T ECHNICAL ARTICLE How to Save the Ozone Layer? Role of Textile Industry Prof. T. Saravanak Kumar On behalf of GTZ Ms. Meghna Udgire On behalf of GTZ Dr. G. S. Nadiger Textile Consultant. The depletion of ozone layer is the major concern of the day and steps need to be initiated to address this issue. The article reviews the causes of depletion of ozone layers with respect to the textile processing industry and offers the solutions to be implemented for phasing out of a key factor causing this problem, viz., Carbon Tetra Chloride (CTC). INTRODUCTION Ozone is naturally present in our atmosphere. Each molecule contains three atoms of Oxygen. Ozone is found primarily in two regions of the atmosphere. About 10% of atmospheric ozone is in the troposphere, the region closest to Earth (from the surface to about 10-16 kilometers). The remaining 90% Ozone resides in the Stratosphere, primarily between the top of the Troposphere and about 50 kilometers altitude. The large amount of Ozone in the stratosphere is often referred to as the “Ozone layer”. Ozone in the Stratosphere absorbs the Sun’s biologically harmful ultraviolet-B (280-315 nm) radiation. The depletion of stratospheric Ozone by human activities is due to the emission of Ozone depleting gases containing Chlorine and Bromine at Earth’s surface. Most of these gases accumulate in the lower atmosphere because they do not react and do not dissolve readily in rain or snow. Free Chlorine radical break the ozone molecule into chlorine monoxide and oxygen molecule on a cyclic reaction. Research studies conducted in 1980s, have revealed that CFCs and CTC and many other man-made chemicals were destroying the delicate Ozone layer. The ozone layer, a layer of gas in the lower stratosphere protects the flora and fauna on earth from harmful ultraviolet-B rays from the sun. Due to the depletion of ozone layer, UV radiation on the earth increases which can damage the ecosystems and have an adverse impact on human health leading to skin cancer and cataract problems. December 2009 O Man-made Textiles in India 417 GLOBAL INITIATIVES Decisive and swift global actions followed the discoveries, first with the 1985 Vienna Convention and then with the Montreal Protocol in 1987. years. Hence, every drop of CTC reduction contributes to the protection of the ozone layer. Also important is the fact that a few litres used by “many” constitute a substantial volume of CTC on the aggregate. GTZ INITIATIVES TOWARDS CTC ALTERNATIVES As per the Montreal Protocol production and consumption of CTC for emissive uses has been phased out gradually every year and will have to stop by 31st December 2009 worldwide. Hence CTC availability is becoming difficult every passing day. Therefore it is necessary to find “safe alternatives”. CTC Alternatives however are not easy to “search” or “assess”. No single substitute exists to replace CTC in all its applications. Danger also lies in the fact that industry may unknowingly substitute CTC with a substance that is also harmful to environment and health. The Montreal Protocol provided the first global controls on ozone depleting substances (ODS) including CFCs and CTC. In the decade that followed the Montreal Protocol was made more stringent as mounting evidence proved stratospheric ozone depletion and the ozone hole in particular, were caused by emissions of manufactured chemicals. All countries have signed the treaty and have taken control measures to phase out these harmful chemicals. RELEVANCE TO TEXTILE INDUSTRY Carbon Tetrachloride (CTC) is a solvent which is mainly used in the metal cleaning and textile industries. It is also used as feedstock in the manufacture of CFCs and DV Acid Chloride. Carbon Tetra Chloride – commonly known as CTC amongst many industries is a very popular solvent. It removes all contaminants (like oil and grease) and gives a very clean product. Till a few years ago, CTC was used vastly as it was cheap, non-flammable and very effective. CTC has been used in the Textile industry for the following applications. 1) Stain removal in fabrics/ garments: To remove oily and greasy stains in fabrics and garments. 2) Cot and roller cleaning: To prevent lapping, CTC is applied on the surface of cots and rollers and wiped with cloth to remove the contaminants. 3) Electrical contact cleaning: Large switchgears develop carbon deposits over a period causing power losses. CTC is used to clean them. CTC users often feel that using a few litres of CTC per year should not cause much harm. However, the proven fact is that a single chlorine atom liberated from CTC, can destroy up to one lakh ozone molecules in its life span of 30-40 418 Man-made Textiles in India O December 2009 German Technical Co-operation (GTZ) is an international cooperation enterprise for sustainable development with worldwide operations. GTZ Proklima is a sectoral programme which implements bilateral and multilateral projects in order to assist partner countries in fulfilling their obligations under the Montreal Protocol. GTZ Proklima is the largest partner of the Multilateral Fund of the Montreal Protocol. GTZ Proklima, on behalf of the governments of Germany and France and under the overall coordination of the Ozone Cell, Ministry of Environment and Forests, GOI, is implementing the CTC phase out project in India. To assist the industry in making the inevitable transition, GTZ Proklima has been mandated, to provide industry with technical assistance (free of cost), to help and ensure a “safe and informed transition” from CTC to alternatives. a) CTC alternatives in stain removal CTC has been popular in stain removal due to its high cleaning efficiency and quick drying. GTZ Proklima has put efforts on analysing the viable alternatives systematically. The ideal stain remover should be free from ODS, colourless, efficient, cost effective, preferably odourless, non carcinogenic, non toxic and if possible non flammable as well. However, there is no solvent in which we find all these qualities to a satisfactory level. The evaluation of alternative stain removers has been carried out in three phases: Phase 1: Screening for the possible presence of ODS The stain remover is first tested for the presence of ozone depleting substances (ODS). Priority is given to non-proprietary solvents. Phase 2: Performance evaluation of stain removers Only those stain removers which qualify in phase 1 are selected for this phase. An evaluation of actual stain removal is carried out with part-simulated oil stains and industry tures. These concerns lie specifically in the flammability of ordinary hydrocarbon solvents such as Acetone, Mineral Turpentine and White Petrol. A potential cancer risk is associated with chlorinated solvents such as Trichloroethylene (TCE) and Benzene, which till date are widely used in India; Constituents of most proprietary solvent mixtures are not known and thus it is also unknown whether they contain flammable and/or cancer-causing constituents. Table 1. Evaluation of different stain removers Cotton fabric Silk fabric Wool fabric Viscose fabric Polyester/ Cotton blend fabric Polyester fabric Per Chloro Ethylene 3 3 3 3 3 3 White petrol 3 3 3 3 3 3 Mineral Turpentine Oil 3 2 3 3 3 3 Hexane 3 3 3 3 3 2 Xylene 0 3 3 3 0 2 Methyl Ethyl Ketone 0 0 2 1 2 3 Ethyl acetate 0 1 1 3 0 1 Iso Propyl Alcohol 1 1 0 0 1 1 Acetone 1 2 0 0 1 0 CTC 3 3 2 3 3 3 Remarks Efficacy Stains fully removed 3 Mild traces seen after de-staining 2 Traces seen significantly after de-staining 1 Stains not removed 0 It is important to note from Fig. 1A and 1B that many of the alternatives to CTC are cost effective and also reduce the idle time of the draw frame and comber. This indeed is a positive aspect of the CTC phase out so that the processing of textiles can be done satisfactorily. 250.00 samples. The tests are conducted on white and dyed samples with two time delay conditions (next day and 15 days later). During testing the important parameters like volume of stain remover, time taken, level of stain removal and operator’s comfort are recorded and analysed. cost of substance in INRfor one month 200.00 Draw frame stoppage in minutesfor one month 150.00 100.00 50.00 0.00 Tu rp en tin e Oi Pe l rC Xy hl le or n e o Et hy le ne Pe Et tro h l Iso yl a ce Pr ta o te py M et lA hy lco lE h th ol yl Ke to W n e hi te pe tr ol NC th in ne r Ac et on e He xa ne Phase 3: Additional assessment M in er al Stain removers are further assessed for their impact on discolouration, workers’ health and safety. The consolidated results are given in Table 1. CT C Name of the alternative Fig. 1A. Comparative Cost analysis of the Alternatives for cots cleaning b) CTC alternatives in spinning The following solvents are found to be effective alternatives to CTC for cleaning of cots and rollers. 350.00 Cost of subst ance 300.00 Com ber st oppage t im e in m inut es 250.00 1. Per Chloro Ethylene 200.00 150.00 100.00 2. Mineral Turpentine Oil CTC ALTERNATIVES – BENEFIT & RISK ASSESSMENT Based on extensive studies conducted by GTZ Proklima, a number of “CTC alternatives” for a variety of applications across industry sectors have been identified. Every CTC alternative is thoroughly tested on parameters of “performance”, “occupational health”, “environmental impact” & “industrial safety”. The presentation of substances in categories draws attention to the fact that concerns exist regarding certain properties of some of the substances, particularly solvents and their mix- e an ex H A ce t on ne e r ol tr N C th in pe W hi te yl CT C e ol on K et at lA py M et hy lE th ol ac et yl Pr o Is o Et h lc oh e e tr en Et h o Pe ne Pe r Ch l or Xy le ti en rp M in er al Tu 4. Xylene yl ne O 0.00 il 50.00 3. Ethyl Acetate Fig. 1B. Comparative Cost analysis of the Alternatives for cots cleaning Table 2 and 3 provide a systematic approach to identify the associated Environment, Health & Safety issues such as: · Inhalation – common to all ordinary hydrocarbons and thus a critical issue; · Skin – common to all ordinary hydrocarbons & some aqueous substances and thus a critical issue; · Environment – typical for aqueous substances but a critical issue for solvents; December 2009 O Man-made Textiles in India 419 Table 2. Data on the health and safety features of various category of substances used in the Textile industry. Group Hazard Inhalation Skin Environment Flammability Flashpoint in 0C High Severely Toxic Severely toxic Very hazardous Extremely flammable <0 D Very toxic Very toxic C Toxic Toxic B Harmful A Irritant None none E – low Based on: Health & Safety Executive (HSE), United Kingdom Highly flammable 0 = 21 Flammable 21 = 55 Harmful Combustible 55 = 93 Irritant Possibly combustible 93+ Non-flammable None Hazardous not classified Federal Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (BAuA), Germany European Union (adapted) European Union (adapted) Table 3. Data on the health and safety features of various category of substances used in the Textile industry. Substance Inhalation Skin Environment Flammability PCE Very toxic Toxic Very hazardous Non-flammable White Petrol Very toxic Toxic Very hazardous Highly flammable Toxic Very toxic Very hazardous Flammable Highly flammable MTO Hexane Very toxic Toxic Very hazardous Xylene Harmful Harmful Not classified Flammable Methyl ethyl ketone Irritant Irritant Not classified Highly flammable Ethyl acetate Irritant Irritant Not classified Highly flammable IPA Irritant None Not classified Highly flammable Irritant Irritant Not classified Highly flammable Very toxic Toxic Very hazardous Non-flammable Acetone CTC The selection of a solvent should be made so as to minimize the hazard. As is apparent from the ratings above, most of the substances are classified as “Very toxic” for “Inhalation” and “Toxic” under “Skin”. Safe use can therefore not be ensured by a prudent selection alone. Table 3 shows the hazard ratings of the alternatives discussed in this article. CONCLUDING REMARKS While choosing a stain remover, it is important to assess its properties related to health and safely. The safety features namely Inhalation, Skin irritation, Environment and Flammability need to be established. While some properties such as flammability can be easily assessed, others require extensive, complex and time consuming processes. The test results clearly indicate that there are viable alternative solvents already available in the market. Though Per Chloro-ethylene, White petrol, Mineral turpentine oil and hexane are effective on all fabrics, they are toxic in case of skin contact and inhalation. The user is advised to wear a mask and suitable gloves to mitigate these health hazards. Flammability – common to all ordinary hydrocarbons but absent in aqueous substances. Hence it is a critical issue for solvents These substances are also hazardous to aquatic life and hence discharging the effluent to water body (ground water, river etc) is to be discouraged. Care should be taken in storage and packing based on the flammability. Each hazard has been further classified into six grades and each grade is characterized through a corresponding colour shade. The least risk is marked in green, followed by shades of yellow and orange. Red represents the most severe risk. GTZ Proklima has also published technical booklets on CTC alternatives for stain removal and spinning applications which can be downloaded for free from the resourceful website www.ctc-phaseout.org. · 420 Man-made Textiles in India O December 2009 Copyright of Man-Made Textiles in India is the property of Synthetic & Art Silk Mill's Research Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
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