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SDG 6 in Practice: Demonstrating a Scalable Nature-Based Wastewater Treatment System for Pakistan’s Textile Industry

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  • Kamran Siddique

    (Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Bahria University, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan)

  • Aansa Rukya Saleem

    (Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Bahria University, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan)

  • Muhammad Arslan

    (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1H9, Canada)

  • Muhammad Afzal

    (Soil and Environmental Biotechnology Division, National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering College, Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (NIBGE-CPIEAS), Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan)

Abstract

Industrial wastewater management remains a critical barrier to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) in many developing countries, where regulatory frameworks exist but affordable and scalable treatment solutions are lacking. In Pakistan, the textile sector is a leading polluter, with untreated effluents routinely discharged into rivers and agricultural lands despite stringent National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS). This study presents a pilot-scale case from Faisalabad’s Khurrianwala industrial zone, where a decentralized, nature-based bioreactor was piloted to bridge the gap between policy and practice. The system integrates four treatment stages—anaerobic digestion (AD), floating treatment wetland (FTW), constructed wetland (CW), and sand filtration (SF)—and was further intensified via nutrient amendment, aeration, and bioaugmentation with three locally isolated bacterial strains ( Acinetobacter junii NT-15, Pseudomonas indoloxydans NT-38, and Rhodococcus sp. NT-39). The fully intensified configuration achieved substantial reductions in total dissolved solids (TDS) (46%), total suspended solids (TSS) (51%), chemical oxygen demand (COD) (91%), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) (94%), nutrients, nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) (86%), sulfate (26%), and chloride (41%). It also removed 95% iron (Fe), 87% cadmium (Cd), 57% lead (Pb), and 50% copper (Cu) from the effluent. The bacterial inoculants persist in the system and colonize the plant roots, contributing to stable bioremediation. The treated effluent met the national environmental quality standards (NEQS) discharge limits, confirming the system’s regulatory and ecological viability. This case study demonstrates how nature-based systems, when scientifically intensified, can deliver high-performance wastewater treatment in industrial zones with limited infrastructure—offering a replicable model for sustainable, SDG-aligned pollution control in the Global South.

Suggested Citation

  • Kamran Siddique & Aansa Rukya Saleem & Muhammad Arslan & Muhammad Afzal, 2025. "SDG 6 in Practice: Demonstrating a Scalable Nature-Based Wastewater Treatment System for Pakistan’s Textile Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-21, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:13:p:6226-:d:1696583
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Adeel Younas & Love Kumar & Matthew J. Deitch & Sundus Saeed Qureshi & Jawad Shafiq & Sohail Ali Naqvi & Avinash Kumar & Arjmand Qayyum Amjad & Sabzoi Nizamuddin, 2022. "Treatment of Industrial Wastewater in a Floating Treatment Wetland: A Case Study of Sialkot Tannery," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-20, October.
    2. Celia De La Mora-Orozco & Irma Julieta González-Acuña & Ruben Alfonso Saucedo-Terán & Hugo Ernesto Flores-López & Hector Osbaldo Rubio-Arias & Jesús Manuel Ochoa-Rivero, 2018. "Removing Organic Matter and Nutrients from Pig Farm Wastewater with a Constructed Wetland System," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-16, May.
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