| Abstrakt: |
A recent report by a group of Yale University researchers calculated that polyester/cotton garments (e.g., shirts) containing 50% polyester should use 30% less energy for their manufacture and maintenance than comparable cotton garments. This value includes the projected energy demands for production or growth of the respective fibers through yarn spinning, fabric and garment manufacture and finally maintenance of the garment through repeated wearing, washing, cleaning and drying cycles. The blend level of polyester in cotton blends is gradually increasing (e.g., 80/20 Dacron®/ cotton), 100% polyester fabrics are finding growing trade acceptance (e.g., textured filament products) and new polyester yarn blends are being introduced (e.g., 75/25 Dacron®/Orlon®, 75/25 Dacron®/rayon, etc.) to meet the diverse needs of the market. Since the initial energy demand study was primarily based on projected figures, it was the purpose of this study to quantify the energy demand for a series of key cotton spun knit fabrics (Table I) from key fibers and fiber blends in finishing, laundering and drying operations. and specific polyester/acrylic blends, e.g., 75/ 25 Dacron®/Orlon® over cotton and cotton-rich blends by factors of 2.7 to 3.2 in terms of water consumption and 2.2 to 2.5 in terms of energy demand. Energy savings in home laundering/drying and in commercial dyeing operations are readily realizable; in one case by setting a switch for water or dryer temperature, in the other case by obviating entire process steps (e.g., bleaching, second dye bath). In industrial drying, polyester dried 1.2-1.6X faster than cotton but the efficiency of commercial drying operations must be improved first before fiber-dependent energy savings can be realized in this process step. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
