Available alternative systems at-a-glance Chemical Properties Solvent Chemical Structure
Odor
Commercial Introduction # U.S. sites Machine System Cost IFI Performance Ratings Contamination Health Issues Equipment Cost Operating Cost Variety of Garments Does it clean?
Halogenated Hydrocarbon Carbon Organic
Surface Tension2 (dynes/cm-2)
$30,000 - $75,000
Poor Poor Excellent Excellent Good Yes
Solvent KB Value3
Specific Weight (water = 8.3lbs/gal) Flash Point
Machine Class VOC, HAP, TAC Permits Required Claims Shrinkage Issues Color Fastness Hand of Garment Pre-sort Necessary Problem Garments Finishing Cycle Time Operational & Technical Support Marketing Support Fees, Royalties, Proprietary Products 1 2
Strong ether-like smell 1940s <25,000
Extensive, openly reported testing Physical Properties
Perc
nPropyl Bromide Carbon Organic
Hydrocarbon Formaldehyde Dibutyl Acetal Dipropylene Glycol t-Butyl Ether Carbon dioxide H20 Decamethylcyclopentasiloxane Silica Inorganic
Strong ether-like smell Slight petroleum smell Strong pear-oil smell Strong paint-like smell Odorless 2006 1993 2010 1995 1993 <100 <10,000 <100 <10 <20
Odorless 1994 <1004
Odorless 1999
$50,000+
$38,000 – $95,000
$40,000 - $75,000
Carbon Organic
$45,000 - $95,000 $54,000 - $105,000 $45,000 - $95,000 $125,000+
Average Average Average1 Average1 Excellent Excellent Poor Average NA Average 1 Excellent Excellent Excellent Good Average1 Average 1 Poor Excellent Average Average Average1 Average1 Poor1 Average Average Good Good1 Average1 Poor1 Poor NA Yes Yes1 Yes 1 Yes Yes
Clear liquid 32
Clear liquid 25.9
90
125
13.6 None
11.0 None
NA
GreenEarth Cleaning
NA Inorganic
No
IV Yes Yes (Baseline) Some Average
Wet Cleaning
Carbon Carbon NA Organic Organic Organic
Yes
Average Yes Silks, beads, trims, vinyl, buttons, leather, cashmere Baseline 35 - 55 minutes No None
DrySolv / Ensolv DF2000 / EcoSolve Solvon K4 / NuSolve Rynex CO2
No
No No No
Clear liquid Clear liquid Clear Liquid Colorless gas 24 @ 68°F 25.2 24 @ 77°F NA 27
75 65-75 NA
6.6 6.9 7.6 NA 142-147°F 143°F >200°F None
Poor
Good Good Average Good
Clear liquid
Clear liquid
72.7 @ 68°F
17.4
NA
<20
8.3
7.9
None
170°F
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Silks, beads, trims, vinyl, Certain Beads, trims, vinyl, Certain trims, beads, Some trims Acetates, triacetates, elastic, Wool, natural fiber/skins, buttons, leather, cashmere buttons, certain colors vinyl, ornamentation beads, trims, buttons water soluble dyes Significantly higher Significantly higher (must Similar to perc Similar to perc Similar to perc Similar to perc than perc(cold drying be dried 80% and creates more wrinkling) blocked and stretched) 35 - 45 minutes No
47 - 65 minutes 60 - 80 minutes 55 - 70 minutes 35 - 45 minutes 28 minutes (dried 80%) No
Yes Yes No
Excellent Good Good Excellent Excellent Yes Yes
Good
No
IIIA No Rarely Significantly less than perc None Exceptional
Exceptional Limited None
Significantly less than perc; less wrinkling, lint & static, large % can be tunneled
Yes
Proprietary products required $2,500 license fee 1st machine NA NA NA NA NA (solvent, detergent, stabilizer (additional machines $1,250) and spotters) 3
47-65 minutes
None None Limited None None None Significant
Represents modification to IFI assessment by GreenEarth Cleaning, based on input from industry experts informed by in-use experience; K4 and Rynex represent industry reported performance , no IFI ratings exist. Surface tension has a direct correlation to cleaning ability. The lower the surface tension, the quicker the wetting and penetrating ability for cleaning to take place.
<900
Yes
IV IIIA IIIA IIIA Pressure Vessel Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Rarely Rarely Higher than perc Less than perc Similar to perc Similar to perc Similar to perc Higher than perc Some Some Some Some Some Acetate/Triacetate Yes Poor Good Average Average Good Good
KBV is a measure of the strength of the solvent alone in dissolving Kauri Gum (degreasing ability) GreenEarth without detergent has a low KBV, meaning that it is not itself a cleaning agent, but the unique chemical interaction that siloxanes have with detergent allows it to clean as effectively as higher KB value solvents without risk of damage to the fabric. 4 100% wet cleaning processing. v. 060112