Global materials resource and innovation consultancy Material ConneXion, announced the winner of the third annual MEDIUM Award for Material of the Year, naming Netherlands-based DyeCoo Textile Systems B.V. as the winner. Material ConneXion has cited the company for the development of revolutionary commercial dyeing machine technology. Its ability to use supercritical CO2 as a replacement for water is an innovation that will make enormous contributions in terms of reducing energy consumption, environmental pollution and pioneering water stewardship. Dr. Andrew Dent, VP Materials Research, made the announcement from ICFF at the Jacob Javits Center in New York. The Dutch Deputy Consul General and Head of the Economic Affairs Department, Yvette Daoud, accepted the award on behalf of DyeCoo. Award Winner and Nine Finalists were Showcased in an Exhibition at ICFF from May 19th – 22nd. The Exhibits will be open for display at Material ConneXion HQ till July 13th, 2012.
“DyeCoo’s new process has the potential to significantly lower the environmental impact of dyeing. The elimination of process-water and chemicals are a breakthrough for the textile dyeing industry. Combine that with the reduction in energy use, and the process is twice as fast. The technology can also improve the quality of the dyed fabric, allows for greater control over the dyeing process, enabling new dye capabilities and transforming fabric dyeing so that it can take place just about anywhere,” says Dr. Andrew H. Dent, VP Materials Research at Material ConneXion. “We chose DyeCoo as the winner of this year’s award because it embodies the direction that materials and processes are taking: sustainability and high performance.”
“DyeCoo is honored to accept the MEDIUM award,” says Reinier Mommaal, CEO of DyeCoo. “We hope more industry leaders will join us in leveraging this innovative technology in the near future,” he added. DyeCoo Textile Systems B.V. was founded in March 2008 and is the world’s first supplier of industrial CO2 dyeing equipment and is a leading innovator in CO2 dyeing technology and processes. DyeCoo Textile Systems B.V. is a spin-off of the Dutch Feyecon Group, an innovator in the field of CO2 process technology.
The award recognizes materials and processes juried into the company’s materials library within the past year that demonstrate outstanding technological innovation and the potential to make a significant contribution to the advancement of design, industry, society and the economy. As the world’s leading materials library of innovative and sustainable materials and innovation consultancy, Material ConneXion has unparalleled insight into the materials, processes and emerging technologies that are having the greatest impact on design worldwide and, ultimately the consumer. In addition to DyeCoo, the company recognized nine Material of the Year honorable mentions whose exemplary material and process innovation makes them particularly worthy of note.
With climate change threatening harsher droughts and water scarcity for nearly 60% of humanity, water is critical to any vision of sustainability. The textile industry is one of the biggest consumers of water. In conventional dyeing, large amounts of water are used both in terms of intake of fresh water and disposal of wastewater. DyeCoo uses supercritical CO2 gas rather than water to infuse fabric with color. Special temperature controlled pressure chambers force the carbon dioxide to act as a fluid similar to water (the supercritical fluid CO2) which causes the polymer fiber to swell allowing the dispersed dye to easily diffuse within the polymer, penetrating the fibers, and carrying the pigments into fabric bolts and dyeing them.
FeyeCon Carbon Dioxide Technologies
Non-Aqueous Dyeing System : Supercritical Carbon Dioxide for Dyeing Textiles