Organisation Description:
Established in 1984, ERAK is the leading denim and non-denim woven products manufacturer and one of the major exporters of jeans in Turkey under. The 30.000 sqm factory sits on area of 75.000 sqm in Çerkezköy area, 1 hour drive to İstanbul,Turkey. Over the years, many world-famous retailers have been ERAK’s customers, owing to ERAK’s acclaimed knowhow and consistent use of superior technology. Erak has its own production facility with 1500 employees and an outsourcing operation with a combined annual capacity of 8 million garments, which are made of denim and non-denim. Company comprises cuttings, stitching, washing, garment dyeing, laser units, finishing, quality control and packaging departments.
Role in the project:
ERAK will act as end-user, providing input into user requirements and guiding design and development to meet textile industry needs. ERAK will lead the demonstration of the large-scale Waste2Fresh prototype at ERAK and supply wastewater required for the subsystem development phase of the project. ERAK will additionally support WP1 (project management), WP3 (LCA/LCCA), WP6 (development of real-time monitoring and control system), WP7 (social acceptance endeavours) and WP8 (dissemination, communication and exploitation).
Relevant Publications:
- Application of Surface Treatment Application in Sportswear Products and Increase of Productivity Patented. Application No.2012/08565,
- Development of Stone Cleaning Apparatus for Waste Management in Washing Machines Patented. Application No.2013/03584
Relevant Projects:
ERAK focus upon waste management and is working on reducing the amount of water and chemicals used in washing and dyeing processes. ERAK has participated in Tübitak project that developed wastewater and waste management innovations, culminating in the setup of a wastewater treatment system at ERAK. Pre-treatment, chemical and biological treatment is carried out with the wastewater treatment system installed in the company. In the effluent treatment plant, the factory’s wastewater is processed before being discharged into the public system or sent to third-party for further treatment prior to discharge.
- Innovation in Waste and Waste Management TUBİTAK-TEYDEP 3120231 No Project.2012
- Bleaching in Indigo Dyed Fabrics without Chemical Use R&D Center Project.2017
- Saving Water in Dyeing Process of Denim Pants R&D Center Project.2017
- Development of New Color Printing Techniques Using Laser Technology for Waste Management R&D Center Project.2017
- Development of Stone Cleaning Apparatus for Waste Management in Washing Machines Patented.2013
Infrastructure/Equipment:
Wastewater treatment plant of Erak Giyim Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. consists of four process units.
- Pre-treatment
- Chemical Treatment
- Biological Treatment + MBR System
- Mud Treatment
Pre-treatment
Pre-treatment department contains a manual grill, pre-settling pool and balancing pool. The industrial wastewater firstly flows from the manual grate to the pre-settling pool. The inert materials are collected in the conical part with the aid of the scraper on the base and pressed to the sludge container with the aid of the pump. The wastewater is kept in the balancing pool by soaking. The balancing pool is the place where water homogenization takes place.
Chemical Treatment
Neutralization tanks, flocculation tanks, laminar precipitation tanks exist within the structure of chemical treatment department. Lime and iron sulphate are added to the neutralization tanks and polyelectrolyte is added to the flocculation tanks for the purpose of sedimentation. The resulting flocks are precipitated in lamellar sedimentation tanks.
Biological Treatment and MBR System
It works with long ventilated activated sludge principle. The system has a ventilation pool and a biological sedimentation basin. The pH of the wastewater from the luminal settling tanks is adjusted to pH in the final control tank and then taken to the aeration basin together with the domestic wastewater. In the ventilation pool, wastewater is treated by microorganisms and MBR system in the system. Wastewater passing through the MBR system is discharged from the outlet pool.
Mud Treatment
Sludge to be formed from pre-sedimentation, chemical and biological sedimentation pools is purified by different methods from time to time. The sludge formed in the pre-sedimentation pool contains sand and inert materials which affect the efficiency of the treatment system; hence the waste sludge being sent to bunker system. The water is drained from the bunker and the other part is removed from the system as a ponza stone. The sludge formed in the chemical and biological sedimentation pools is taken to the sludge concentration pool and filtered from the sedimentation pool. The filtered sludge is taken as a solid in cake form and is sent back to the balancing pool.