Abstract
With an increasing inclination of the world towards fashion and clothing, textile industries are becoming one of the major contributors. This has led to a simultaneous upsurge of various recalcitrant synthetic dyes. The effluents from textile industries are rich in dyes, which when dumped without treatment into rivers, deteriorate the entire ecosystem. Despite various remedial technologies and governmental regulations in this regard, lack of public attention towards the concern is worsening the situation further. The chapter, therefore, focuses on the current status of the water crisis due to water pollution with special reference to textile dye pollution in rivers. The chapter brings a unique amalgamated approach by aiming to bring in front advanced treatment methods using biotechnology that can help in efficient treatment of dye-rich textile effluents along with a deeper understanding of socio-cultural reforms that will ultimately help in the implementation of these solutions.
TopBackground
Despite being one of the essentialities of human life water has become a grave societal and geopolitical issue. UNO has predicted that by 2035, 40% of the world population will be residing under serious water stress. This has led to the establishment of sustainable goal 6 which is focused on the motto of ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. However to achieve this goal it is very much necessary that there is a narrow margin view of the freshwater ecosystem and the status of water scarcity associated with constantly growing global industrial wastewater pollution.
The fact that most of our planet is covered by water is a meager mirage. As stated earlier the portion of freshwater which is actually available for human usage is extremely low. With the increasing population, the problem of water scarcity is spreading its roots at a faster pace. The projected population of the world by 2050 will be 9.7 billion. This simultaneously means that the limited freshwater resource will have to be shared even further, creating a huge gap between water demand and water availability. The UNUI-WEH Report, 2017 states that due to enormous anthropogenic activities which are dependent on water, by 2050 the overall water demand is expected to increase by 400 times in the industrial sector, and similarly for the household consumption 50% increase in the water usage is expected (Guppy & Anderson, 2017). This, therefore, brings to the conclusion that 40% of the world population by 2050 will have to face a severe water stress situation. In a similar notion, the World Bank Group has predicted that water scarcity in some reasons can cost 6% of their GDP and the total cost of water insecurity to the global economy worldwide is estimated to be 500 billion U.S. dollars/year. The group has also reported that this figure may further rise to 1% of the global GDP due to other associated environmental impacts.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Bioremediation: A process that uses microbes and microbe-derived products to clean up environmental pollutants in an environmentally friendly manner.
Electro-Coagulation: A process of destabilizing suspended, emulsified, or dissolved contaminants in an aqueous medium by introducing an electrical current into the medium.
Floatation: A separation process for pollutants from an aqueous medium based on the introduction of gas bubbles as the transport medium.
Nano-Adsorption: A method of pollutant removal from wastewater using nano-sized materials (1-100nm) owing to its surface adsorption property.
Pressure Groups: A powerful minority force in society that is capable to exert political influence to the detriment of the majority of society.
Industrial Effluent: A liquid waste generated from industries which is often released out of the industrial facilities to the environment.
Waste Water Treatment: A process of converting wastewater into water that can be discharged back into the environment.
Socio-Culture Perspective: A theory used in fields such as psychology and education and is used to describe awareness of circumstances surrounding individuals and how their behaviors are affected specifically by their surrounding social and cultural factors.