Dry cleaning solvents

Abstract

The development and use of dry cleaning solvents and their physical and chemical characteristics are described. Dry cleaning processes have been performed during 180 years with different solvents, but most of them have been replaced with less flammable and low toxic solvents with good performance characteristics. In the second part of the 20th century attention was more focused on ecology. Environmental approach in the dry cleaning sector resulted in the restriction of hardly degradable fluoro halogenated hydrocarbon solvents in spite of excellent cleaning performance. Halogenated hydrocarbon (PERC) as well as hydrocarbon solvents (HCS) are widely used all over the world; PERC prevailed in Europe and USA for 60 to 90 % of totally cleaned garments, while HCS is predominant in Japan with an amount of 85 %. The wet cleaning process was introduced 20 years ago as an alternative to the dry cleaning process. Modem solvents, cyclosyloxane and liquid carbon dioxyde (LCO2) were developed as more environmentally friendly than the existing solvents. European research and technology development trends are giving priority to the application of LCO2 as a non toxic and non hazard solvent, taking account of good performance in the dry cleaning process.