Application and activation of durable water repellant using a densified fluid

Abstract

A pressurized system using densified fluid can apply and/or activate durable water repellant. Durable water repellant bound to fibers of an article of clothing can be activated by first removing contaminants via a pressurized densified fluid cleaning process and thereafter imputing energy into the durable water repellant via the article's interaction with the densified fluid and its gaseous rinse cycle.

1 . A method for activating durable water repellency, the method comprising:
 depositing within a pressure vessel an article having one or more fibers wherein the one or more fibers of the article are bound with a durable water repellant;   processing the article with a densified fluid to remove contaminants; and   energizing the durable water repellant bound to the one or more fibers of the article.   
     
     
         2 . The method for activating durable water repellency of  claim 1 , wherein the durable water repellant is a perfluoroalkyl chain. 
     
     
         3 . The method for activating durable water repellency of  claim 1 , wherein the durable water repellant is based on fluorine chemistry. 
     
     
         4 . The method for activating durable water repellency of  claim 1 , wherein the durable water repellant is based on silicon chemistry. 
     
     
         5 . The method for activating durable water repellency of  claim 1 , wherein the durable water repellant is fluoropolymer based. 
     
     
         6 . The method for activating durable water repellency of  claim 1 , wherein the durable water repellant is perfluorooctane sulfonate based. 
     
     
         7 . The method for activating durable water repellency of  claim 1 , wherein the durable water repellant is perfluorooctane acid based. 
     
     
         8 . The method for activating durable water repellency of  claim 1 , wherein the densified fluid is super critical carbon dioxide. 
     
     
         9 . The method for activating durable water repellency of  claim 1 , wherein the densified fluid is liquid carbon dioxide. 
     
     
         10 . The method for activating durable water repellency of  claim 1 , wherein processing includes cleaning the article with liquid carbon dioxide. 
     
     
         11 . The method for activating durable water repellency of  claim 1 , wherein energizing includes subjecting the durable water repellant to static electricity. 
     
     
         12 . The method for activating durable water repellency of  claim 1 , wherein energizing includes subjecting the article to a pressurized gaseous rinse cycle imparting energy to the durable water repellant. 
     
     
         13 . The method for activating durable water repellency of  claim 1 , wherein energizing includes transferring energy from the densified fluid to the durable water repellent. 
     
     
         14 . The method for activating durable water repellency of  claim 1 , wherein energizing includes transferring energy from a gaseous rinse cycle to the durable water repellant. 
     
     
         15 . A method for durable water repellant application, the method comprising:
 depositing within a pressure vessel an article having one or more fibers;   processing the article with a densified fluid to remove contaminants wherein the densified fluid includes a durable water repellant; and   energizing the durable water repellant bound to the one or more fibers of the article.   
     
     
         16 . The method for durable water repellant application according to  claim 15 , wherein processing includes binding the durable water repellant with the one or more fibers of the article. 
     
     
         17 . The method for durable water repellant application according to  claim 15 , wherein the durable water repellant is a perfluoroalkyl chain. 
     
     
         18 . The method for durable water repellant application according to  claim 15 , wherein the durable water repellant is based on fluorine chemistry. 
     
     
         19 . The method for durable water repellant application according to  claim 15 , wherein the durable water repellant is based on silicon chemistry. 
     
     
         20 . The method for durable water repellant application according to  claim 15 , wherein the durable water repellant is fluoropolymer based. 
     
     
         21 . The method for durable water repellant application according to  claim 15 , wherein the durable water repellant is perfluorooctane sulfonate based. 
     
     
         22 . The method for durable water repellant application according to  claim 15 , wherein the durable water repellant is perfluorooctane acid based. 
     
     
         23 . The method for durable water repellant application according to  claim 15 , wherein the densified fluid is super critical carbon dioxide. 
     
     
         24 . The method for durable water repellant application according to  claim 15 , wherein the densified fluid is a super critical fluid. 
     
     
         25 . The method for durable water repellant application according to  claim 15 , wherein processing includes cleaning the article with liquid carbon dioxide. 
     
     
         26 . The method for durable water repellant application according to  claim 15 , wherein energizing includes subjecting the durable water repellant to static electricity. 
     
     
         27 . The method for durable water repellant application according to  claim 15 , wherein energizing includes subjecting the article to a pressurized gaseous rinse cycle imparting energy to the durable water repellant. 
     
     
         28 . The method for durable water repellant application according to  claim 15 , wherein energizing includes transferring energy from the densified fluid to the durable water repellent. 
     
     
         29 . The method for durable water repellant application according to  claim 15 , wherein energizing includes transferring energy from a gaseous rinse cycle to the durable water repellant. 
     
     
         30 . A durable water repellant activation system, the system comprising:
 a pressure vessel operable to hold a densified fluid at hyper-atmospheric pressure;   a storage tank fluidly coupled to the pressure vessel for storing the densified fluid;   a distillation system fluidly coupled to the pressure vessel and the storage tank wherein the distillation system is operable to remove suspended and dissolved contaminants from the densified fluid; and   an article having one or more fibers wherein the one or more fibers of the article are bound with a durable water repellant and wherein interaction between the article and the densified fluid within the pressure vessel energizes the durable water repellant.   
     
     
         31 . The durable water repellant activation system of  claim 30 , wherein the distillation system is operable to rinse the article using high-pressure gas. 
     
     
         32 . The durable water repellant activation system of  claim 31 , wherein rinsing the article with high-pressure gas energizes the durable water repellant. 
     
     
         33 . The durable water repellant activation system of  claim 30 , wherein static electricity generated by the pressure vessel energizes the durable water repellant. 
     
     
         34 . The durable water repellant activation system of  claim 30 , wherein the durable water repellant is a perfluoroalkyl chain. 
     
     
         35 . The durable water repellant activation system of  claim 30 , wherein the durable water repellant is fluoropolymer based. 
     
     
         36 . The durable water repellant activation system of  claim 30 , wherein the densified fluid is carbon dioxide. 
     
     
         37 . The durable water repellant activation system of  claim 30 , further comprising an agitation basket within the pressure vessel and operable manipulate the article within the pressure vessel. 
     
     
         38 . A durable water repellant application system, the system comprising:
 a pressure vessel operable to hold a densified fluid at hyper-atmospheric pressure wherein the densified fluid includes a durable water repellant in solution;   a storage tank fluidly coupled to the pressure vessel for storing the densified fluid;   a distillation system fluidly coupled to the pressure vessel and the storage tank wherein the distillation system is operable to remove suspended and dissolved contaminants from the densified fluid; and   an article having one or more fibers wherein the one or more fibers of the article bind with the durable water repellant and wherein interaction between the article and the densified fluid within the pressure vessel energizes the durable water repellant bound to the one or more fibers.   
     
     
         39 . The durable water repellant application system of  claim 38 , further comprising an agitation basket within the pressure vessel and operable manipulate the article within the pressure vessel. 
     
     
         40 . The durable water repellant application system of  claim 38 , wherein the distillation system is operable to rinse the article using high-pressure gas. 
     
     
         41 . The durable water repellant application system of  claim 40 , wherein rinsing the article with high-pressure gas energizes the durable water repellant. 
     
     
         42 . The durable water repellant application system of  claim 38 , wherein static electricity generated by the pressure vessel energizes the durable water repellant. 
     
     
         43 . The durable water repellant application system of  claim 38 , wherein the durable water repellant is a perfluoroalkyl chain. 
     
     
         44 . The durable water repellant application system of  claim 38 , wherein the durable water repellant is fluoropolymer based. 
     
     
         45 . The durable water repellant application system of  claim 38 , wherein the densified fluid is carbon dioxide.