Eco-friendly textile finishing

The ECOFIN project will expand our dyeing and finishing infrastructure with the following devices:
1) a digital printer with custom print head capable of evaluating functional inks
and
2) a digital spray dyeing and finishing device.
These devices allow textile dyeing and/or finishing with a minimum amount of water, energy and chemicals, as well as the range of bio-based and biodegradable dyes, inks and functional coating dispersions currently under development to begin evaluating for use through these technologies.
The digital printer offers the ability to monitor the behavior of functional inks during printing, as well as the creation of a predefined print pattern to allow a textile material to be go functionalizing/dyeing locally. The target applications are digital functionalization and printing of textiles with bio-based and conductive inks for applications in e-health and m-health, among others.
The spray dyeing and finishing device provides the ability to distribute a controlled amount of liquid uniformly over the textile surface via spray nozzles. The target application is the development of alternative processes for pre-treatment, dyeing and post-treatment of various materials (cotton, polyester, as well as recycled and newly developed biobased materials) in various forms (fibers, yarns, fabrics, knits) where water, energy and chemical consumption are greatly reduced.