Discover the Carbon Footprint EXECUTIVE PAGES

Benninger AG at ITMA Barcelona 2011

The CO2 footprint is used to describe the complete greenhouse gas emissions which are associated with a product. Awareness is only given when figures are permanently announced.For textile products Benninger is taking over globally the leading role to inform end-users about the Carbon Footprint of textiles. Thus includes lifecycle assessments from (cradle to grave) for consumers, but also textile engineers and experts receive detailed information about each single textile process and recipe. Both action will open new sights and strengthen the awareness to avoid CO2 emissions. These are the triggers for new innovations and for a cleaner world. Any visitor at our booth at the ITMA can discover with our expertise his own textile footprint. Benninger has chosen several options to show carbon reductions in textile finishing. The following Carbon Hotspots are identified: - minimizing number of drying processes - minimizing steam and water consumption during washing processes thanks to high efficiency washing - replacing the resource intensive exhaust dyeing process by CPB dyeing Upgrading quality standards whilst saving resource Cotton as a natural fibre requires a huge amount of arable land and irrigation water. Cotton prices are rising since years and reached a peak in 2010. Especially long staple cotton is hardly available. As a consequence more and more short stable cotton is used. Mercerizing is getting more and more important in order to keep the high quality standard. The worldwide cotton shortage leads into a remarkable increase of man-made cellulosic fibres such as Viscose and Tencel. State of the art Viscose fibre manufacturing plants allow to produce fibres nearly carbon neutral. Pulp is received from trees which embed CO2 and water consumption is only 1/50 compared to cotton farming. Benninger shows on the ITMA a new mercerizing concept which is suitable for mercerizing cotton, but also causiticizing Viscose fibres, for both woven as well as knitted fabrics. Mercerized or causticized textiles do require less chemicals and less dyestuff during the textile processing chain. Benningers wet on wet mercerizing concept does not require a resource intensive intermediated drying stage. Consequently carbon emissions are reduced by 40%. High washing performance means less fresh water is consumed. Washing on Benningers high efficiency TRIKOFLEX drum washer with mechanical supported front and back washing reduces the water consumption by more than 50% compared to classical washers. Simultaneously the energy required to heat up the washing water (biggest Carbon polluter) is reduced and has the biggest impact on carbon reduction. Additionally the integrated heat recovery system and the insulation of the washing box reduce also the energy requirement. 60% CO2 reduction by replacement of the exhaust dyeing process Despite the massive efforts of machine designers to reduce the liquor ratio, the finishing of knitwear in jet dyeing machines still requires large amounts of water and therefore also large amounts of energy. By contrast, in addition to quality benefits the continuous open width finishing process also offers savings particularly in terms of water and energy. In continuous mode, CO2 emissions can be reduced by nearly 2/3 in comparison to exhaust dyeing processes (liquor ratio of 1:7). Benningers TRIKOFLEX bleaching and washing plants and the Benninger Ksters DyePad suit this type of application perfectly. With the CPB dyeing process the reactive dye is fixed at room temperature. Thanks to modern CPB dyeing centres with controlled dyeing conditions and the developments in terms of the dyes themselves, this method for cellulose fibres for woven fabrics and knitwear can be used without restriction anywhere in the world. Savings are made not only because the dye is set at room temperature, but also because the intermediate drying process after the dye application on a HOTFLUE is eliminated. The heart of a CPB dyeing station is the padder. The Benninger Ksters DyePad is the only dyeing padder in the world which features the original S-Roll Technology. This allows to run product-specific correction profiles for NCM-OCTOBER 2011 11

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Benninger Mercerizing Range

Benninger TRIKOFLEX the dye application. As a result, this technique therefore not only sets the benchmark from an environmental and commercial point of view, but also in terms of quality. Benninger shows at the ITMA a complete CPB dyeing center. Special highlights such as dyeing with only 2 l dye liquor during nip dyeing and just in time dyestuff solution preparation improve the process reproducibility and reliability, but reduce another time the consumption of dyes and chemicals. Another ITMA highlight is Benningers new remote management information system which is suitable for all type of smartphones and table PCs. Important machine and recipe figures will be available at any NCM-OCTOBER 2011 12

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Benninger Bleaching Range

Benninger Ksters DyePad NCM-OCTOBER 2011 13

time and any place. Beside production data and machine status information, machine efficiency and maintenance status, the actual consumption data will also be judged and graphically shown as carbon footprint.

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Textile products which are finished on Benninger systems have an excellent impact on the environment. What particularly stands out is the low water consumption of the Benninger finishing machines for knitwear and woven fabrics. Beside this one particular highlight is the recycling of water and energy from Benninger plants, with the aid of which it is now possible to refine textile systems to the stage where the discharge of waste water is reduced to zero. For further information please contact: Irene Muggler (Marketing) Benninger AG 9240 Uzwil, Switzerland T +41 71 955 85 11 F +41 71 955 87 47 irene.muggler@benningergroup.com www.benningergroup.com

Benninger Ready for the New Carbon Footprint Regulations

Jurgen Strohle and Gerhard Schramek Benninger AG, Uzwil, Switzerland Textile products which are finished on Benninger systems have an excellent impact on the environment. Carbon and water footprints have been evaluated for a wide range of very different products, and a universal calculation model has been developed. What particularly stands out is the low water consumption of the Benninger finishing machines for knitwear and woven fabrics. This in turn results in the low energy consumption and the equivalent CO2 emissions. Benninger has also achieved excellent results in terms of the consumption of chemicals. The accurate and controlled consumption of chemicals has a beneficial effect for the environment. The concept of the 'carbon footprint' is used to describe the complete greenhouse gas emissions which are associated with a product, and it is quoted as a CO2 emission in grams of CO2 per kilogram of fabric. The 'water footprint' is the water equivalent to the carbon footprint and is usually quoted in litres of water per kilogram of fabric. A wide range of very different greenhouse gas emitters are involved throughout the lifecycle of a textile product. In the case of cotton, the irrigation of the cotton plant accounts for the bulk of the water consumption within the lifecycle. By contrast, the production of synthetic fibres results in higher CO2 emissions. During the daily use of the textiles, CO2 emissions are caused and water is used by the home laundry wash and dry process and even the disposal of used textiles are associated with emissions. Emissions play a hugely important role within the lifecycle assessment and can be seen in Fig. 1, which shows a case study for a dyed T-shirt. However, within the framework of an internal study, Benninger has restricted itself to looking at the portion of the emissions it can influence, i.e. the wet finishing process. Fig. 1: Lifecycle assessment for a T-Shirt (100% cotton)
Cotton Spinning Farming Ne 30's Knitting SJ Finishing (Jet) Garmenting Transport Use 30xwash 60 C + tumbler 42% 13% Disposal

CO2 Emission Water (H2O)

10% 82%

19% -

1% -

22% 5%

2% -

2% -

2% -

CO2 consumers within the textile finishing process The CO2 emissions are caused directly by the energy consumers and indirectly by the operating fluids and auxiliaries (chemicals, lubricants etc.) which are used. NCM-OCTOBER 2011 14

Table 1: Energy consumers in the finishing of cotton and cotton blends Process/consumer Singeing Primary source of energy used Gas Steam Steam Gas/coal/steam Electricity Electricity -------CO2 emissions Low High Moderate High Low Low Low Fig. 2 : Breakdown of CO2 emissions in finishing processes cotton bottom weight trouser Process Singeing & Desizing Bleaching Mercerizing Drying Dyeing (Pad-Dry) Dyeing (Pad-Steam) Drying Finishing 50% for Drying CO2 Equivalent 8.5% 14.7% 13.6% 9.1% 14.1% 14.0% 8.7% 17.3%

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Washing/Heating energy Steaming/Reaction clima Drying/Evaporation energy Fabric transport Air conditioning technology/ Exhaust air Chemicals

Fig. 2 shows the breakdown of CO2 emissions for a classic textile finishing process for a cotton trouser. Within the individual process steps, the individual CO2 emissions are homogeneously distributed throughout. If we consider the factors giving rise to the emissions, we can see that around 50% are accounted for the drying processes and 30% for washing and steaming. The remaining 20% are required by the chemicals used, the gas required for the singeing process and the electricity.This distribution reflects a fully continuous finishing process. In the conventional finishing of knitwear by the exhaust dyeing process, the CO2 emissions are dominated by the heating of the water (up to 90 l/kg) which accounts for 60%. Regional differences

Investigations in the textile finishing industry 30% for Steamers and water heating have highlighted some clear regional differences. 20% for gas and chemicals The CO2 emissions depend to a very large extent on the type of energy source which is used. This applies both to the heating of drying equipment and also to the generation of steam. Whereas mostly gas and light oil are used as the source of energy in Europe, coal is the preferred energy carrier in Asia. For example, the CO2 emissions associated with the delivery of a particular energy value with natural gas are only around 50% of those produced when coal is used as the energy source. While modern boiler systems are used in the majority of cases in Europe, Asian producers generally fall back on simpler systems which are approximately 25% less energy efficient.There are large regional variations in the CO2 emissions associated with the generation of electricity - a factor which is more significant in spinning mills than in textile finishing (share of energy consumption < 5%).The production of electric energy from hydroelectric power stations reflects better on the CO2 balance than thermal power stations. Countries in the western EU and South America, particularly Brazil, do better in this regard than countries in Southern Asia and Eastern Asia, the Middle East, the USA and - in some cases - in Eastern Europe. Optimisation of CO2 emissions 1. Optimising the environmental impact of existing textile processes Benninger has a specialist team at its disposal which is on hand at any time to analyse and optimise textile production processes and the machinery and equipment which are used, as well as to calculate the corresponding carbon and water footprints. Based on the fishbone concept of Japanese quality expert Kauro Ishikawa, Benninger has developed a 5M concept for assessing the environmental compatibility of a textile production facility. Here, the methods and processes, machines, chemicals and NCM-OCTOBER 2011 15

auxiliary materials, the mass balance and the environmental behaviour of the personnel (man) are independently assessed and optimised in terms of their environmental relevance. 2. Elimination of intermediate drying processes

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One good option is to perform the mercerizing process according to the so-called wet/wet process without previous intermediate drying.To do this, a high efficient squeezing unit and a waste water heated wetting-out box is placed before the mercerizing range. The lye concentration is monitored and kept constant with the aid of modern sensor systems and a lye management programme. This type of plant upgrade takes less than a year to pay for itself. In the CPB dyeing process the reactive dye is set by allowing it to dwell and react at room temperature. Thanks to modern CPB dyeing centres with controlled dyeing conditions and the developments in terms of the dyes themselves, this method for cellulose fibres for woven fabrics and knitwear can be used without restriction anywhere in the world. Savings are made not only because the dye is set at room temperature, but also because the intermediate drying process after the dye application on a hot flue is eliminated. The heart of a CPB dyeing station is the padder. The Benninger Kusters DyePad is the only colour padder in the world which features the original S-roller technology. This makes it possible to run product-specific correction profiles for the dye application. As a result, this technique therefore not only sets the benchmark from an environmental and commercial point of view, but also in terms of quality.

Fig. 3 : CPB bleaching process 3. High washing performance means less fresh water is consumed Washing studies which have long been published show that a combination of counterflow washing and good liquor separation can hugely reduce water consumption. Counterflow washing is today seen as the state-of-the-art and therefore requires no further explanation. However, despite the significant improvement in washing performance, the intensive liquor separation from one washing chamber to the next is hardly available from any machine builders. The additional cost and complexity of such washing compartments in terms of machine design are often overstated. A holistic cost assessment shows that this extra effort is more than Fig. 4: Washing curves with different quantities of water and different justified. With strict liquor washing principles separation, less dirt is carried into the next washing chamber. This means that using the same washing zones with liquor separation and 4 l/ kg washing water, the same washing result can be achieved as with 10 l/ kg and no liquor separation (Fig. 4). For years Benninger has based its washing systems on the EXTRACTA washing principle. Liquor separation is achieved between the individual washing chambers by NCM-OCTOBER 2011 16

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means of rollers which are pressed on pneumatically (Fig. 5). In addition to huge water savings, a low water consumption has a very positive effect on the energy balance.The amount of energy required to heat up washing water accounts for around 30% on woven fabrics and around 40% on knitwear. Reason enough to use highly efficient washing systems and - at the same time - reduce CO2 emissions. The new Benninger washing box is now even more efficient in Fig. 5 : EXTRACTA, liquor separation between washing chambers terms of the resources which are used. Special attention has been paid to keeping the running costs and maintenance costs to a minimum. 4. Recycling of valuable materials The best known application is the recovery of thermal energy from hot waste water. So-called water/water heat exchangers are used here. This method can be used particularly efficiently on the continuously operating Benninger plants.The required fresh water is heated up "just in time" by the overflowing waste water using the counterflow principle. At the same time the waste water is also cooled, which would otherwise need to be done by other means in order to comply with applicable discharge legislation. The amortisation period for integrated heat exchangers on Benninger plants is less than six months. A new option for recycling resources can be opened up by recycling waste water using filtration techniques. Modern chemicals and temperature-resistant ceramic membranes are increasing the availability of these techniques in the textile industry. Benninger has been successfully active in this area since 2008. A recycling rate of up to 90% of the accumulated quantity of waste water does more than just help the environmental balance though.The purified waste water can be used in all areas of textile production. Although membrane filtration systems are electrically operated, the overall energy balance and therefore the carbon footprint is reduced by around 12%. Under certain circumstances it is now already possible to run waste water free textile operations (so-called 'zero discharge'). 5. Case studies Although the finishing of classic woven fabrics according to the continuous process still offers huge potential for savings in terms of water and energy consumption (some of these options have already been presented in this article), this has not been treated like a case study in the following. We have carefully chosen examples which would introduce new methods and processes to interested readers. Replacement of the exhaustion dyeing process with continuous processes Despite the massive efforts of machine designers to reduce the liquor ratio, the finishing of knitwear by exhaust dyeing in jet dyeing machines still requires large amounts of water and therefore also large amounts of energy. By contrast, in addition to quality benefits the continuous open width finishing process also offers savings particularly in terms of water and energy. In continuous mode, CO2 emissions can be reduced by nearly 2/3 in comparison to exhaust dyeing processes (liquor ratio of 1:7). The TRIKOFLEX bleaching and washing plants offered by Benninger and the Benninger Kusters DyePad are perfectly suited for this type of application. NCM-OCTOBER 2011 17

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The advantages of dyeing terry towelling using the continuous method follow the same patterns as knitwear. Here again, the changeover to the new technology has been initiated all around the world. Large-scale international manufacturers of terry towelling have already invested in Benninger plants and are now profiting not only from the low consumption figures, but can also report with pride that CO2 emissions have been reduced by more than 50%. Zero-discharge textile operations The Kyoto Protocol sets out binding targets and time frames for emissions of greenhouse gases. The textile industry can also do its bit. Detailed and accurate analysis of the consumers is followed by optimisation of water and energy consumption.The continuous dyeing and finishing processes for textiles will help here, and it will be necessary to replace exhaust dyeing processes. Not only does Benninger have the necessary expertise to calculate carbon and water footprints for different finishing techniques and processes, but it also offers machines which are particularly efficient in their use of water and energy. One particular highlight is the recycling of water and energy from Benninger plants, with the aid of which it is now possible to refine textile systems to the stage where the discharge of waste water is reduced to zero. Fig. 7 : Carbon Emission of conventional and continuous finishing of knitwear For further information please contact : Jurgen Strohle CTO Benninger AG 9240 Uzwil, Switzerland T +41 71 955 86 03 F +41 71 955 86 91 juergen.stroehle@benningergroup.com www.benningergroup.com

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