The first day of October saw the energy cap raised in the UK which will have an impact on costs for textile care businesses. Although way down on the giddy expense of fuel when Russia invaded Ukraine and Europe struggled to find alternative sources to Russian gas, which the continent had become too dependent on, a rise is a rise and as such has to be passed on tp the customer.
Necessity is the mother of invention, a truth attributed to Plato (“our need will be the real creator”) and much has been done by textile care equipment manufacturers and solutions providers to help laundries rein in those rising costs.
According to the organisers of Texcare 2024, which is centring the show in Frankfurt this month on energy efficiencies across the whole textile care spectrum: “Commercial laundries make up an energy-intensive business sector with energy accounting for around 15% of total costs and with process heat making up the lion’s share of that figure. Against a backdrop of continuing high energy costs and the challenge of global warming, energy-saving measures and the move away from fossil fuels are of increasing importance for laundries. Hence, all machine and equipment manufacturers are working on the development of concepts that optimise the use of resources and reduce carbon dioxide emissions through modern washing methods, the recycling of water and energy and the use of renewable sources for heat generation.
Water is the key to cutting costs
Recycling process water is nothing new in the laundry business. However, concepts for recycling pressing water, filtered rinsing and process water and the use of cooling water from the dry-cleaning machine for transferring articles to the wet cleaning machine are constantly being improved, which further reduces the amount of fresh water used. In addition, the modern technologies installed in laundry machines, such as weighing cells or low-level sensors, adjust the resources used to the actual load weight and thus contribute to a reduction in costs.
Concepts for reducing machine energy consumption
Energy is a very valuable resource for textile care businesses, and this is why manufacturers of laundry and dry-cleaning machines, as well as finishing appliances, focus on technology with an optimum efficiency classification: such machines ensure the best possible water extraction and low residual moisture in the laundry so it can be dried quickly and efficiently. Plant manufacturers use new materials, e.g. ceramics and carbon steel, to reduce ironer gas consumption. They also utilise heat-pump technology and generate hot water by means of solar energy. Modern machines are also equipped with special coatings that stop dry, energy-absorbing fluff from adhering to the various surfaces. New technologies improve evaporation performance thanks to direct heat transfer in a heated trough or improve solvent distillation by preventing boil-over, measuring turbidity or filtration.
Increasingly, the energy contained in vapour is also being harnessed: technologies such as low-pressure vapour recovery systems ‘recycle’ energy from steam to generate process heat. Special collectors store excess heat and make it available again when needed. Moreover, the energy trapped in exhaust air or wastewater is recovered using special heat exchangers before being fed back into the production process, either as preheated fresh water or fresh air.
The system as a whole
Reducing the resources consumed by a textile care business cannot be achieved by implementing isolated measures, but only as part of the overall system in which all processes are intertwined: waiting times at machines, idle times and poor occupancy rates result in unnecessary energy losses. In an energy-optimised laundry, however, every item is in the right place at the right time. Additionally, management information systems make it possible to precisely analyse energy consumption in all parts of the laundry and provide a solid basis for modifying processes or making investment decisions.
Detergents and processes are part of the solution
The detergent industry also uses processes and products to promote the optimal utilisation of resources in laundries. Low-temperature disinfection processes, which achieve a listing with the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) and the Association for Applied Hygiene (VAH) at 40°C, can significantly reduce the cost of process heat. In the meantime, however, a new benchmark has been established at 50°C for disinfection washing. Although energy consumption increases with this process, the quantities of detergents and washing auxiliaries used are reduced and the lifespan of the items increases.
Customised, highly concentrated detergents or washing substances, which are tailored to the material, stains and the hygiene requirements of the customer in a modular system, lead to optimum stain removal, reduce the post-wash proportion and lower the energy input per item of laundry.
