Schoeller unveils ecodye for polyester dyeing

Schoeller Textil AG, a global leader in high-performance textile manufacturing specialising in the sustainable development and production of innovative textiles and textile technologies from Switzerland, has developed ecodye, a new auxiliary concept used in polyester dyeing processes.

The technology accelerates the dyeing process and contributes to cutting costs, while at the same time helping to preserve the environment with a low level of demand on resources.

The new ecodye auxiliary concept allows eco-friendly and cost-saving dyeing processes for polyester yarns and piece goods. It shortens the heating phase, thus accelerating process time by more than 30 per cent. At the same time, it reduces energy consumption by 20 per cent and the water requirement by 25 per cent, as the goods can be cleaned in the cooling dye bath.

In addition, ecodye improves the dyeing levelness in polyester textiles. Spots and dye agglomeration are almost completely avoided, and the precipitation on the goods that arises as a result of polyester oligomers, are no longer evident. Ecodye provides good shade stability and avoids reproduction problems from batch to batch, thus reducing the rate of double staining and increasing the capacity utilisation and productivity of the dyeing mill on a long-term basis.

The new technology has been proven to provide an eco-friendly and cost-saving dyeing process. ecodye is bluesign-certified and is suitable for all textile forms, machines and substrates, as well as existing dye recipes. It requires no additional investment or conversion. The potential savings for each application can be individually computed using a specially-developed calculation programme.

Following a successful launch phase, ecodye has already been able to provide numerous positive test results. The technology is being used by polyester-processing customers in categories including outdoor, sportswear and technical knitted fabrics, primarily in Europe, South and Middle America, Turkey, Bangladesh, and China.