Application of ultrasound to textiles washing in aqueous solutions

The ultrasound was applied to textile washing as a mechanical action for soil removal. The polyester fabric was soiled with carbon black or oleic acid as a model contaminant, and washed with the original fabric in aqueous solutions without and with alkali or surfactant by applying ultrasound, shaking or stirring action. The detergency and soil redeposition were evaluated from the change in the surface reflectance of artificially soiled fabrics and the original fabric due to washing. In comparison with shaking and stirring actions, ultrasound was found to remove the particulate and oily soils efficiently in a short time and at low bath ratio. With increasing ultrasound power, the detergency of both soils increased and exceeded that obtained with Wascator, a horizontal axis drum type washer. Using three standard fabrics for determining mechanical action during washing, it was shown that ultrasound washing caused little mechanical damage to the fabric. However, the soil redeposition was frequently observed for ultrasonic washing, especially at low bath ratio.

► We applied ultrasound as a mechanical action for textile washing.
► Ultrasound can remove the soils from polyester fabric efficiently.
► Detergency obtained with ultrasonic washing exceeds that with a drum type washer.
► Ultrasound washing causes little mechanical damage to polyester fabric.