Conventional wet processing of textiles - dyeing, or application of such surface finishes as soil and water repellents, antistatic agents, fire retardants, permanent press agents, and starch - consumes about 0.19 quadrillion Btu's of energy per year, the equivalent of 30 million barrels of oil. Because wet processing involves immersion of the fabric in a water bath, most of the energy used is in the form of heat for drying. In the newer foam finishing approach, the chemicals for surface finishes are dispersed in a mixture of water and air. The chemicals are concentrated in a relatively small amount of water, and air is injected to form a thick, stable foam. Because little water is involved, drying time and temperature may be drastically reduced. Authur D. Little, Inc., conducted an economic and energy audit of foam processing that considered the technical feasibility, reliability, energy savings, and economic incentives for using foam finishing. We monitored four plants that finish textiles (carpets, broad-woven fabrics, and tubular knits). The plants were selected by the developer of the foaming process (United Merchants and Manufacturers, Inc.) to represent a wide range of textile finishing applications.
