Objective
Each year, more than 2.4 billion running metres of textiles are printed in Europe. This generates a substantial amount of waste. Each change in colour or design will result in the discharge of a considerable amount of surplus paste. Year after year, 150 tonnes of paste are discharged per printing machine, bringing the total quantity of paste discharged into European sewerage systems up to 165,000 tonnes a year. On account of the fact that the European textile industry tends to be more involved in short runs, which causes more pollution in itself, the environmental costs are becoming too high. This weakens the competitive position of the European textile industry, particularly with regard to the Far East.
GSE has developed a 'Total Paste Return'(TPR) system, processing recovered surplus paste by grouping it according to colour and composition. The collected paste is processed to give it the right colour and viscosity to be re-used again immediately. The objective of the project is to set up a full-scale prototype installation of the TPR system. This system will then be tested in a textile company in Germany.
The project is expected to result in the successful installation and demonstration of the TPR system, which is unique in the textile industry worldwide, and to:
- fully re-use any kind and quantity of recovered surplus paste while retaining its print quality;
- achieve a paste waste reduction of about 50% in Europe;
- reduce raw material consumption by approx. 14% in Europe, and to
- safe about 150,000 ECU per year per printing machine in paste consumption, or about 165 million ECU in Europe as a whole.
Topic(s)
Data not availableCall for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
CSC - Cost-sharing contractsCoordinator
6971 GV Brummen
Netherlands