4 Million Cubic Metres of Wastewater is Treate and Reuse in Textile Dyehouses Every Year in Bursa
4 million cubic meters of water treated annually in the wastewater treatment and recovery facilities of Demirtaş Organized Industrial Zone (DOSAB) in Bursa is included in production and used in textile factories.
Environmentalist practices in DOSAB, where 570 companies operate and approximately 45 thousand people work in the industrial city of Bursa, started with the wastewater treatment plant, which was built in 3 years and put into operation in 2007. To contribute to the protection of groundwater resources, a wastewater recovery facility was also put into operation in 2021 with an investment of 176 million liras.
In the facilities located on an area of 11 hectares in the industrial zone, which has been deemed worthy of many awards, 57 thousand 500 cubic meters of industrial-intensive polluted wastewater coming from the enterprises in DOSAB is discharged daily through various processes, and 25 thousand cubic meters is treated in the recovery facility.
65-70 percent (17,500 cubic meters per day) of the water treated in the recovery facility is sent to the factories via DOSAB water tanks and water networks to be used in production. In this way, 4 million cubic meters of water is recovered annually.
Thanks to the facilities where the water, which becomes clear after the necessary processes when it is dark brown, comes out of the waste quality, textile companies in the region are preferred by world-famous brands because they use recycled water in the production process.
“We recover 65-70% of the water”
DOSAB Manager Serhat Şengül said that there are many dyehouses in DOSAB, where textile and automotive companies are concentrated. Şengül stated that the construction of the treatment plant started in 2004 and was commissioned in 2007 with a daily capacity of 70 thousand cubic meters. “Later, we worked on many different projects with our team for many years to find solutions for textile recycling, groundwater reduction, and taking the necessary measures regarding water, and we increased the capacity in 2021.”
Stating that they changed the design of the facility while increasing the capacity, Şengül explained that this area has turned into a complex with two treatment plants.
Stating that they have increased the capacity of both facilities to 82,500 cubic meters per day, Şengül continued as follows: “The water comes in after the pre-treatment is done, it is divided into two. The conventional one goes to the old facility and the 25,000 cubic meter membrane bioreactor (MBR) facility we just built. The roadmap of water then continues with reverse osmosis (RO). Then we recover 65-70% of the water. We mix the water we earn with the well water we obtain from other underground in the region and supply it to the region as process water again. We also give the remaining concentrate from the RO plant to the head of our conventional plant at the very beginning. Thus, we operate this facility without any concentration problems. We have a separate network where the dyehouses use this water, which we call process water. That’s where we feed that network. Therefore, 61 dyehouses benefit from this recovery facility.”
“We have designed a facility here that is not even available in Europe”
Noting that they are proud of breaking new ground as DOSAB, Şengül emphasized that they have reached an important level with the support of the boards of directors, academics, and R&D studies of the teams.
Şengül said, “Neither in Turkey nor in Europe there is a facility of this capacity and this density. In this type of heavily polluted water, we have designed a facility that is not even available in Europe; Considering the 25 thousand cubic meters of daily MBR and RO facility, it is the only facility in Turkey with this capacity.”
Explaining that contract manufacturing is generally carried out in textiles in Turkey, Şengül continued his words as follows: “All of what is produced here is exported to the world and there are standards set by these companies. In fact, they protect our country with the standards they set. If you do not build these recovery facilities, the places where the water will be obtained are clear. Either you will collect surface water or you will use groundwater. Groundwater consumption is very high in Bursa. In our area, it was 100 percent. Now we have reduced it by 30-35 percent. This water belongs to all of us; not only our water, but also our future generations’ water. Therefore, it is necessary to use it very correctly, to purify it correctly, and to recycle it as much as possible.”
Şengül added that they have signed a protocol for a new project and that they will completely cancel the 65 percent of the groundwater used and recover 100 percent of the water at sustainable costs without using this resource at all.
“Water recovery projects need to increase”
DOSAB Treatment Group Chief Selen Tunçman stated that all domestic and industrial wastewater from companies is directed to the treatment plant.
Noting that the water is subjected to physical treatment as the first step, Tunçman shared the following information: “The water, which is first removed from the oil from the solids in it, then separates into two. 57,500 cubic meters of it is the subject of our advanced biological wastewater treatment plant, and the biologically treated wastewater is discharged into the Nilüfer Creek by the discharge standards required by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change. The other 25 thousand cubic meters per day is treated with advanced biological treatment, MBR, and RO processes, and then it becomes a clear and clean water, completely free from pollution, and we return this water to the industry to be used in its processes.”
Pointing out that Turkey is in the category of “countries suffering from water stress” in terms of the annual amount of water per capita, Tunçman said, “We are gradually advancing to the class of countries suffering from water scarcity. That’s why water recovery is so important. Water recovery projects need to increase.”