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Title: Economic and energy audit of textile foam processing

Abstract

Conventional wet processing of textiles - dyeing, or application of such surface finishes as soil and water repellents, antistatic agents, fire retardants, permanent press agents, and starch - consumes about 0.19 quadrillion Btu's of energy per year, the equivalent of 30 million barrels of oil. Because wet processing involves immersion of the fabric in a water bath, most of the energy used is in the form of heat for drying. In the newer foam finishing approach, the chemicals for surface finishes are dispersed in a mixture of water and air. The chemicals are concentrated in a relatively small amount of water, and air is injected to form a thick, stable foam. Because little water is involved, drying time and temperature may be drastically reduced. Authur D. Little, Inc., conducted an economic and energy audit of foam processing that considered the technical feasibility, reliability, energy savings, and economic incentives for using foam finishing. We monitored four plants that finish textiles (carpets, broad-woven fabrics, and tubular knits). The plants were selected by the developer of the foaming process (United Merchants and Manufacturers, Inc.) to represent a wide range of textile finishing applications.

Authors:
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Little (Arthur D.), Inc., Cambridge, MA (USA)
OSTI Identifier:
6135132
Report Number(s):
PNL-4770
ON: DE83015020
DOE Contract Number:
AC06-76RL01830
Resource Type:
Technical Report
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION; TEXTILE INDUSTRY; ENERGY CONSERVATION; TEXTILES; PROCESSING; ECONOMIC ANALYSIS; ENERGY AUDITS; FOAMS; PAYBACK PERIOD; AUDITS; COLLOIDS; DISPERSIONS; ECONOMICS; INDUSTRY; 320303* - Energy Conservation, Consumption, & Utilization- Industrial & Agricultural Processes- Equipment & Processes

Citation Formats

Machacek, R. Economic and energy audit of textile foam processing. United States: N. p., 1983. Web. doi:10.2172/6135132.
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Machacek, R. Economic and energy audit of textile foam processing. United States. doi:10.2172/6135132.
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Machacek, R. Wed . "Economic and energy audit of textile foam processing". United States. doi:10.2172/6135132. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/6135132.
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@article{osti_6135132,
title = {Economic and energy audit of textile foam processing},
author = {Machacek, R.},
abstractNote = {Conventional wet processing of textiles - dyeing, or application of such surface finishes as soil and water repellents, antistatic agents, fire retardants, permanent press agents, and starch - consumes about 0.19 quadrillion Btu's of energy per year, the equivalent of 30 million barrels of oil. Because wet processing involves immersion of the fabric in a water bath, most of the energy used is in the form of heat for drying. In the newer foam finishing approach, the chemicals for surface finishes are dispersed in a mixture of water and air. The chemicals are concentrated in a relatively small amount of water, and air is injected to form a thick, stable foam. Because little water is involved, drying time and temperature may be drastically reduced. Authur D. Little, Inc., conducted an economic and energy audit of foam processing that considered the technical feasibility, reliability, energy savings, and economic incentives for using foam finishing. We monitored four plants that finish textiles (carpets, broad-woven fabrics, and tubular knits). The plants were selected by the developer of the foaming process (United Merchants and Manufacturers, Inc.) to represent a wide range of textile finishing applications.},
doi = {10.2172/6135132},
journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1983},
month = {Wed Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1983}
}
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Technical Report:
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DOI:  10.2172/6135132
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