US-based PolyOne, has introduced a new fiber-colorant technology for polyester that consists of proprietary high-pressure metering equipment with the company’s Color Matrix liquid concentrates. This new spin-coloring technology requires no water and consumes less energy and fewer chemicals whereas traditional aqueous dyeing processes can use up to ten liters of water to color a single kilogram of fiber. It also eliminates the secondary treatment operations typically required to discharge wastewater safely into the environment.

The technology allows facilities that use reactor spinning lines to produce standard white polyester fibers to produce colored products inline, eliminating the need for a secondary aqueous dyeing process. It enables the color-injection step to take place further downstream than in conventional colorant processes.

While the technology is currently targeted to polyester fibers, plans are underway to begin exploring its application for other polymer fibers, including nylon and polypropylene.

The technology’s deployment has been focused on specific projects, such as high-performance textiles for sports and recreation till now, but plans are in place to scale up the process for users’ core product ranges. In the Color Matrix process, liquid color is injected into the polyester melt-flow between the end of the extruder and the spin head. This later-stage injection minimizes color contamination and reduces the time required for cleaning and color change out.