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Integrated Water Management and Size recovery in textile industry Chris Dotremont1, Bart Molenberghs1, Roger Leysen1 Frederik Debaillie2, Henk Van den Berkmortel2, Emile Cornelissen2 1) Vito (Flemish Institute for Technological Research), Boeretang 200, B-2400 Mol, Belgium 2) Seghers Scientic Matrix Water, Grote Baan 63, B-3150 Wespelaar, Belgium Textile industry, a sector known for its high water consumption, is one of the most important industries in Flanders. Many of these textile companies, located in a narrow and dense populated area, are still using high quality groundwater for their production processes, resulting in local water shortages and deterioration of groundwater quality. Therefore, textile industry is one of the main target sectors of both the Belgian and European Government to implement sustainable technology for integrated water management. This paper deals with the application of membrane technology in water use and re-use in textile industry, i.e. reducing overall water consumption by in-process treatment and re-use of process water. The textile company involved in this study produces cotton towels. After weaving, the sizing agents must be washed out before the fabric enters the dying process. The washing step requires not only large amounts of wash water but also causes a waste stream which contributes for a large part to the end-of-pipe COD content (� 2000 ppm). This paper will present results on the ultrafiltration tests which revealed (1) a permeate which could be re-used in the washing process and (2) a concentrate which could be directly re-used in the sizing process. However, attention should be given to the correct choice of sizing agent to end up with a stable filtration process. As a result of the project, the ultrafiltration process is successfully implemented on industrial scale since October 2001. Up till now, the end-of-pipe waste water is treated by a Unitank� activated sludge reactor before disposing into the sewer. For the moment, the effluent fulfils the standard norms for discharge in the sewer. However, in the near future (2003 - 2004), the textile company will be obliged to discharge the effluent in the surface water, which means that the discharge parameters will become much more stringent, especially the colour parameter will cause a problem in the future. Therefore, an experimental plan was set up in order to treat the effluent to a further extent by membrane filtration. Pilot test results for the treatment of the effluent by (1) the combination of ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis (RO) will be discussed in detail, as well as (2) the combination of a membrane bioreactor (MBR) and reverse osmosis. The permeate of the RO-pilot had such an excellent quality that it could be re-used in the dying process without any change in fabric colour. The results are very promising from technical point of view and will be followed by a critical economical evaluation.