A revolutionary dyeing process which requires absolutely no water and chemical additives. Using a supercritical fluid CO2, drydye allows for 50% less energy and up to 75% carbon emission. This innovative process eliminates all water in the process hence no polluted effluent is produced.
Conventional Dyeing Process VS Drydye
Clean fabric is loaded into the dyeing vessel. CO2 is added and brought to the right temperature and pressure where it becomes supercritical — a phrase between a liquid and gas. The dye dissolves into the supercritical CO2 without the need of additional chemicals resulting in a more even color distribution. After the dyeing process, the CO2 flows through the separator where it is completely cleaned before being transported back to the storage tank. 95% of the CO2 used is recaptured and stored in liquid form ready to be reused in this closed-loop system. In the end, the dyed fabric emerges from the vessel completely dry. Saving additional drying time and energy.
Conventional dyeing process requires clean water at almost every stages as well as an excessive amount of energy and chemicals. Drydye is able to reduce these processes hence dyeing time is reduced and more than 50% of energy is saved. Drydye uses pure dyes unlike binding chemicals in conventional dyeing which produce effluence and leave dye residue in water. These waste water would then need to be treated before putting back into an ecosystem around the dye house.
The benefits of drydye compared to conventional dyeing is as follows;
- 50% less energy
Energy is saved as scouring, rinsing, drying and waste water management processes are no longer needed.
- No water used means no waste water
Typically 15,000–45,000 liters of water is used per 300kg batch of textile in conventional processes, drydye uses none. No waste water means absolutely no environmental damage in rivers and streams.
- Up to 75% reduction in CO2 emission, 90–95% of which is recycled
- 50% less chemicals
Pure dyes, no surfactants or any other chemical used hence no effluent produced
- No additional waste
Drydye Origins
Drydye was first discovered as a proposed thesis at ITMA Fair in Singapore in 2002. We stumbled upon a thesis concerning supercritical fluid Carbon Dioxide as a small batch textile dyeing. We were really excited to see if this could possibly become a solution to conventional dyeing on a commercial level. We began our partnership with Dyecoo and together successfully developed the first prototype of the Drydye machine in 2005. In 2010, the first 3 commercialized Drydye machines were installed at Tong Siang, Yeh Group. Three hours later, the very first batch of Drydye fabric came out dried and dyed and we were all jumping up and down in excitement.
At the Yeh Group, our core values lie with our people and an innovative mindset. We believe that our number 1 resource is our people. By investing in people and innovation, we believe strongly that we can help shape the future of the industry and become the power of change. Textile and fashion industry is the second most polluting in the world and it calls for a revolution. Drydye is one of the major player towards a cleaner future and the Yeh Group is proud to be the first in the world to be offering drydye fabrics with zero water and chemicals used in the process.
