Energy savings in dyeing fixing process of cotton fabrics by steaming

In this work, a traditional dyeing fixing process by steaming is studied, in order to improve both the coloration quality of the final obtained fabrics and the energy performances of the process. Starting from the factor's ranges currently in use by textile industrial operators, a full factorial design with two factors (steam flow rate and steaming time) and three levels is settled following the guidelines of Design of Experiments (DOE). A multiple response model characterized by different subset of regressors is proposed and the best one is chosen by means of Mallows' Cp, R2 and R2(adj) and S criterions. The analysis puts in evidence that the obtained predictive models point out the high influence of the time spent by the fabric in the steaming chamber, while the one of the steam flow rate can be considered negligible. This fact leads to the opportunity to produce the best quality fabrics at the lowest level of steam flow rate, maintaining the steaming time under the traditionally employed one of 14 minutes, actually 11.1 minutes, results which can be translated in consistent energy and, consequently, economical savings if applied to industrial size equipment.