Explore applications of mud treatment for sustainable development

Textile wastewater is one of the main concerns for water pollution in producing countries. However, sludge from these wastewater treatment plants is often released into the environment and, therefore, is exposed to flooding that causes soil and water pollution.

Therefore, it is increasingly necessary to look for different applications of mud treatment for sustainable development. The typical textile mud had a very high moisture content (~ 80 percent), but the dried mud had a decent heating value (> 17 MJ kg-1).

In the paper Utilization of textile sludge and public health risk assessment in Bangladesh published in Sustainable Environment Research Journal, different mixtures of mud and clay (0.5 to 5.25 percent dry mud) were used to make bricks, which were evaluated in terms of compressive strength and leaching behavior.

The clay bricks incorporated in the mud showed a compressive strength of up to 77 percent more than the average standard bricks. The clay leaching test showed a very low water absorption (0.8-1.3 percent), which is desirable for various applications.

Based on the evaluation of the industrial textile mud cytotoxicity, the 50 percent lethal concentration was at a concentration of 262 μM sludge solution, based on the level of Cr.

This value is significantly higher than the leachate concentration and, therefore, it indicates the potential of the mud as a construction material without the risk of contamination by heavy metals.