Efficiency analysis of effluents treatment plants of different industries at Kalurghat – Port City of Bangladesh Sarkar Imran Wahid a , Ohidul Alam b, *, Mohammed Kamal Hossain a , Milan Kumar Chakraborty c and Mohammad Mohinuzzaman d a Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences (IFES), University of Chittagong, Chittagong 4331, Bangladesh b State Key Chemical Engineering Lab, School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST), Shanghai, China c Chemical Department, Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA), Chittagong, Bangladesh d Department of Environmental Science and Disaster Management, Noakhali Science and Technology University (NSTU), Noakhali, Bangladesh *Corresponding author. E-mail: ohid776@gmail.com Abstract The study was executed at Kalurghat industrial area to determine the efficiency of effluent treatment plants by testing different physicochemical parameters. Results revealed that only 3 out of 9 industries treated their efflu- ents efficiently and discharged following the standards of Department of Environment. The remaining industries viz. Alfa Textile treated their effluent but the values of pH (10.2), dissolve oxygen (DO) (3.6 mg/L), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) (89 mg/L), chemical oxygen demand (COD) (282 mg/L), total suspended solid (TSS) (221 mg/L), and electric conductivity (EC) (4,003 μS/cm) exceeded the standards, and released untreated effluents directly into the environment. Smart Jeans didn’t maintain the standard of EC (1,927 μS/cm), DO (3.2 mg/L), BOD (96 mg/L) and COD (216 mg/L). Asian Apparels EC (1,973 μS/cm), DO (4 mg/L), BOD (79 mg/L), and COD (221 mg/L) weren’t up to the standards. Similarly, Mans Fashion EC (1,243 μS/cm), DO (3.7 mg/L), TSS (180 mg/L), BOD (78 mg/L), and COD (255 mg/L) also exceeded the standards. In addition, Well Group TSS (160 mg/L), EC (3,201 μS/cm), DO (4.2 mg/L), and COD (235 mg/L) while Golden Height only EC (1,762 μS/cm) crossed the pre- scribed limits. Inversely, all the sampled industries volleyed effluents containing metals within the standards level except Alfa Textile (Cu, Zn, & Cr), Well Group (Cr) and Asian Apparels (Ni). Key words: efficiency, effluents, environment, ETP, industry, and pollution INTRODUCTION Bangladesh has a great vicissitude limiting pollution by taking lessons from industrialized countries yet (Bafana et al. 2015; Hosen et al. 2015). Speedy industrial growth has greatly improved economic status as well quality of life, inversely has contributed awfully on environmental degradation ( Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) 2002; Islam et al. 2013). Initially, industrial growth and development even- tuated during then Pakistan reign; after 1971, government induced to denationalize all the industries, especially textile and fabrics to achieve more than profits (Bloom 2001; GoB 2011). Generally, efflu- ent is considered to be pollution (e.g., the discharge from industrial works) but effluent water is used water ( Jern 2006; Hannan et al. 2011; Prabha et al. 2015). Amidst different types of industries, wet processing of textiles, steels, paper, fertilizers, cements, and pharmaceuticals produce huge quantity of effluents (Akbari et al. 2002; Khan & Noor 2002; Bhandari et al. 2016; Ra et al. 2016). © IWA Publishing 2017 Water Practice & Technology Vol 12 No 2 322 doi: 10.2166/wpt.2017.035 Downloaded from https://iwaponline.com/wpt/article-pdf/12/2/322/380469/wpt0120322.pdf by guest on 18 June 2020