Chemical and Biological Treatment of Dyes

Abstract

Life of living or non-living being depends on water; in short, water is life. But these days, with the growing industrialization, it is spoiling a lot. Wastewater contains contaminants like acids, bases, toxic organic and inorganic dissolved solids, and colors. Out of them, the most undesirable are colors caused mainly by dyes. Color and other compounds present in water are always not desirable for domestic or industrial needs. The wastes of dyes are predominant amongst all the complex industrial wastewater. This water is dark in color and highly toxic, blocking the sunlight and affecting the ecosystem. Among all the dyes, azo dyes contribute to commercial dyes used widely in textile, plastic, leather, and paper industries as additives. The removal and degradation of azo dyes in aquatic environment is important because they are highly toxic to aquatic organisms. For every industry, clean technology has become an important concern. In this chapter, the authors discuss about existing processes as well as promising new technologies for textile wastewater decolorisation.