Solvent and Ultrasonic Alternatives to Perchloroethylene Drycleaning of Textiles.

Ultrasound has been evaluated as an alternative to replacing perchloroethylene with nontoxic alternative solvents and aqueous systems. Over 130 solvents were screened based on their ability to dissolve fats, waxes, and grease. Those with adverse properties were eliminated, leaving 11 solvents. Five fiber types were tested for cleaning effectiveness, redeposition, and shrinkage using ultrasound. Three hard-to-remove soils were selected for evaluation. Soiled samples were cleaned in both an Atlas Launder-Ometer and an ultrasonic cleaning system and cleaning performance was evaluated using the AATCC Gray Scale for Staining. It was observed that soil removal is very solvent-soil specific. Cleaning trials showed that three solvents performed similar to perchloroethylene. Results showed that if a solvent is capable of removing a particular soil using the Launder-Ometer, then ultrasound is also capable of removing hydrophobic soils using aqueous-based recipes of about 6% solvent and 90% water, indicating that ultrasonic wetcleaning could be a possible way of cleaning textiles that are normally drycleaned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]