Visitors to Techtextil 2017 will have an opportunity to see Ecodye, an exciting new development resulting from a Swiss collaboration between textile manufacturer Schoeller and auxiliaries and dyes specialists at Textilcolor.
Ecodye is a new auxiliary concept used, in particular, in polyester dyeing processes. The technology accelerates the dyeing process and contributes to cutting costs, while at the same time helps to preserve the environment with a low level of demand on resources.
Less time, less water, less energy – the new Ecodye auxiliary concept allows eco-friendly and cost-saving dyeing processes for polyester yarns and piece goods. It shortens the heating phase, thus accelerating process time by more than 30%. At the same time, it reduces energy consumption by 20% and the water requirement by 25%, as the goods can be cleaned in the cooling dye bath.
In addition, Ecodye improves the dyeing levelness in polyester textiles. Spots and dye agglomeration are almost completely avoided, and the precipitation on the goods that arises as a result of polyester oligomers are no longer evident. Ecodye provides good shade stability, and avoids reproduction problems from batch to batch, thus reducing the rate of double staining and increasing the capacity utilization and productivity of the dyeing mill on a long-term basis.
Following a successful launch phase, Ecodye has already been able to provide numerous positive test results. The technology is being used by polyester-processing customers in categories including outdoor, sportswear and technical knitted fabrics, primarily in Europe, South and Central Americas, Turkey, Bangladesh and China.
Hans Kohn, COO of Schoeller Technologies AG, says, “Ecodye is an auxiliary of the future. It requires not only great expertise in the development of the auxiliary concept, but also in the textile application.”
The new technology has been proven to provide an eco-friendly and cost-saving dyeing process. Ecodye is Bluesign-certified, and is suitable for all textile forms, machines and substrates, as well as existing dye recipes. It requires no additional investments or conversion. The potential savings for each application can be individually computed using a specially developed calculation program.