https://doi.org/10.15255/KUI.2007.014
Published: Kem. Ind. 56 (11) (2007) 569–574
Paper reference number: KUI-14/2007
Paper type: Original scientific paper
Download paper:  PDF

Scouring of Domestic Wool in Croatia and its Impacts on the Environment

E. Vujasinović, A. Anić Vučinić and D. Ljubas

Abstract

Wool and wastewaters from scouring can be a mixed blessing – a useful technological raw material or an environmental problem. If wool is scoured with no control, as the case most often is in Croatia, the wastewater released could endanger the environmental stability of the existing water systems. Since the interest has been growing recently for processing domestic wool, which also presents a considerable hazard of polluting water because of unskilled scouring and uncontrolled wastewater release into the natural water flows, we have organized investigations aimed at determining potentially dangerous ecological loads on the Croatian water systems, caused by scouring domestic wool. The results obtained indicate that improper disposal of the wool and/or uncontrolled release of wastewater from scouring present a considerable environmental hazard. We have concluded that impacts on the environment of scouring domestic wool in Croatia are the same as impacts on the environment obtained by normal functioning of a town of 1700–2000 inhabitants.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Keywords

ecological load, environmental protection, wool scouring, wastewater, wastewater treatment