The first pilot plant at the new Chemical Engineering building is up and running and aims to benefit the textile industry.

The goal is to help the textile industry save water and cut costs by reducing the amount of potable water used.

The Cleancolytic wastewater treatment plant consists of a textile wastewater reactor that works with a nano catalyst, uniquely immobilised to prevent suspension of the catalyst in the wastewater.

It was developed by a team of innovators from the Flow Process and Rheology Centre in the Faculty of Engineering.

The team members are Prof Veruscha Fester, Dr Mahabubur Chowdhury and Gunnar Visser.

“We have developed a large scale continuous system, that can treat up to 1 000 litres of wastewater per hour. Our aim is not just to remove the colour but also to get the quality to where it can be re-used for dyeing purposes. This can cut water bills by up to 80 percent,” said Fester.

“The process targets specific pollutants that are usually very difficult to remove with conventional methods. The nano catalyst we have developed can target and break up these pollutants.”

Fester said the team initially used only a syringe filter to develop the proof-of-concept where a few ml/min was treated and eventually progressed to 72 L/hour. The current pilot scale system can treat 1 000 L/hour.

Dr Revel Iyer, Director: Technology Transfer and Industry Linkages, oversaw the analyses directed at the technology fit with the market.

This included detailed market, techno-economic and business model analyses. According to Iyer, the Cleancolytic system has good prospects given the global push toward clean energy, tightening of regulations around industrial waste and the cost associated with conventional membrane filtration methods.

“Some further development work is required to make the final process more economical. However, this fine tuning is to be completed within the next 12 months. We invite proposals from prospective partners who would like to enter into a joint venture to take this forward.”

Funding for the development of the technology and the pilot scale plant was received from the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) Technology Development Fund. 

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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The use of 3D body scanners to improve the sizing of clothing could revolutionise the Clothing and Textile Industry in South Africa.

According to experts, who attended a seminar hosted by the Clothing and Textile Technology Department, new technological developments are becoming vital for the industry.

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Seminar, which was held earlier this year at the Bellville campus, focused on the use of 3D Body Scanners. These high-tech scanners are used to determine individuals’ measurements in order to produce customised clothing patterns.

Keynote speaker Prof Winnue Yu, from Hong Kong Polytechnic University, who is an expert on 3D Body Scanners said this is the “way to go” for the clothing and textile industry.

Prof Yu said with so many different body shapes, body scanners are a vital tool to ensure clothing manufacturers bridge the gap between what it produces, and the fit and styling customers actually want.

“The software of the 3D scanners enables the manufacturer to create customised patterns based on the body measurements of a client,” she said.

Prof Yu said the use of body scanners will allow manufacturers to develop size charts in order to produce better sized garments.

In turn, retailers will be able to provide clothing with a better fit and retain customers.

Prof Yu said in the United States, body scanners have been set up in several retail shopping malls and are proving to be popular with the general public and successful in collecting data for customized clothing

The scanner is set up in a chamber, similar to a clothing store cubicle, and uses radio waves to scan a fully clothed individual. A wand rotates around the individual in order to gather measurements. The measurements are then printed out along with a list of retailers who can provide the individual with suitably sized clothing.

Several other countries, including France, Britain, China and Japan have conducted large scale sizing research projects, using the body scanners, said Prof Yu.

Currently South African researchers and retailers are also looking at rolling out a large scale sizing research project, using body scanner technology

CSIR Researcher Reena Pandarum who has already conducted research using the body scanner said: “It’s absolutely vital because of different shapes and body profiles.”

The CSIR office in Port Elizabeth has a body scanner and recently conducted a study on 12 year olds in order to determine the sizing of school uniforms.

Meanwhile, Director for Skills for the Economy at DTI, Dr Julius Nyalunga, said the industry must embrace new technology.

“The industry is in dire need of new technology developments in order to improve their competitiveness,” he said.

Currently this industry employs 200 000 and has annual sales of over R20 billion.

By Candes Keating

Written by CPUT News
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Welding is no longer the sole reserve of the engineering industry.

With manufacturers looking at improved production processes and new technology, the textile industry is setting its sights on welding garments together.

This high-tech process uses heat generated by ultrasonic vibrations to seal the cut edge of garments, with the end product featuring smooth, durable and watertight seams.

Researchers in the textile industry are now exploring this technology, including Nommiselo Tyalana, a CPUT lecturer based in the Clothing and Textiles Department.

Although ultrasonic welding has been around since the 1960s, Tyalana says its use in the textile industry has been limited.

“I want to identify what can be achieved when using it,” she says.

With seams being the weakest part of a garment and ultrasound welding limited to synthetic fibres, Tyalana opted to explore the differences between the traditional stitch types used in the manufacture of swimwear against the seams produced using ultrasonic welding.

With a battery of tests completed on the various stitch types and seams, initial results already show the advantages of ultrasonic welding.

Tylana says this technology eliminates the use of thread, needles and other items, and also produces watertight seams.

“A lot of thread is used in the production of swimwear,” she says.

Tyalana says swimwear is also exposed to salt and chlorinated water that has eroding properties. However, with ultrasonic welding, there are no stich threads, thus eliminating the chances of seams being spoilt.

Head of the Clothing and Textiles Department, Dr Elspa Hovgaard, who is supervising the research project says the exploration of ultrasonic welding, which forms part of Tyalana’s Masters thesis, is important not only for the textile industry, but for the training of students enrolled in the university’s Clothing Management programme.

Hovgaard says that while companies are not widely using this technology, students must be skilled in the latest technology.

“Rather than just teach students about what’s available now, we are looking ahead and advancing our students,” says Hovgaard.

Written by Candes Keating
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