Non-aqueous washing apparatus and method

Abstract

Methods for washing fabric loads without water or using water only as a co-solvent are disclosed. One method of non-aqueous clothes washing includes the steps of disposing clothing in a wash container, delivering a wash liquor to the fabric load, the wash liquor comprising a substantially non-reactive, non-aqueous, non-oleophilic, apolar working fluid and at least one washing additive, applying mechanical energy to the clothing and wash liquor for a sufficient amount of time to provide fabric cleaning and, thereafter, substantially removing the wash liquor from the fabric load. The working fluid may be selected from the group consisting of perfluorocarbons, hydrofluoroethers, fluorinated hydrocarbons and fluoroinerts.

1 . In a method for laundering fabrics, the steps of: 
 disposing a fabric load in a wash container;    delivering a wash liquor to said wash chamber, said wash liquor comprising a substantially non-reactive, non-aqueous, non-oleophilic, apolar working fluid and at least one washing additive;    applying mechanical energy to provide relative movement between said fabric load and said wash liquor for a time sufficient to provide fabric cleaning;    removing said wash liquor from said fabric load;    contacting the fabric load with a liquid extraction solvent that is miscible with the working fluid; and    removing the liquid extraction solvent and wash liquor from the fabric load;    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the liquid extraction solvent has at least one of the following properties: 
 a KB value of less than 30,    a solubility in water of less than 10%,    a flash point greater than 145 C, or is    substantially non-reactive with fabrics in the fabric load.    
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2  wherein the liquid extraction solvent is selected from the group consisting of: perfluorocarbons, hydrofluoroethers, fluorinated hydrocarbons and fluoroinerts.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the liquid extraction solvent is further selected from the group consisting of methoxynonafluorobutane, exthoxynonafluorobutane and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the liquid extraction solvent is carbon dioxide.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said washing additive is selected from the group consisting of: surfactants, enzymes, bleaches, ozone, ultraviolet light, hydrophobic solvents, hydrophilic solvents, deodorizers, fragrances, antistatic agents and anti-stain agents.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said removing of said liquid extraction solvent and wash liquor from said fabric load comprises draining and storing the liquids for reuse.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein said removing of said liquid extraction solvent and wash liquor from said fabric load includes contacting the fabric load after draining with a flow of air to dry the fabric load in situ.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein said flow of air is heated.  
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the fabric load is heated.  
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the fabric load is subjected to a centrifugal force of at least 2 G.  
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein prior to delivering said wash liquor to said wash container, the wash liquor is heated.  
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein prior to contacting the fabric load with a liquid extraction solvent, the liquid extraction solvent is heated.  
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , including the further step of separating the wash liquor from the liquid extraction solvent for and storing them separately for reuse in the process.  
     
     
         15 . A method of washing and drying a fabric load comprising the steps of: 
 disposing a fabric load in a wash container;    delivering a wash liquor to the fabric load, said wash liquor comprising at least one washing additive and a working fluid having the following properties: 
 a KB value of less than 30;  
 a solubility in water of less than 10%; and being  
 substantially non-reactive with fabrics in the fabric load;  
   applying mechanical energy to provide relative movement between said fabric load and said wash liquor for a time sufficient to provide fabric cleaning; and    removing said wash liquor from fabric load.    
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein said washing additive is selected from the group consisting of: surfactants, enzymes, organic bleaches, inorganic bleaches, ozone, ultraviolet light, polar solvents, non-polar solvents, hydrophobic solvents, hydrophilic solvents, deodorizers, fragrances, antistatic agents and anti-stain agents.  
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the wash liquor removed from the fabric load is subjected to one of the following steps: centrifugation, liquid extraction, the application of a vacuum, the application of forced heated air, the application of pressurized air and the application of an absorbing material under conditions which separates said wash liquor from the materials cleaned from the fabric.  
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , followed by the step of forcing air through the fabric load to dry the fabric load in situ.  
     
     
         19 . The method according to  claim 18 , wherein air is forced through the fabric load for a period of time sufficient to reduce the concentration of working fluid vapor to below 1% by weight of the fabric load.  
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , including the step of heating the air prior to forcing it through the fabric load.  
     
     
         21 . The method according to  claim 20 , wherein the air is maintained below approximately 140° F.  
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein said removing of said wash liquor from said fabric load further comprises spinning the fabric load during draining.  
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein after spinning the fabric load, a liquid extraction solvent is delivered to the wash container.  
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the liquid extraction solvent has at least one of the following properties: 
 A KB value of less than 30,    A solubility in water less than 10%,    A flash point greater than 145 C, or is    Substantially non-reactive with the fabrics in the fabric load.    
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the liquid extraction solvent is selected from the group consisting of: perfluorocarbons, hydrofluoroethers, fluorinated hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide and fluoroinerts.  
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the liquid extraction is further selected from the group consisting of: methoxynonafluorobutane, ethoxynonafluorobutane and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein after spinning, the fabric load is moved through an air flow.  
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the air is forced through the fabric load.  
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein the air is heated prior to contacting the fabric load.  
     
     
         30 . A method for laundering fabrics, comprising the steps of: 
 depositing a fabric load in a wash container    delivering a wash liquor to the fabric load, said wash liquor comprising at least one washing additive and a working fluid having the following properties: a KB value of less than 30; a solubility in water of less than 10%; and which is substantially non-reactive with the fabrics in a fabric load;    applying mechanical energy to provide relative movement between said fabric load and said wash liquor;    removing said wash liquor from said fabric load;    delivering a hydrophilic solvent to the fabric load; and    removing the wash liquor and hydrophilic solvent from the fabric load.    
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein said washing additive is selected from the group consisting of: surfactants, enzymes, bleaches, ozone, ultraviolet light, hydrophobic solvents, hydrophilic solvents, deodorizers, fragrances, antistatic agents and anti-stain agents.  
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the removal of said wash liquor from said fabric load is accomplished by one or more of the following steps: centrifugation, liquid extraction, the application of a vacuum, the application of forced heated air, the application of pressurized air, dilution, the application of an absorbing material or mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein wash liquor includes more than one extraction solvent.  
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 30 , including the steps of forcing air through the fabric load to remove remaining liquid from the fabric to thereby dry the fabric in situ.  
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein air is forced through the fabric until the liquid in the fabric is less than 1% by weight of the fabric.  
     
     
         36 . A method of laundering fabrics comprising the steps of: 
 disposing a fabric load in a wash container    delivering a wash liquor to the fabric load, said wash liquor comprising at least one washing additive, a co-solvent and a working fluid having the following properties: 
 a KB value of less than 30;  
 a solubility in water of less than 10%; and being  
 substantially non-reactive with the fabrics.  
   applying mechanical energy to provide relative movement between said fabric load and said wash liquor for a time sufficient to provide fabric cleaning; and    removing said wash liquor from said fabric load.    
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 36 , wherein said washing additive is selected from the group consisting of: surfactants, enzymes, bleaches, ozone, ultraviolet light, hydrophobic solvents, hydrophilic solvents, deodorizers, fragrances, antistatic agents and anti-stain agents.  
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 36 , wherein the co-solvent is selected form the group consisting of solvents that are miscible with said working fluid and provide detersive properties not met by the washing additive.  
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 38 , wherein the co-solvent does not exceed 50% by weight of total fluid mixture used.  
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 39 , wherein the co-solvent is a hydrophobic liquid solvent.  
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 36 , wherein said removing said wash liquor from said load results in a centrifugal force of at least 2 G on the fabric load.  
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 41 , followed by the step of forcing air through the fabric load to dry the fabric load in situ.  
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 42 , wherein the fabric load is moved through the air flow.  
     
     
         44 . The method according to  claim 42 , wherein air is forced through the fabric load for a period of time sufficient to reduce the concentration of working fluid vapor to below 1% by weight of the fabric load.  
     
     
         45 . The method of  claim 42 , including the step of heating the air prior to forcing it through the fabric load.  
     
     
         46 . The method according to  claim 45 , wherein the air is maintained below approximately 140° F.  
     
     
         47 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein after removing said wash liquor from said fabric load, a liquid extraction solvent is delivered to the wash container.  
     
     
         48 . The method of  claim 47 , wherein the liquid extraction solvent is has at least one of the following properties: 
 A KB value of less than 30,    A solubility in water less than 10%,    A flash point greater than 145 C, or is    Substantially non-reactive with the fabrics in the fabric load.    
     
     
         49 . The method of  claim 48 , wherein the liquid extraction solvent is selected from the group consisting of: perfluorocarbons, hydrofluoroethers, fluorinated hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide and fluoroinerts.  
     
     
         50 . The method of  claim 49 , wherein the liquid extraction is further selected from the group consisting of: methoxynonafluorobutane, ethoxynonafluorobutane and mixtures thereof.  
     
     
         51 . A method for laundering fabric comprising the steps of: 
 disposing the fabric in a wash container;    rotating the container to cause the fabric to rest against the walls of the wash container;    delivering a wash liquor to the fabric load while resting against the walls of said wash container, said wash liquor comprising at least one washing additive and a working fluid having the following properties: a KB value of less than 30; a solubility in water of less than 10%; and being substantially non-reactive with fabrics in the fabric load.    collecting the wash liquor and contaminants therein from the fabrics;    recirculating the collected mixture to the fabrics;    delivering additional working fluid to the wash container;    applying mechanical energy to provide relative movement between said fabric load and said wash liquor for a time sufficient to provide fabric cleaning; and    removing the wash liquor from the fabric load.    
     
     
         52 . The method of  claim 51 , wherein the wash container is rotated to give a centrifugal force of less than 2 G to cause the fabric to rest against the walls of the wash container.  
     
     
         53 . The method of  claim 51 , wherein the wash liquor is sprayed from the inside of the container onto the fabrics.  
     
     
         54 . The method of  claim 51 , wherein said washing additive is selected from the group consisting of: surfactants, enzymes, bleaches, ozone, ultraviolet light, hydrophobic solvents, hydrophilic solvents, deodorizers, fragrances, antistatic agents and anti-stain agents.  
     
     
         55 . The method of  claim 51 , wherein after the wash liquor is removed from the fabric load, the working fluid and washing additive are separated from each other for reuse.