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MINNEAPOLIS, MN, July 27, 1999 – Space-age technology
developed originally to super clean defense weapon
system optics and nuclear components is being commercially
tested in a drycleaning application in the U.S. for
the first time by the MVE Applied Technologies Division
of Cleveland-based Chart Industries.
MVE
Applied Technologies is working with Nu-Life Cleaners
in Forest Lake near St.Paul, MN, to test the DryWash(TM)
cleaning process that uses a dry-wash fluid based
on liquid carbon dioxide (CO2) to clean clothes. Development
and testing was supported in part by the Minnesota
Office of Environmental Assistance (OEA). "The result
of this important partnership between the State of
Minnesota; MVE, Inc.; and Nu-Life Cleaners will offer
an environmentally friendly choice for drycleaning
customers," said Jennifer Havens, Project Manager,
OEA.
In the testing, 10 loads of clothing a day are put
into a pressurized tank on the DryWash cleaning process
machine that resembles a traditional dry-cleaning
machine except it has no rotating tumbler. The clothes
are spun rapidly as nozzles emit pressurized jets
of DryWash fluid, a specially formulated detergent
based on liquid CO2. The high pressure in the machine's
tank keeps the liquid CO2 in the DryWash fluid in
liquid form. As the clothes spin they are alternately
flexed and released, which helps shake dirt loose
from their fibers. After a cleaning cycle of 30-40
minutes (less than traditional dry-cleaning methods),
the pressure in the tank is reduced, allowing the
liquid CO2 in the DryWash fluid to evaporate back
into a gas. The cleaned clothes dry rapidly as the
liquid CO2 is trapped in the machine filters. These
filters can be thrown away without any special precautions.
Jon
Wikstrom, president of MVE's Applied Technologies
Division, said, "Using a cleaning process based on
liquid CO2 offers many advantages over traditional
processes, including a shorter cycle time which allows
drycleaners to process more loads. Liquid CO2 is gentle
on dyes and prevents clothes from fading. With no
dye bleeding, drycleaners don't have to spend as much
time sorting clothes. And since the DryWash process
doesn't require the high-heat drying cycle necessary
with traditional methods, it can be used on wider
range of garments including furs, leathers, and sequin-trimmed
garments without fear of damage claims. Finally, liquid
CO2 has none of the environmental or health risks
attributed to perchloroethylene (perc) or other petroleum
solvents. We are delighted to conduct the first U.S.
test of the process in our machine in the demanding
environment of a real drycleaning shop."
Al
Goracke, owner of Nu-Life Cleaners, is equally pleased.
"Having an opportunity to actually use the liquid
CO2 cleaning process has been a revelation. It cleans
clothes every bit as well as my perc machine and it's
simple to use. Clothes come out of the machine at
about 54oF and they smell so fresh my customers comment
on it. Customer satisfaction is all important in a
service business like mine. Having been a drycleaner
for 10 years, I have seen this industry struggle to
meet the increasing burden of government regulations.
Using liquid CO2 may be the technology breakthrough
needed to give our largely family-owned businesses
a more secure and more profitable future."
"Commercialization
of the DryWash cleaning process is a win-win outcome
for all parties involved," said James Sadowski, president
of Chart Industries. "It's a model for productive
cooperation among private sector companies, national
research laboratories, and environmental groups. Our
recently acquired MVE Applied Technologies Division
is using its cryogenic expertise to help turn a space-aged
cleaning technique developed by taxpayer-funded research
into an improved dry-cleaning service that is good
for both consumers and the environment."
In April, Chart acquired MVE Holdings, Inc. (MVE).
MVE was a Minnesota-based manufacturer of vacuum-insulated
containment vessels and equipment for storing, transporting,
and using cryogenic liquids. MVE's product lines,
which are additive to Chart's, include a wide range
of standard cryogenic storage tanks, specialty tanks,
dewars, liquid cylinders, mobile units, transportation
equipment, medical respiratory products, equipment
for producing carbonated beverages, and equipment
used to store and transport biological matter and
other temperature-sensitive substances.
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