Evaluation of New and Emerging Technologies for Textile Cleaning.

摘要

This project was conducted by the Institute for Research and Technical Assistance (IRTA) and was sponsored by the California Air Resources Board and U.S. EPA. It involved conducting a technology assessment of the alternative processes to perchloroethylene (PERC) dry cleaning. PERC is classified as a suspect carcinogen and it is being increasingly regulated in California. The alternatives that were evaluated in the project include hydrocarbon, Pure Dry, Green Earth, glycol ether, traditional wet cleaning, icy water, Green Jet and carbon dioxide. IRTA focused on 14 case studies of cleaners that had adopted the alternative technologies. Nine of these plants converted from PERC to the alternative and five started up using the alternative. IRTA analyzed the performance and cost of the alternatives and compared them to the plants costs prior to conversion. IRTA developed stand alone case studies for each of the 14 facilities. IRTA performed a model plant analysis that extended the results of the case studies to the industry as a whole. This analysis included a small model plant cleaning 40,000 pounds of clothing annually and a large model plant cleaning 100,000 pounds of clothing annually. Several of the technologies were found to be lower, comparable or slightly higher in cost than PERC dry cleaning. All of the case study cleaners were satisfied with the alternative technologies they had adopted.