Market potential indicators

R.B.Chavan Department of Textile Technology

Indian Institute of Technology

Hauz-khas, New Delhi

Introduction

ITI has acquired an important position in

country’s economy,

world production

international market.

Maximum working force is under this sector

ITI showed a minute and negligible improvement during the

past decades

inspite of being number – 2 in the world. In terms of

manufacturing capacity

Its close competitor China is eyeing towards 40% of world

textile market by 2004,

while India trying its best to manage with 3% share.

With globalization in full swing and establishing of WTO will

enforce industries to evaluate themselves either to face the

market or to step out.

Market potential indicators (MPI)

Technological Obsolescence

The technological obsolescence is responsible for the slowdown and the small share of Indian textile in the world market.

The majority of suffering sectors are (Exception Spinning)

weaving,

processing,

garment making,

cotton ginning & pressing, etc.

GoI to shut down many mills.

By the mid of 1998

number of mills closed 231 (136 spinning and 95 composite mills).

powerloom sector: most of the mills are more than 2 decades old and 2/3rd of them are conventional type.

Under the mill sector about 11 million spindles are scrapped.

Sickness among the industries is acute and every segment of the ITI is suffering from technological obsolescence

Capacity Utilisation

Year

Top curve Spinning, Bottom curve Weaving

Capacity Utilisation

Number of machinery increased

No increase in capacity Utilization

Low production efficiency

Import of second hand machinesDemand from indigenous machine manufacturers to ban such imports

Government introduced the TUFS (Technology

Upgradation Fund Scheme) in 1999,

Inadequate response to TUFS

Technology needs

vibrant sector to the country’s economy

Large labour force

it has to compete with global trends by providing

goods of high quality at reasonable prices.

This can be achieved by continuously modernising

the structure,

GoIs aim towards release of TUFS5 to

modernise and technologically upgrade the textile

industry to enhance their viability and competitiveness.

This program is aiming at providing necessary funds

for techno-economically viable projects

Technology Obsolescence:

Reasons & Upgradation in ITI

Environmental Problems

Many fold growth to meet global and domestic demand.

Led to parallel growth in environmental problems, which were left unnoticed.

Issues

external environmental issues (EI),

negative impact on environment and human health

Internal environmental issues

various waste that are released during the processes

External Environmental Issues

Any industrial activity accounts pollution in one form or the other. ITI releases a wide spectrum of pollution into the environment. age-old processes ranging from raw material input to final products compounding major environmental impacts. old techniques, Excessive chemicals used, un-skilled labour, untreated effluent disposal, Haphazard working methods improper sanitation generation of wastewater, noise, dust, toxic waste, gaseous waste, hazardous chemicals, heap of solid waste.

ITI and its Environmental Impact

environmental and human health impact

Waste water and liquid wastes

The manufacturing of textiles involves usage of water, chemicals and other solvents. Highly polluted waste water dangerous, when disposed off untreated characteristics of waste water generated from Indian textile processing is high in pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), suspended solids (SS), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), chlorides, sulphates phenols. mostly exceeding the limits of Indian standards.Highly polluted rivers in Tirupur and Erode

Human toxicity

The dioxins in the water cause male infertility,

menstrual irregularities, abortions, breast & uterine

cancer in women,

deformities in new born. water borne diseases like cholera, typhoid, hepatitis, gastro enteritis among the residents.

High BOD lower the dissolved oxygen of the water and threaten aquatic life and damage the aesthetic beauty and water use quality.,

All these constituents in water not only threaten the life of fish and aquatic life, but also danger human beings.

The release of poisonous chemicals into the streams leading to natural water resourcesdeteriorating flora and fauna.

This has also resulted in a significant reduction in biodiversity.

Waste water for irrigation

In Punjab state use of waste water for irrigation

Reasons

Non availability of fresh water

Belief: Waste water rich in organic matters which can restore soil fertility

Sewage water contains high concentration of heavy metals like nickel, chrome, organic substances and other compounds, which are

toxic to plants, animals as well as human beings.

The use of such water for irrigation will result in the uptake of pollutants by plants there by reaching human being and animals through the food chain.

India’s rivers and streams suffer from high levels of pollution caused by municipal waste, industrial effluents It is estimated that according to WHO criteria

about 70 percent of India's surface water is severely polluted.

The GoI had stated that about three-fourths of the total wastewater generation in volume flows out of municipal sources. other sources are mainly from chemical and textile industries.As a consequence the country is suffering from water borne diseases which is affecting economic as well as social activities.

Both P’s, population and pollution growth has caused decline of the average annual availability of potable water per capita

5,236 cubic metres in 1951 to 2,464 cubic metres in 1996. By 2007, further decline to 1,920 cubic metres is expected. Like in many other developing countries the scarcity of clean water becomes a steadily growing problem to the Indian economy.

The society and government can no longer neglect this perishing situation and quick measures have to be adopted

Ground Water Pollution

Untreated textile effluents released from the industries on open land seeps into the aquifer and increases the concentration of

total dissolved solids,

Toxic chemical concentration of ground water.

This has been reported in various places because of a large number of dyeing and printing units e.g.

Pali (Rajasthan).

Karur and Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu,

Budha Nala in Punjab.

Tests indicated that well water from these areas not suitable for

Drinking

Irrigation

Because of perennial flow of pollutants in Budha Nala, it is found that it has polluted theground water upto1200 m on the right side and 250-300 m on the left.

As the source of water for all the areas is the ground water, this dependency through borewells, hand pumps is affecting the human health, through various water related diseases.

Airborne Waste

Gaseous wastes from the textile industry, containing

solvent vapours

ammonia and

formaldehyde, are normally diffused into the atmosphere.

Another form of air waste originates from boilers.

Most of the textile mills use coal as fuel,

large amounts of gases are liberated into the atmosphere making the air quality heavily and poisonous.

The release of cotton dust to the air from spinning operations can be a health hazard.

It can cause acute respiratory diseases.

The potential adverse impacts of other air emissions include damage to animal life, vegetation

60 per cent of the electric power generation in India is based on the burning of fossil fuels, mainly coal,

contributes about 16 per cent of the air pollution,

Air pollution in India produces not only a growing amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs), affecting the global climate but also causes problems especially to the health of the population.

The average levels of suspended particulate matter in metropolitan cities exceed 360 g/m3 while the WHO standard is 150 g/m3.

Thus, there is growing concern about this increasing air pollution

Noise

Excessive noise resulting from textile industry is threatening the life ofworkers and residential areas around industry

Noise levels in the city are alarmingly high the average noise levels in commercial areas during the day is 80 decibels, (standards 65 decibels). In addition due to the extremely erratic and unreliable power supply the industries run on generators which are choking the city to death,

when generators start roaring give out noxious fumes exceeding all limits of noise and air pollution.

noise levels are causing psychological effects and physical damage, including irritability, loss of concentration, anxiety and increased pulse rate. one minute exposure to a sound level over 100dB can cause permanent hearing loss. large number of textile workers, especially weavers, suffering from occupational hearing loss.

Though machinery manufacturers made considerable efforts in keeping the noise emission as low as possible while improving the speed of their machines, the measures are not adequate to protect the textile workers from occupational hearing loss.

Dust

The dust consists of particles of fibres, coal, ash, etc.

The first victims in inhaling are the workers.

Later this dust mixes with air and increases the suspended solids and pollutes the air.

The inhaling of air polluted with cotton dust during blowing, drawing, carding, combing etc can cause health hazards like acute respiratory diseases.

Toxic Waste

Toxic waste can be in any form effluent, in water or air, The various chemicals and substances used in the processes include colors, metal, phenol, toxic organic compounds, phosphates, chlorinated solvents, non-degradable surfacants etc originating from various processes like fibre preparation, dyeing, printing, bleaching, cleaning etc. Some can even resist the treatment process and produce acute toxicity in effluent. In dyeing and printing, workers are frequently exposed to dyes, variety of acids such as formic, sulfuric and acetic acids, fluorescent brighteners, organic solvents andDye fixatives.Workers in the finishing operations are frequently exposed to crease-resistant agents, flame retardants, number of toxic solvents used for degreasing and spotting.

The resulting impacts are skin diseases of the dermatitis type Certain dyestuff intermediates can produce bladder cancer.Occupational health effects include byssinosis, chronic bronchitis, dermatitis, cancer of the bladder among dyers, nasal cavity among weavers and others.Due to lack of information about waste management these hazardous chemicals and solids are disposed off on unsecured landfills, which is totally harmful for air, soil, and ground water. These areas might later being used for residential purposes.

Internal Environmental Issues

Textile Processes and Related Internal Environmental Issues

Process waste

Process-waste includes all waste

generated during textile production,

Controllable Cause Waste

The waste is usually a result of the following factors: •Erroneous working methods

•Rejected materials, off specification materials, failed quality control

•Equipment malfunctions •Poor housekeeping techniques

Such kind of wastes is considered controllable they can be avoided through closer attention to the above factors.

Solid Waste

The majority of this waste originates during operations liketransportation, bale openings, house keeping etc., waste under this category includes,

Lint Waste

Lint (Small protruding fibres from fabric surface)

can originate from many textile production steps, particularly from

preparation,

dyeing

washing operations.

Usually removing lint is fairly easy using primary control measures such as filters,

which can be placed in the circulation line of dyeing and other equipment.

The filters must be maintained and cleaned out on a regular basis to ensure proper operation.

The collected lint usually can be dried and then land filled or incinerated.

Lint if not removed present in effluent as suspended solid

Hazardous Chemicals

The processing stages involve processes like Bleaching: hydrogen peroxide, sodium hypochlorite, sodium chlorite and sulphur dioxide gas

Dyeing: Dyes, salt, acids, alkalies, odidizing and reducing agents etc

Printing: Thickeners, solvents, emulsifying agents, binders etc

Finishing: Formaldehyde based cross linking agents, flame retardants and host of other finishing agents

All these processes include use of hazardous chemicals, which add up to the pollution.

SummaryEnvironment protection could be achieved by adopting latest technologies to minimisewaste generation, effective treatment of effluent effluent discharge conforms to the expected norms, Apart from this the small changes like training the workers, good house keeping can change the situation. The utilisation of leftover yarn in spinning and weaving departments, recycling of size, conservation of heat and water minimization of salt in reactive dyeing, recycling of rags, recycling of water in chemical processing, Are some effective ways for environment protection

care must be taken to avoid toxic chemicals coming in contact with skinSuitable measures are to be taken to ensure that there is no escape of the material or its vapour into the atmosphere. Reports say that 80% of Indian companies have Effluent treatment plants, but there are no feasible studies on the working status of these treatment plants. Appropriate measures concerning effluent disposal with proper pre-treatment to meet specified norms. All the above indications prove that there is a growing need for environmental technology not only to protect the workers health but also to protect the local and global environment.

References

http://www.auburn.edu/~alleykd/envirolitigators/bhavanitext.htm

http://www.italasia.it/media/background_india.doc

http://www.xlweb.com/heritage/asian/jacob.htm

http://www.virtualvisitindia.com/punjab/Ludhiana.htm

http://www.biol.tsukuba.ac.jp/~macer/EJ76/ej76k.html

http://iisd1.iisd.ca/tkn/research/country/sdpifullrprt_s.pdf

http://www.gtz.de/utk/PDF/workshop-india.pdf

Indian Journal of Fibre & Textile Research, Vol. 26, March-June 2001, P 44-49