Basic Research on Cleansing Mechanisms of Cementitious Materials in Textile Wastewater Treatment
Overview
Funding Agency
German Research Foundation (Project Number 495389990)
Project Duration
2022-2024
Researcher
Martin Behringer
Textile wastewater, complex due to dyes, electrolytes, softeners and dispersants, represents a challenge for wastewater treatment. Azo dyes in combination with dyeing salts, which are difficult to remove using conventional methods, are particularly problematic. These are often too energy-intensive and costly, especially for low-income regions where textile factories are predominantly located, such as in South Asia and India. Low-cost treatment methods, such as adsorption processes, are therefore essential for wastewater treatment.
Adsorbents made of cement paste containing granulated blast furnace slag with different grain sizes were developed, which can adsorb various dyes. The study focussed on both the cement paste and its individual phases, particularly those with a layered structure. The surface charge, which changes with the pH value of the wastewater, significantly influences the affinity of the negatively charged dye for adsorption. This relationship can be illustrated using the zeta potential in Figure 1. The monocarboaluminate shown adsorbs seven times more dye at pH 5 than at pH 11. In addition, the decolourisation capacity of the cement paste was analysed taking into account the pH value and the presence of various salts such as MgSO4, NaCl or NaSO4.
Furthermore, the reusability of the granulates was analysed in the context of the circular economy. Thermal treatment at approx. 300 °C enabled the hyratised cement paste to be reused with 99% of its original decolouring capacity.
Cementitious material before decolourisation
Cementitious material after decolourisation
2025
Journal Articles
Behringer, Martin; Hilbig, Harald; Helmreich, Brigitte; Machner, Alisa: Improved Setup for Decolourization Experiments with Granular and Powdered Adsorbent Materials Using UV-VIS Flow-through Cells. MethodsX 14, 2025, 103289 more…BibTeX
Full text (
DOI
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Behringer, Martin; Hilbig, Harald; Helmreich, Brigitte; Machner, Alisa: Decolourization properties of pure phases in hydrated cement paste for anionic dyes in textile wastewater. Heliyon 11 (4), 2025, e42231 more…BibTeX
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Conference Papers / Poster
Behringer, Martin; Hilbig, Harald; Helmreich, Brigitte; Machner, Alisa: Decolourisation Properties of Gypsum in Textile Wastewater. 5th International Conference on the Chemistry of Construction Materials 2025, 2025 more…BibTeX
2024
Journal Articles
Strebel, Annika; Behringer, Martin; Hilbig, Harald; Machner, Alisa; Helmreich, Brigitte: Anionic azo dyes and their removal from textile wastewater through adsorption by various adsorbents: a critical review. Frontiers in Environmental Engineering (3), 2024, 1347981 more…BibTeX
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Conference Papers / Poster
Behringer, Martin; Hilbig, Harald; Helmreich, Brigitte; Machner, Alisa: USING DEMOLITION CONCRETE FOR DYE ADSORPTION IN TEXTILE WASTEWATER TREATMENT. Waste to Materials in Building and Construction, 2024Conference for Young Researchers and Professionalsmore…BibTeX
2023
Journal Articles
Behringer, Martin; Hilbig, Harald; Helmreich, Brigitte; Machner, Alisa: Effect of the pH on the interaction of hydrotalcite with dyes from textile wastewater. ce/papers 6 (6), 2023, 194-200 more…BibTeX
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2022
Conference Papers / Poster
Behringer, Martin; Hilbig, Harald; Helmreich, Brigitte; Machner, Alisa: Cleansing Mechanisms of Cementitious Filters in Textile Wastewater Treatment. 4th International Conference on the Chemistry of Construction Materials, 2022 more…BibTeX
