G2 Waterless Denim Washing Machine From Jeanologia

image Jeanologia is  a company from Spain dedicated to providing eco friendly finishing solutions for  garments – specially denim.  With a corporate tagline of  “The Science of Finishing” it has been their mission for last 15 years to enhance industrial garment finishing through technology & know how.

The concept of ‘Sustainable Denim’ – an eco friendly approach to denim is being enhanced by their various machines , the foremost of which is the G2 Waterless Washing Machine. This is a unique washing machine which washes denim jeans with about 60% less water  and almost no chemicals…….!!  In  Hongkong, Jeanologia had a large hall dedicated to their “Truth & Light show” where they displayed their uniquely washed garments.  The visiting denim experts were asked to select , from pairs of jeans, the jeans which had naturally aged and the one which had been made by Jeanologia with the help of their laser technology and unique G2 washing machine.Most of them could not differentiate between the two . It was an interesting way to understand that real aging effects could be achieved with eco friendly washing methods.

How does G2 work ?

Air from atmosphere is transformed into a blend of active oxygen and ozone called ‘Plasma’.This plasma is used to age garments. The plasma is transformed into purified air before it is returned to the atmosphere.

What kind of  washing effects can it provide on the jeans ?

G2 can provide various effects on the jeans like

Casting:

  • Aged Cotton – unique yellow cast for true vintage looks in Pure Indigosimage
  • Gray casts for a retro look

Cleaning:

  • Removes backstaining & loose indigo without detergents

Bleaching without the bleach!

Eliminates the need for Potassium Permaganate spraying.

Blacks and grey denim fade without turning brown.image

Eliminates yellow from bleach look.

Improves crocking in dark finishes.

Provides various other fashion finishes.

If so less chemicals are used, how are these washing effects attained?

Jeanologia use laser technology instead of chemicals to mark the washing details.If desired, further effects can be given manually by grinding and scraping. The laser maps out the washing details required and then the garment is given a short wash. The garments are then placed in G2 where the laser effects are brought out with the plasma. The garments are then rinsed and dried. This is how the washing details are attained.

Is it possible to duplicate washing effects of an existing jeans ?

Yes, with their laser technology, the washing effects of an existing jeans can be mapped out and then replicated on new garments . This does away with the trial and error approach to replicating vintage washing effects.

What is capacity of the G2 machine in terms of load factor ?

The machine has a capacity of 50 kgs ie it can wash about 3000 jeans in a day. G2’s programmable software system automatically adjusts gas concentrations to reflect load conditions (i.e., jeans, tees, wet, dry, etc).

From a case study of actual production in the US,the company claims that using G2 can result in 67% savings in energy and water, 55% savings in time and 85% saving in chemicals and can thus provide a saving of $0.44 per garment washed besides contributing to environmental protection and reducing health hazards for the workers.

Denim jeans  washing is one of the most environment polluting activity in  the apparel industry . According to Professor John Anthony Allan from Kings College London, a Kg of jeans comes to us after about 10,850 litres of water has been used ie 1 Kg of jeans has this much of embedded water . Of course this includes even the water used in growing cotton. But the carbon  footprint of jeans is very high.  In the recent years , the increased requirement for specialized washes has further increased the environmental impact of denim production. In such a scenario, any technology that makes it possible to cater to fashion requirements and at the same time contributes to environmental protection, should be welcomed .

Here is a slideshow presentation on G2 Machine

Jeanologia can be contacted here : Michelle Branch

  1. As far as i know & i worked on this machine. It can not avoid water , as we have to process our jeans in normal way up to certain level & then can be treated by G2 for clean look, whiteness on hand sand area which can avoid PP spray, also can work as bleach process alternative if input garments have moisture ( wet condition).

    Please correct me if i m wrong.

    Regards
    Saurabh

  2. @Saurabh

    Originally Posted By SaurabhAs far as i know & i worked on this machine. It can not avoid water , as we have to process our jeans in normal way up to certain level & then can be treated by G2 for clean look, whiteness on hand sand area which can avoid PP spray, also can work as bleach process alternative if input garments have moisture ( wet condition).

    Please correct me if i m wrong.

    Regards
    Saurabh

    hi saurabh
    sai this side,nice to read your mail above
    where did you work on this machine?
    appreciate your response
    we will do our best to share & exchange info on this thks in advance
    best regards
    sai-gm-gfk-southasia operations

  3. @Saurabh – Dear friend, You are right at a certain point, since we cannot start G2 wash from RAW denim, so we need first to prepare the fabric. We are sure you can save water using G2 technology, for instance, to obtain a medium bleach you can save 50% of water (Conventional 10’8 liters/garment Vs G2 5 liters/garment) from a conventional method since we can eliminate 4 wet processing like: soaping / bleach CL / neutralization / neutralization from PP spray. You will not need EXTRA water, just control the moisture after stone wash. If you want to clean up back-stain you are saving 33% of water (Conventional 5’4 liters/garment Vs G2 3’6 liters/garment) since you just avoid the soaping process. Finally, in a process to avoid enzyme wash you can save 45% of water (Conventional 5’4 liters/garment Vs G2 3 liters/garment) since you can go for G2 after desizing process. Any question we glad to help you also the doors from our lab-center are fully opened if a visit required. Regards Jeanologia.

  4. Dear Saurabh:

    Just for your information, we are the leading producer of Ozone Generation systems for Garments, with, by far the biggest systems (outputs of up to 4,000 grams per hour), working with 2, 4. 6 or more tumblers.

    We have shipped one unit with 3,200 grams per hour output, to Egypt, to Velocity. The limit of the technology is the output per hour required to do proper bleaching without yellowing the garments.

    After desizing process and centrifuge to leave a specific humidity content you can expect to reach total bleaching look in a cycle of about 45 minutes.

  5. As far as i know if we avoid enzyme process and use G2 to fade it(jeans) out i am sure the final result will be flatter compared to enzyme treated garment.

  6. I would like to know in detail how G2 waterless Denim Washing machine works.

  7. Originally Posted By Chandan K CI would like to know in detail how G2 waterless Denim Washing machine works.

    Dear Chandan.

    Are you client of Jeanologia? Which company? If so, please contact info@jeanologia.com and we will be pleased to inform you and answer all your doubts.
    Even if you are not client we will do the best to clarify all your questions.

    Kind regards,
    Ricardo

  8. i am interested in waterless denim machine and process.i have come to know regarding this

  9. As much as I know, PP spray can be avoided upto some extent by using G2 after hand sand or sand blast, but as mentioned above by Jenologia G2 can neutralize PP spray, is that true.

  10. @Vishal Kanoj
    Dear Vishal K.
    Sorry but there is a misunderstanding, since G2 cannot neutralize the PP, what I can read above is that you can avoid PP spray which means you will avoid the neutralitation of PP. But Jeanologia is not saying that you can neutralize PP.
    Regards
    Ricardo

  11. @Chandan K C
    Dear Chandan:

    Waterless washing is performed with Ozone, a gas that is produced by an Ozone Generator and injected into a sealed tumbler.
    Ozone is an oxidizing agents, like bleach, that eats up the Indigo dyes, from the original dying process or from washing residue.

    Ozone generators, like what you find in the market, vary in grams per hour output as well as on Ozone concentration. The balance of these two elements will have a direct impact in the time needed to cause fading on a determined number of garments. The same generator with double number of garments will take approximate double the time needed to process those garments.
    G 2 is one brand, check http://www.lst.com as another option, that offers different Oozne generating models, from 100 grams per hour up to 1,200 grams.
    We are now working in total bleaching of 50 garments, after dezising, in less than 15 minutes.

  12. Hi!
    If my fabric is locally dyed and not mill dyed , will it blow away / take away all the color on the fabric or can i control the level of fading / color loss required?
    Thanks
    Ashwani

  13. Come noto, l’Ozono è un forte ossidante che, applicato su capo Denim, decompone
    l’indaco in sub-prodotti.
    Abbiamo constatato che, dopo qualsiasi trattamento con Ozono, se il capo non è
    correttamente lavato e neutralizzato, rimane Ozono attivo intrappolato nel tessuto
    assieme a tutti i prodotti della decomposizione dell’Indaco. Con la tecnologia Tonello G1
    OFree,- macchina da lavaggio con opzione ad Ozono- , il capo viene automaticamente
    lavato e neutralizzato prima di qualsiasi manipolazione.
    Le sostanze di decomposizione e l’Ozono residuo su un tessuto non neutralizzato,
    anche se trattato posteriormente con temperatura (asciugatura o forno), rimangono
    presenti e in molti casi aumentano di concentrazione.
    Oltre all’Ozono, le sostanze che si generano dall’ossidazione sono principalmente
    l’Isatina e l’Acido Antranilico, entrambi irritanti. Per questo, mediante test specifici, stiamo
    anche verificando il grado d’irritabilità cutanea.

  14. Hi,
    First, i would like to thank jeanologia for this interesting technology.
    I worked on this machine and i tryed dry and wet processes and i found out that wet ozonation is more profitable than the dry one and it gives a richer range of bleached denim.
    but i noticed that inside the drum and during the ozonation treatment, the fabric can fold and the exposed portions to the oxidizing gas will be clearer than the folded ones! Indeed after wet process there has to be a neutralization step to eliminate yellowing due to residual products of the oxidation reaction between ozone and the colorant!
    I would like to know if it’s possible to fill the drum with a volume of water during ozonation? and what would be the highest gas concentration value i can work with in this case?

  15. I’ve gone through your web and complete product list with spec. It seemed very interesting ! Still I am a little confused abt the total process. You are able to provide machineries for dry process , pp spray, washing machine and hydro extractors right? Can you pls elaborate. Correct me if I am wrong..your dry process unit doesn’t need any hand sanding but ozone can perform this,and so does in pp spray/ washing/ hydro extracting right? What abt garments dyeing? Your machine is not suitable for this where a traditional washing machine can be used for both purpose.What about 3D whispering ? Will it be required to apply resin to do so ? Have tons of questions ….are you capable to cover a full scale washing plant with your machines range or you can just add a parallel line with a conventional washing & dyeing plant based on the process flow? Thanks in advance …

  16. sir we have installed a G2 waterless washing machine but our workers effected fron ozine gas.
    sir please suggest to me how can protect of this .
    mrityunjay choudhary

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