DryDye commercial dying machine replaces water with supercritical CO2

With water woes giving such pain, this dying machine sure seems to be some good news. DryDye from DyeCoo Textile Systems is the new waterless invention that uses supercritical carbon dioxide for the dying purposes. So, imagine the amount of water that will be saved if this machine is put into use. The supercritical CO2 (scCO2) is heated at 120 degrees Celsius, which is then pressurized at 250 bar, rendering CO2 the properties of both solute and solvent. When this is done, the supercharged CO2 penetrates the clothes, dying the clothes with preloaded dyes and that too without nay extra chemical agents.

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This waterless invention took eleven years to develop and in addition to using supercritical CO2, it also facilitates the reuse of carbon dioxide by gasifying it to recover the excess dye. Once clean, it can be sent back to the machine for reuse. However, the limitation is that this machine is only able to dye scoured polyester fabric. But, soon there might be a version, which would be capable of dying unscoured fabric.

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Via: Ecouterre