Evaluation of Industrial Effluent Treatment Efficiency at a Textile Manufacturing Plant in Kaduna State

This study evaluates the treatment efficiency of the effluent treatment plant at a textile manufacturing facility in Kaduna State, North West Nigeria. Textile manufacturing generates high-strength effluents rich in synthetic dyes, heavy metals, detergents, and oxygen-demanding organic compounds. Nigeria's textile industry, historically concentrated in Kaduna, has been associated with severe pollution of the Kaduna River, and evaluating the performance of existing effluent treatment systems is essential for assessing environmental compliance. Influent and effluent samples were collected weekly from the treatment plant over a twelve-week period, and physicochemical parameters including pH, colour, chemical oxygen demand, biochemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, and concentrations of chromium, copper, and zinc were analysed. Treatment efficiency was computed as the percentage reduction between raw influent and final effluent for each parameter. Results show that the existing treatment system achieves 72 percent chemical oxygen demand removal and 68 percent biochemical oxygen demand removal on average, which are below the FEPA-stipulated performance requirements. Colour removal is only 44 percent, leaving the effluent with visible coloration that affects the aesthetics of the receiving stream. Chromium removal varies widely, averaging 58 percent, with occasional effluent exceedances of discharge standards. The treatment system is identified as undersized relative to current production volumes, having not been upgraded since original installation. The study recommends capacity expansion, addition of a tertiary treatment stage, and installation of continuous flow monitoring instrumentation. Keywords: effluent treatment, textile industry, treatment efficiency, Kaduna, water pollution.