from the dye , wax and chemicals used in painting and colour fixing . Premise owners face the predicament of prohibitively high installation and operation costs for treatment systems that would effectively reduce the effluent pollution level . The use of membrane technology and Fenton methods were considered , but for the sake of cost-effectiveness an activated carbon treatment process was first installed at the premise . The system successfully treated the effluent to meet the Department of Environment discharge Standard B . Potential issues related to the activated carbon process is in ensuring proper column operation and maintenance to maximise the capacity of the adsorption column .
Another issue is in ascertaining the breakthrough point and the management of spent adsorbent . Further research on the batik effluent treatment resulted in the development of an improved system comprising a three-step process that included a catalytic step , pH balancing , and a final polishing step ( 1 ). The system successfully treated the wastewater to remove colour and reduce pH and COD to acceptable levels for discharge . A prototype of the batik treatment system was installed in a premise in Gombak , Selangor as shown in Figure 2 . The unique feature about this system is that it is additionally equipped with a step which successfully precipitated out the silicate compounds from the wastewater , as well as reducing COD , pH and other parameters to discharge standards . The process generated a substantial quantity of silicate sludge that solidified out of the effluent . The DOE considers this sludge as scheduled waste and the batik premise would have to discard it according to procedure . This would incur cost to the premise owner which in the long term can be a burden to the batik makers . We developed a method to reuse the sludge and convert it into a zeolite type adsorbent of mesoporous silica , which when impregnated with alumiium hydroxide , proved to be effective as an absorbent to remove bisphenol A and ibuprofen ( 2 ).
Conclusion
Handcrafted batik remains popular in Malaysia as well as abroad despite the proliferation of much cheaper digital batik fabrics . The value lies in its authenticity as an artwork . However , this very fact also means that it is not the most sustainable product , especially when they are produced in large quantities and volume , due to the raw materials and techniques applied in the traditional process . This dilemma can be overcome with careful implementation of CP options that generates savings in material and energy usage , resource recovery and waste reduction , as well as precautionary steps on health and safety concerns . Establishing an SOP for CP implementation and regular engagement with batik manufacturers who primarily come from rural areas are key to ensuring that the good practices of CP are maintained . It may be necessary to initiate services for effluent treatment to make it feasible for premise owners so that they do not need to pay the high capital costs on the installation of treatment systems to treat the effluent before discharge .
REFERENCE
( 1 ) Payam Moradi Birgani , Navid Ranjbar , Rosniah Che Abdullah , Kien Tiek Wong , Gooyong Lee , Shaliza Ibrahim , Chulhwan Park , Yeomin Yoon and Min Jang , “ An efficient and economical treatment for batik textile wastewater containing high levels of silicate and organic pollutants using a sequential process of acidification , magnesium oxide , and palm shellbased activated carbon application ”, Journal of Environmental Management , Volume 184 , Part 2 , 15 December 2016 , Pages 229- 239
( 2 ) Choong , C . E , S . Ibrahim , W . J . Basirun , “ Mesoporous silica from batik sludge impregnated with aluminum hydroxide for the removal of bisphenol A and ibuprofen ”, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science , Volume 541 , 1 April 2019 , Pages 12-17
Acknowledgement
This article is based on an extensive project on Cleaner Production conducted by a team of experts from the UM Consultancy Unit ( UPUM ). The author ( Shaliza Ibrahim ) would like to thank Ms Farahin Jais for her assistance in preparing Figure 1 .
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