on the animal, but it mostly varies amongst sheep breeds. Australian Merino wool is 3-5 inches long. Breeds found in Texas and California produce fibres 2.5 inches long. Wool from other breeds and other animals may be as long as 15 inches.
Properties of Wool Fibers
This microscopic view shows us why wool is special. The surface is a series of overlapping scales of protein, pointing toward the tip. On the animal, this enables the foreign matter to work its way out of the fleece. In a strand of yarn, it enables the fibres to lock with one another. This is the key to wool’s strength.
Wool’s surface repels water. Since moisture does not remain on the surface, woollen fabrics tend to feel dry and comfortable even in damp weather. The inner core does absorb moisture – so much so that wool can absorb almost double its own weight in water and still feel reasonably dry. This absorbency also gives wool its natural resistance to wrinkles. The absorbed moisture also holds down static electricity. And because of the inner moisture, wool is naturally flame resistant.
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Moisture in wool
The amount of water absorbed by wool is usually referred to as ‘regain’. Regain is the ratio of the mass of water to dry wool expressed as a percentage.
Another term also used by the textile industry, predominately for cotton, is ‘moisture content’. Moisture content is the ratio of the mass of water to the mass of water plus wool expressed as a percentage.
Wool, along with cotton and to a lesser extent nylon, is a fibre that absorbs moisture from the surrounding air to reach an equilibrium, which depends on the relative humidity of the environment. At ambient humidity, wool will contain 10 to 15% by weight of water and up to 35% water at high relative humidity, which is more than most other fibres. This water is incorporated in the internal structure of the fibre and, therefore, is hardly noticed by the wearer. Wool garments do not feel damp or clammy. This property enables wool to act as a buffer against sudden environmental changes, for example, excessive perspiration during exercise or changes in climatic conditions such as going outside from an air-conditioned room.
Although the wool fibre can readily absorb water vapour from the air, a garment made from wool will be water repellent to some extent. This is because the surface of the fibre has a very thin, waxy, lipid coating chemically bonded to the surface that cannot be easily removed. Scouring, washing or processing will not remove this layer. The only way to
remove this layer, if required, is by chemical treatment.
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Source: Textile School
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