Industrial textile processing comprises the operations of pretreatment, dyeing, printing and finishing. These production processes are not
only heavy consumers of energy and water; they also produce a substantial amount of chemical pollution. Of all dyed textile fibres, cotton
occupies the number-one position, and more than 50% of its production is dyed with reactive dyes, owing to their technical characteristics.
Unfortunately, this class of dyes is also the most unfavorable one from the ecological point of view, as the effluents produced are relatively
heavily colored, contain high concentrations of salt and exhibit high BOD/COD values.