Mas-colombo Uni eye US $ 1mn forex savings with new filter technology
„Colombo University develops new technology that uses aluminium waste to treat textile industry wastewater „Signs licensing agreement with MAS Holdings to introduce the technology at MAS Fabric Park
Sri Lanka’s MAS Holdings in partnership with the University of Colombo (UOC) is eyeing US $ 1 million in foreign exchange savings to the country by industry-wide application of a new filter technology that uses aluminium waste for treating wastewater in the textile industry, instead of imported materials.
A licensing agreement was signed between Twinery, the innovation arm of MAS Holdings and Colombo Science and Technology Cell of the UOC, this Monday, to introduce the technology at MAS Fabric Park.
The textile industry currently uses costly imported agents to treat wastewater to ensure that it is meeting stringent local and international standards. “This is a homegrown sustainable solution for wastewater treatment with far-reaching environmental, industrial and economic benefits for both the textile and aluminium industries as it has the potential to eliminate solid waste from the aluminium industry that would have otherwise been disposed and is instead converted to a wastewater treatment material and eliminates the importation of other wastewater treatment material,” MAS Holdings Chief Innovation Officer Ranil Vitarana said.
He noted that this solution could be deployed across the textile industry in cooperation with
the aluminium industry, once the experiment stage ends, which would potentially bring US $ 1 million foreign exchange savings to the country. MAS plans to deploy this technology across its 40 odd factories in Sri Lanka based on the recommendations of the project team, which would save US $ 320,000 in import costs per annum to the firm.
Vitarana also pointed out that the aluminium industry would also be able to cut down its costs, which are spent on disposing aluminium waste (aluminium sludge).
Currently, the aluminium manufactures in the country utilise the facilities of the cement plants to dispose these wastes by spending Rs.30,000 per tonne of waste, which are eventually destined for landfills. “Therefore, there’s a significant benefit for the environment,” he said.
Elaborating the process, UOC Consultant and Chemistry Senior Lecturer Dr. Shashiprabha Vithanarachch said, “The dissolving stage of the aluminium sludge generates ALOH, which is used for the adsorption-coagulation effects that are used for the filtration process while the inert matter is allowed to settle and is used for the exiting MAS eco-brick process.” MAS has already developed a technology to convert industrial effluent into eco-bricks, which is even recognised by the United Nations.
Vitarana revealed that MAS would combine the two technologies to produce eco-bricks. However, he noted that more investment would be required to convert the final waste into eco-bricks. “We have been talking to few construction firms on the possibility of purchasing bricks from us. The production of eco-bricks will be based on their demand,” he added. The proof of concept for the technology to convert sludge from the aluminium industry as a filter material to treat the wastewater from the apparel industry was developed through a series of undergraduate research projects with minimal funding of Rs.16,000 in the Physics Department of the UOC.
“Even though this was an undergraduate research, the outcome was impactful,” project’s Principal Investigator and UOC Physics Senior Lecturer Dr. Dilushan Jayasundera emphasised.
The research was supported by Dr. Shashiprabha Vithanarachchi, Shalika Meedin and a team, which included Kushani Hettiarachchi, Kasun Sankalpa of the UOC and Ranil Vitarana, Sarah Dole and Harsha Deraniyagala from MAS.