The textile industry has earned a bad name for polluting our waterways with toxic runoff, while consuming energy and water in larger quantity for dyeing fabrics. Making a real breakthrough for the infamous textile dyeing industry, A Dutch company DyeCoo has developed a dyeing machine titled “DryDye” that eliminates the use of water and chemical. The machine is claimed to be the first commercial dyeing machine to replace water with supercritical carbon dioxide.
The DyeCoo Textile System heats scCO2 to 120 degrees Celsius and pressurizes it to 250 bar, allowing it to behave as both a solvent and a solute. This supercharged carbon dioxide penetrates into textile fibers and disperses the preloaded dyes without extra chemical agents. Soon after the dyeing cycle is complete, the CO2 is gasified to recover the excess dye. Once the excess dye is recovered, the clean CO2 cycles back into the dyeing vessel for reuse, saving energy, water, and the heavy metals.
DyeCoo Textile Systems has won the Dutch Innovation Award, the Herman Wijffels Innovatieprijs. Presently the machine is capable of dyeing polyester fabric, but the company is working on a version that will dye unscoured fabric and cellulosic textiles made from plants. After getting inspired by this waterless process, Netherlands-based designer Fioen van Balgooi came up with the idea of a stunning cowl-neck blouse. Called the “No H20”, the beautiful blouse eludes to the rippling effect of water. Both the dress and photos of the DryDye process will be exhibited at the Audax Textile Museum in Tilburg from September 25, 2010 to January 30, 2011.
