An innovative polymer made from silica nanoparticles which greatly reduces water consumption and energy usage in texile dyeing.
The textile industry is a major contributor to global water consumption.Given that only 2.5% of the Earth’s water is freshwater and only 0.3% is accessible to humans, this is clearly unsustainable and grossly wasteful. Also, industrial manufacturing in the textile industry is responsible for 20% of all water pollution making it the number one polluter of clean water after agriculture. The dyeing process is the prime contributor to much of the water, time and energy consumption that takes place in the textile industry. On average, 60-80 litres of water are needed to dye 1kg of cotton and 80% of the total energy and 65% of the many environmentally hazardous chemicals produced in textile production are a result of the dyeing process. In addition, dyeing is also by far the most time-consuming process involved. Growing populations and consumer needs are demanding more efficient and faster production than ever. Ecofoot has developed H2COLOR-AUX, a revolutionary compound that prevents hydrolysis in the textile dyeing process. The H2COLOR-AUX combines with the dye and doesn't allow the dye to hydrolyse in water thus considerably reducing the number of washes and consequently reducing the water and energy costs, pollutants and production time for the dyehouses. The H2COLOR-AUX is a patented composition comprising nanoparticles that combine with the reactive dyes which is the base colour and needs to be transferred to the fabric, thus, preventing hydrolysis from taking place. During the phase 2 innovation project, Ecofoot will bring the H2COLOR-AUX closer to commercial launch. Ecofoot will produce 24 tons of the H2COLOR-AUX for validation in-house and validation of the efficacy of the H2COLOR-AUX will take place with three dye houses; two in Portugal and one in Italy. The project will also enable crucial commercial activities including implementation of IP strategy, communication strategy.