BGMEA UVIVERSITY OF FASHION AND TECHNOLOGY

Course Title: Wet Processing Technology I

Chapter-02

Water in Textile Processing

K.Z.M. Abdul Motaleb
M.Sc.(HN, Germany),B.Sc (PAU, Bangladesh)
 Sources of Water
1. Rain water
2. Surface Water
3. Subsoil water
4. Deep well water
 Rain water
• Rain, collected immediately after precipitation, is the
purest of all natural waters.
• It may contain traces of gases dissolved out of the
atmosphere.
• It also contain dissolved or suspended impurities such as
traces of Sulphur dioxide or Sulphuric acid, CO2, NH3,
NO2; and other by products of industrialization.
• Suspended impurities present in it can be filtered by
using sand bed.
• Suitable for boiling, washing and dyeing processes.
 Surface Water
• Surface water consists of rain water which has collected
from streams, rivers or lakes.
• This type of water contains organic and inorganic
matters which are dissolved in it & also contain
suspended impurities.
• Then the Nutrifying bacteria will in time convert organic
substances into nitrates which are objectionable in
dyeing and finishing.
• It contains Chloride, Sulphate, Carbonate, Bicarbonate
of Sodium, Pottasium, Calcium and Iron.
• Not suitable for dyeing & finishing.
 Subsoil Water
• This type of water is collected from shallow springs and
wells which are about 50 ft. (15m) or so deep.
• It is usually free from suspended impurities because it
has been filtered by its passage through the soil. It will
however, contain dissolve organic matter.
• Subsoil waters are very variable with regard to the
impurities which they contain.
• Not suitable for dyeing & finishing.
 Deep Well Water
• This type of water is obtained 500m below the surface. It
is free from organic matters.
• The soluble impurities in water may be composed of
variety of substances. Soluble organic compounds,
ammonium salts, nitrates and nitrites of animal or
vegetable origin may be found.
• The presence of salts of calcium or magnesium in
solution can be most undesirable in many finishing
process.
 Hardness of Water
The simple definition of water hardness is the amount of
dissolved calcium and magnesium in the water. Hard water
is high in dissolved minerals, both calcium and magnesium.

If hardness in found in water or it must be softening before

use in textile processing and this softening is done by two
wags.
1. Undergo the hard water in at appropriating process.
2. Treating the hard water by using sequestering agent.
 Types of Water Hardness
1. Temporary hardness :
When only bicarbonate salt of Ca and Mg are present in
H2O the hardness is called temporary hardness or
bicarbonate hardness. This hardness is called temporary
bicarbonate hardness because it disappears on boiling.
2. Permanent Hardness:
When sulphate chlorite and nitrate salt of Ca and Mg are
present in H2O the hardness is called permanent hardness.
Permanent hardness cannot removed by boiling because
these salt are not precipitated when the water is boiled but
remain in solution. Due to the presence soluble salt of Ca
and Mg. Soap cannot form foam or lather.
Disadvantages of Hard Water in textile processing

• Formation of hard soaps with calcium and magnesium

ions, which results into shade change.
• Some dyes got duller and even scum formation happens
in the hard water.
• The metal ion impurities such as iron and copper , is a
problem in the peroxide bleaching baths.
• Hard water is responsible for scale formation in the
boilers.
• If temporary hardness is high, the soft scales are formed
which causes corrosion.
Desirable Water Quality Parameters for Textile
Wet Processing
pH 6.5-7.5
TDS 300 ppm
Color 5 Hazen No.
Residue on ignition 250 ppm
Total Hardness 30 ppm
COD Nil
Turbidity Nil
Suspended Solids Nil
Copper 0.01 ppm
Iron 0.01 ppm
Chromium 0.01 ppm
Manganese 0.05 ppm
Aluminium 0.2 ppm
Chloride 150 ppm
Sulphate 150 ppm
Nitrite Nil
 Water Hardness Scale

1. Parts per million (ppm) : parts of the salt present per 106
parts of water in term of CaCO3.
2. 10dh (German) hardness : parts of the salt per 105 parts
of water in terms of CaO/10mg of CaO in 1L of water.
3. 10dh (French) hardness : parts of the salt present per
105 parts of water interns of CaCO3 .
4. 10dh (English/british) hardness : the number of grain of
salt per gallon of water in terms CaCO3 .
5. 10dh (American) hardness : 1mg of CaCO3 in 1L of
water.
Water Hardness PPM Scale
Grains Per Milligrams Per Liter Classification
Gallon (mg/L)or Parts Per Million
(ppm)
less than 1.0 less than 17.1 Soft

1.0 – 3.5 17.1 – 60 Slightly Hard

3.5 – 7.0 60 – 120 Moderately Hard

7.0 – 10.5 120 – 180 Hard

over 10.5 over 180 Very Hard

Relation between Different Hardness Scales

Unit of water hardness Mg/l on ppm of

CaCO3
1 British degree 14.3

1 American degree 17.2

1 French degree 10.0

1 Garman degree 17.9

1 mol/l 100
Problems in wet processing associating with
the hard water

1. Scale formation in the boiler:

Temporary hardness is rapidly converted to calcium
carbonate and magnesium hydroxide in a boiler and in time
accumulates in the form of scale on the inner surface of the
shell or in the tubes.

• Ca(HCO3)2 → CaCO3+CO2+H2O
• Mg(HCO3)2 → MgCO3+CO2+H2O
• MgCO3+H2O → Mg(OH)2+CO2
• Hence [CaCO3+ Mg(OH)2] is called scale.
Heat Loss by Pipe Scaling

Scale Thickness Heat Loss (Approx.)

1 mm 10 %
3mm 17%
5mm 22%
10mm 30%
20mm 43%
2. Reaction with soap:
The salt of Calcium and Magnesium (permanent
hard water) does not easily form foam with soap
becomes wastage of soap.
•2RCOONa+MgSO4 → (RCOO)2 Mg+Na2SO4
•2RCOONa+CaSO4 → (RCOO)2 Ca+Na2SO4
3. Reaction with dyestuff:
As dyestuff mixed with hard water, some dyestuffs
are precipitated. So, dyestuffs are spoiled. Hence
the proper shade cannot found.
4. Corrosion of boiler:
Corrosion can be serious causes of wear in boilers if suitable
water are not used. Dissolved oxygen in the presence of CO2 is
a common cause of corrosion especially affecting high pressure
boilers. The CO2 reacts with the iron, forming ferrous carbonate
which in turn tends to hydrolyse to ferrous hydroxide.

•Fe+H2O+CO3 → FeCO3+H2
•FeCO3+H2O → Fe(OH)2+CO2

5. Deposition on the goods during scouring:

Soap reacts with hard water and produce insoluble salts which
deposit with the fabric during scouring. Insoluble salts make the
fabric hard and inflexible which create problem in the next
process.
 Water Softening Methods
1. Soda lime process
2. Base exchange process
3. Demineralization process

Soda Lime Process

Soda lime is a process used in water treatment to remove
hardness from water. This process is now obsolete but was
very useful for the treatment of large volumes of hard
water. Addition of lime (CaO) and soda (Na2CO3) to the
hard water precipitates calcium as the carbonate, and
magnesium as its hydroxide. The lime‐soda uses lime as
Ca(OH)2 and soda ash as Na2CO3.
Reactions in Soda Lime Process
As lime is added to water, it will react with any carbon
dioxide present as follows:
Ca(OH)2 + CO2 →CaCO3 ↓ +H2O....(1)
The lime will react with carbonate hardness as follows:
Ca(OH)2 + Ca(HCO3)2 →CaCO3 ↓ +2H2O.....(2)
Ca(OH)2 + Mg(HCO3)2 →MgCO3 + CaCO3 ↓ +2H2O.....(3)
The product magnesium carbonate in equation 3 is soluble.
To remove it, more lime is added:
Ca(OH)2 + MgCO3 →CaCO3 ↓ +Mg(OH)2 ↓.....(4)
Also, magnesium non-carbonate hardness, such as
magnesium sulfate, is removed:
Ca(OH)2 + MgSO4 →CaSO4 + Mg(OH)2 ↓.....(5)
 Reactions Continues…
Lime addition removes only magnesium hardness and
calcium carbonate hardness. In equation 5 magnesium is
precipitated. The water now contains the original calcium
non-carbonate hardness. Soda ash is added to remove
calcium non-carbonate hardness:
Na2CO3 + CaSO4 → Na2SO4 + CaCO3 ↓.....(6)

After softening, the water will have high pH and contain the
excess lime. Re-carbonation (adding carbon dioxide) is
used to stabilize the water.
 Reactions Continues…
The excess lime and magnesium hydroxide are stabilized
by adding carbon dioxide, which also reduces pH from 10.8
to 9.5 as the following:
CO2 + Ca(OH)2 →CaCO3 ↓ +H2O
CO2 + Mg(OH)2 →MgCO3 + H2O
Further recarbonation, will bring the pH to about 8.5 and
stabilize the calcium carbonate as the following:
CO2 + CaCO3 + H2O→Ca(HCO3)2
It is not possible to remove all of the hardness from water.
In actual practice, about 50 to 80 mg/l will remain as a
residual hardness.
 Soda Lime Process
The lime and soda are entered into the
reagent tank. At the same time,
predetermined amount of raw hard
water is pumped into the Reaction tank.
A large propeller acts as an agitator into
the Reaction tank. The agitation is
increased to get more amount of ppm,
steam is passed through the sideway
pipe to increase the temperature of the
mixer. The water is filtered to remove
CaCO3 after precipitation is completed
and finally passed to the soft water
storage tank.
 Limitation
• Lime soda softening cannot produce a water at
completely free of hardness because of the
solubility (little) of CaCO3 and Mg(OH) 2.

• Thus the minimum calcium hardness can be

achieved is about 30 mg/l as CaCO3, and the
magnesium hardness is about 10 mg/l as
CaCO3.
 Base Exchange Process
It is the most simple and used
process. Water obtained by
using this process has a
hardness of 0-20 ppm. Water is
softened by exchanging Ca2+
and Mg2+ ion with the help of
zeolite. That’s why it is also
called Zeolite process. While
water is passed into Zeolite the
ions are exchanged. Zeolite is
the Hydrated silicate of sodium
and aluminum.
Reactions Base Exchange Process
The general formula of Zeolite is:
(Na2O)x(Al2O3)y(SiO2)z(H2O)n
Let, Z = (Al2O3)y(SiO2)z(H2O)n So, Zeolite = Na2O.Z

For temporary hardness:

• Ca(HCO3) + Na2O.Z → CaO.Z+ Na2CO3 + H2O
• Mg(HCO3) + Na2O.Z → MgO.Z + Na2CO3 + 2H2O

For permanent hardness:

• CaSO4 + Na2O.Z → CaO.Z + Na2SO4
• MgSO4 + Na2O.Z → MgO.Z + Na2SO4
• MgCl2 + Na2O.Z → MgO.Z + NaCl
 Process & Regeneration
• Process:
Zeolite are taken into the tank. Then hard raw water is
entered into the inlet pipe. While water comes to the
contact of Zeolite in Zeolite bed, the water softened. Then
soft water is collected from downward outlet.
• Regeneration:
When water is softened by this process for many times
Zeolite is exhausted. For this reason, Zeolite is not used for
every time while softening water. 10% NaCl is used
through the Zeolites and the Zeolites are regenerated
again.
CaO.Z + 2NaCl --> Na2O.Z + CaCl2
 Advantages and Disadvantages
• Water softening is a simple, well-documented ion
exchange process. It solves a very common form of
water contamination. Regeneration with sodium chloride
is simple, inexpensive and can be automatic, with no
strong chemicals required.

• The disadvantages of water softening become apparent

when high-quality water is required. Softening merely
exchanges the hardness ions in the water supply for
normally less-troublesome sodium ions. Since the
treated water contains sodium instead of calcium or
magnesium, it is still unsuitable for many uses.
 Demineralization
Demineralization process is the
modern water softening process. By
applying this process the water
obtained may be as pure as distilled
water. Because not only the ions are
removed those are responsible for
water hardness but also some
dissolved salt i.e. FeCO3, CaCl2
etc. can be removed. In this process
strong acid cation resin and strong
base anion resin are used. Cation in
water like Sodium, Calcium,
Magnesium removed by cation
resin. And for anion like Chloride,
Sulphate anion resin are used.
Process: The demineralization plant consist of both
cation and anion unit. Control over cation and anion unit is
essential. Predetermined amount of resin bed are taken
according to the composition of hard water. Then, the
process is done by two steps:
1.Hydrogen Cation exchanger: Cation resin can be in
Hydrogen (R-SO3H) or Sodium form (R-SO3Na).
Sulphonated resin (Cation acid resin) in Hydrogen form is
used as cation exchanger for water softening.
•CaCl2 + H2R --> CaR↓ + 2HCl
•Ca(HCO3) + H2R --> CaR↓ + 2H2O + 2CO2
2. Anion exchanger: Amino resin (anion base resin) is
used and produced HCl is removed.
•HCl + HOR1 --> ClR1↓ + H2O (soft water),
Regeneration: We know, regeneration is done to get back
the resins which are used to softening water are exhausted
and we have to apply some acid & alkali to regenerate
them again.

For step 1, regeneration is performed by using acid. Less than 2% H2SO4 is used.

CaR + H2SO4 --> CaSO4 + H2R (regenerated resin)

For step 2, regeneration is done by using 1% solution of NaOH.

ClR1 + NaOH --> NaCl + HOR1 (regenerated resin)