Desizing, desizing, dyeing, without water!

Supercritical CO2 is an environmentally-friendly, non-polluting, high-performance alternative to traditional solvents for degreasing all synthetic and natural textiles and for dyeing synthetic textiles without water or drying.

Reduce your dependence on water and chemical products and limit your polluted effluents

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Supercritical CO2 is compatible with all forms of textiles:

  • Spools of wire
  • Rolls of fabric
  • Textile parts
  • Ropes, straps, ribbons
  • Raw wool

Desizing and desizing before dyeing

The supercritical CO2 cleaning process can be used as a desensitising process for polymer textiles in bulk or on reels, replacing processes based on water and additives.

The properties of supercritical CO2 enable it to diffuse into the core of spools or rolls and achieve a level of degreasing equivalent to or better than conventional processes, while avoiding :
- generating polluted effluents
- reducing treatment time
- reducing water consumption

A large number of tests have demonstrated the compatibility of supercritical CO2 with most synthetic polymers (PE, PET, PP, PLLA, silicones, viscose, elastane, etc.) and natural materials (linen, hemp, cotton, wool, silk).

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Waterless dyeing, a reality ready for industrialisation

Yarn or fabric roll dyeing using supercritical CO2 eliminates all water consumption.
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Already functional for synthetic textiles, it can reduce operating costs by 50%.
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The operating principle of waterless polyester dyeing is based on the ability of supercritical CO2 to solubilise specific molecules and its ability to pass through a porous material. Once the glass transition point of the polyester has been reached, the dyes are deposited by theat the heart of the fibre and then trapped.

Choose to improve quality and stability

Adopt an effective solution for the desensitisation and ennoblement of your textiles.

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Implantable medical textiles

Desensitisation and decontamination

For implantable textile medical devices, supercriticalCO2 makes it easy to achieve the lowest residual hydrocarbon levels ≤ 0.1% of the textile mass.
This process is an alternative to leaching processes and/or organic solvents (e.g. Soxhlet ether).

  • Removal of sizing oil comparable to or greater than the levels achieved with conventional processes ≤ 0.1%.
  • No detergent added, no residual solvent to monitor
  • Cleaning time divided by 10
  • Operating costs divided by 4 thanks to dry, low-temperature treatment
  • Sharp drop in biological load, with a reduction of 4 to 5 log

The added bonus of Qarboon technology is the antibiotic impregnation of textiles.

Based on the same operating principle as supercritical CO2 dyeing, it is capable of solubilising specific molecules and depositing them at the heart of medical textile fibres.

The range of machines for treating textiles

Our machines are designed and manufactured to meet the requirements of textile manufacturers. This means that our equipment is optimised in terms of :

1- flow management :
Loading and unloading can take place via two doors to allow one direction of traffic.
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2- Complementarity with traditional machines:
You can first carry out desensitisation using CO2 supercritical and then dye using a traditional process.
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3- 24/7 operation, 345 days a year:
Our machines require little maintenance and do not need recurring programmed shutdowns.
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4- Automation:
Loading and unloading, by robot or operator-assisted.

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Your questions?
Our answers!
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Why is desensitisation using supercritical CO2 better?
Supercritical CO2 desensitisation offers a number of advantages over traditional processes.
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Supercritical CO2 is a dry process, eliminating the need for any drying stage, and therefore the high electricity consumption associated with a very high temperature rise (generally over 120°C).
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Not a single drop of water is required. As a result, it eliminates the need to use running water and the obligatory, costly steps involved in treating wastewater before it is discharged into wastewater treatment plants. Indeed, de-sensitisation water contains a high level of hydrocarbon oil, which, without pre-treatment by the manufacturer, would abnormally degrade the quality of the water collected in treatment plants.
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Supercritical CO2 is chemically neutral. It is not corrosive, does not deform fibres and does not affect the mechanical properties of textiles.
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It will concentrate on extracting sizing oils without affecting the rest.
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The shrinkage rate is lower than with aqueous solutions. Following numerous tests on all types of textile compositions, we have observed a shrinkage of the textile of 1 to 2.5%, unlike water-based cleaning and degreasing solutions for which the shrinkage observed is on average 4% or more.

Supercritical CO2 desensitisation time in a Dense Fluid Degreasing machine is reduced by a factor of 2 to 10, depending on the process.
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Unlike processes using perchloroethylene or those based on water and additives, the supercritical CO2 desensitisation process cannot be continuous and must be batch-based.
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This difference is due to the fact that the process is carried out in an autoclave.
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What materials are compatible with supercritical CO2?
Supercritical CO2 desensitisation technology is compatible with most synthetic or natural materials used in the manufacture of textiles, whether technical textiles, clothing, geotextiles or furnishings.
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Here is a non-exhaustive list of synthetic materials frequently used in the textile industry and compatible with supercritical CO2 desensitisation technology.
- Polyester (PE)
- Polypropylene (PP)
- Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
- Poly L-Lactic Acid (PLA, PDLA, PLLA)
- Viscose
- Elastane
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Here is a non-exhaustive list of natural materials used in the textile industry and compatible with supercritical CO2 desensitisation technology.
- Sheep wool
- Cashmere wool
- Silk
- Alpaca wool
- Cotton
- Hemp
- Linen
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‍Goodto know: Supercritical CO2 desensitisation is compatible with recycled fibres from fishing nets, water bottles, etc.
Material alterations have been observed in the presence of rubber and polyurethane. In the first case, the rubber swells under pressure and does not regain its initial shape, and in the second case, a chemical reaction causes the polyurethane to 'foam'.
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Is supercritical CO2 desensitisation technology compatible with all web width sizes?
Supercritical CO2 desensitisation is suitable for all web sizes and roll or bobbin diameters.
Our supercritical CO2 desensitising machines are designed to handle all types of textiles (synthetic and natural fibres). The dimensions of the autoclave and the technical unit are adapted to the size of the web.
It is possible to build autoclaves capable of handling narrow widths up to large widths (5 metres or more).
In the case of desensitisation using supercritical CO2, the diameter of the autoclave will be only slightly larger than the diameter of the roll.
The main difference with machines such as "Jiggers" or dye autoclaves, which are sometimes also used for desensitisation, is the diameter of the fabric rolls. This can be reduced by reducing the diameter of the warp beam or pierced mandrel on which the textile is wound.
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How can supercritical CO2 desensitisation be faster than other processes?
The time taken for a desensitisation cycle using supercritical CO2 is naturally comparatively shorter than for most existing desensitisation processes.
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The only exception is desensitisation using perchloroethylene, but this will gradually be banned in view of the hazardous and carcinogenic nature of this petroleum-derived solvent.

Compared with "Jiggers" type machines, or with desensitisation carried out in dyeing autoclaves using water and detergent, the supercritical CO2 process will reduce treatment time by at least 50%.
In the case of "Jiggers", the drying stage that necessarily follows aqueous desensitisation can also be eliminated.

In addition to these process differences, Qarboon's Design Office and engineers are able to carry out specific dimensioning to further reduce cycle times. For example, it is possible to deliberately increase the size of high-pressure equipment to speed up the pressure build-up and decompression process.
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Is treatment necessary before or after textile desensitisation using supercritical CO2?
By using supercritical CO2 technology to de-densify rolls, bobbins, hanks and unbleached fabrics of any width, no pre-treatment or post-processing is required. The textile is at ambient temperature and no waiting time or delay before the industrial process continues is necessary. This is made possible by the type of treatment:
- the process is dry, so no drying is required
- the process is at low temperature (35°C ~ 50°C)
- the fibres are not deformed, the characteristics of the textile are preserved and it can be handled without delay.
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