WO2010030255A1

WO2010030255A1 - Process for sterilization of the textile products

Info

Publication number: WO2010030255A1
Application number: PCT/TR2009/000118
Authority: WO
Inventors: Serap Sayar
Original assignee: Yilser Tekstil Gida Otomotiv Insaat Ve Turizm Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi
Priority date: 2008-09-15
Filing date: 2009-09-15
Publication date: 2010-03-18
Also published as: TR200806977A2

Abstract

The invention is a process for sterilization of the textile products and for covering the same with the package having antibacterial surface, said process comprising the steps of applying the ozone (O3) gas to the textile products whose sewing step has been completed, removing the ozone gas that remains on textile products after the application by converting the gas to oxygen and covering the textile products to which ozone gas (O3) has been applied, with the package having antibacterial surface. (No figure)

Description

PROCESS FOR STERILIZATION OF THE TEXTILE PRODUCTS

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a process for sterilization of the textile products by way of application of the ozone gas (O3) and for covering the same with the package having antibacterial surface.

PRIOR ART

Textile products are the group of products, which are in most extensive contact with the human body, after the foodstuff. The clothes that are almost like a second skin for the human and the textile products that are in close contact with the human body must by no means lead to any damage to human by way of skin contact, respiration or digestion.

Textile products are subjected to various processes starting from the raw material through the obtaining of the same as a finished product. Especially in the finishing operations, numerous chemical substances and pigments are applied on the textile material under varying conditions to provide the same with the features (color, behavior, etc.) preferred by the customers. Said chemical substances may remain on the fabric during the dyeing step. Said chemical substances, especially when in contact with the consumers with a sensitive skin and the skin of the newborns, may lead to various skin problems and health issues.

After the finishing, the apparel procedures consisting cutting, sewing, ironing and packaging steps are applied to textile products. The products are subjected to bacterial on the employees in addition to the same in the surrounding, since each step is performed by different person.

Hospital infections are a crucial problem for patient, health personnel, society and health budget. According to the data of World Health Organization (WHO), a patient of every 10 patients in hospitals has a hospital infection which is reported as being in the first 10 reasons of deaths in developed countries.

Also, when the textile products are washed during the use, detergent and softener agent residues might remain on these, which in turn might pose damage to the sensitive skins and the babies. Generally, the clothes are washed and ironed prior to wearing, in order to eliminate harmful factors. However, this is not enough to extinguish harmful chemical/bacteria/fungus on the clothes.

Sterilization is the elimination process of all microorganisms that is in or on a material. During the process, all microorganisms, harmful or not, is killed. The process can not be classified as light, normal or advance sterilization. After the process, all microorganisms such as asporogenic bacteria, virus and fungus have been extinguished. The sterilization has been applied or not. This process has not any degree or application dissimilarities. The aim is the elimination of all microorganisms. The material or tool, on which the sterilization process is applied, is called sterile.

As a result of numerous studies and experiments conducted with ozone, it was understood and accepted that since ozone is a strong oxidizing agent, it may be used in water and air as a deodorizer, antimicrobial, and destroyer of many organic molecules that pollute the ambience. In this context, in the utility model application no. TR 2005/04202, an improvement is described in the ozone generators used in the disinfection of the waters, food industry, cold storages, swimming pools, medical and health care facilities, wastewater treatment, medicine factories, chemical substance factories, fish processing plants, rubber oil processing plants, paper mills, bleaching processes of the textile sector, removal of nitric ammonia, removal of iron manganese, removal of pesticides, removal of odor and removal of color.

However, in the state of the art no work has been encountered that is related to the application of ozone in the textile sector with the aim of sterilization of the textile products.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

Based on the mentioned state of the art, the object of the invention is to enable the textile products to be sterilized, thus preventing the irritation of the skin of the consumers, especially of the newborn babies and avoiding the emergence of the health problems. Another object of the invention is to enable the elimination of residual matter like dye etc. likely to remain on the textile products during the manufacture and to make it possible for the consumers to reliably use the product they purchase.

Another object of the invention is to reduce the high costs of steam sterilization, ethylene oxide sterilization and gas plasma sterilization used to sterilize textile products and to cancel toxic, carcinogen and environmentally harmful sterilization procedures.

In order to achieve said objects, a process for sterilization of the textile products has been developed, said process comprising the steps of

- applying the ozone (O₃) gas to the textile product whose sewing step has been completed,

- removing the ozone gas that remains on textile products (clothing, medical textile, medical textile product or the household textile product) after the application by converting the gas to oxygen,

- covering the textile products to which ozone gas (O₃) has been applied, with the package having antibacterial surface.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, said textile product is a clothing or household textile product.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, said textile product is subjected to ozone gas (O₃) for at least 5 minutes.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a process for sterilization of the textile products by way of application of the ozone gas (O₃) and for covering the same with the package having antibacterial surface.

Said textile products include the clothing for the women, men and babies, and the household textile products used in the houses, such as curtain, bed sheet, quilt covering case, cover, and towel. According to the invention, the textile products whose sewing step has been completed are subjected to ozone gas (O₃) prior to packing, and then the products are covered with the package having antibacterial surface. Afterwards, the packages are closed by sealing so that it is not possible to open them for exhibition purpose during the sale. In this way, the products are kept sterile also after they are packaged, until they reach the consumer.

According to the invention, the application of ozone to the textile products is carried out inside the machines with airproof, to which the ozone generator is connected and vacuum can be applied. Thus, the ozone is enabled to access every point of the textile product. After the sterilization is finished, ozone (O₃) gas on the products, which is treated and in the machine, is removed from the system by converting the gas to oxygen.

Moreover, because ozone is obtained by way of the breakup of the oxygen available in the air and because it has an unstable nature, it is always converted into its raw material, oxygen, once it achieves its duty of disinfection. Therefore, it is natural and has no side effects. After the O₂ molecule in the air is broken into 2 oxygen atoms by the high energy, these react with another O₂ molecule to form an unstable molecule. This new molecule is ozone (O₃). This unstable structure provides ozone with a superior power of oxidation. Due to its unstable structure, it eliminates the undesirable organics in the ambience like bacteria, virus, fungi, mold, as well as oxidizing and removing from the ambience the matter like iron, manganese, chlorine, nitrite, etc.

Ozone is far superior to the other disinfectants, owing to its high oxidizing power. Although ozone gas has a disinfecting effect that is under the same conditions 3125 times more than that of chlorine, 25 times more than that of hypochloric acid, 2500 times more than that of hypochlorite and 5000 times more than that of chloramine, unlike said agents, it does not release waste and harmful matter. Owing to the application of the ozone gas (O₃) to the textile products, the residual matter such as dye, etc. like to remain on the textile products during the manufacture and chemical/bacteria/fungus remained on the products while apparel procedures may be removed and eliminated. Ozone can be used in various applications efficiently because of its powerful antimicrobial and oxidation characteristics.

Ozone, which is used to sterilize the textile products, is a gas with a very high oxidation power and it is the strongest disinfectant known. High oxidation power causes ozone to play a fully effective role in the destruction of the bacteria. It is more effective than chlorine against spores, cysts and viruses. Ozone eliminates the air pollution and the bad odors in the ambience. It settles the dust in the living and working places and kills the microbes in the environment. Thus it generates a healthy ambience and provides the people with the feeling of relief and energy.

Bactericidal effects of ozone on a variety of organisms like Gram-positive bacterial (Bacillus cereus, Enterococcus faecalis, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus), Gram-negative bacterial (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Yersinia enterocolitica) and spores were investigated and recorded. Various studies were provided on Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The obtained results proved learnings about letal activity of ozone, ozone concentration and processing time.

Ozone also supports the extinguishment of a wide range of virus such as Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis virus, hepatitis A, influenza A, vesicular stomatitis virus and infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus and different bacteriophages.

The effect of ozone on living cells is related to the concentration. This situation is different for every virus and bacteria species and killing effect doesn't increase above the specific concentration. Thus, although the concentrations between 0.1-0.2 ppm are enough for different microbes, some researchers were found that the concentration should be increased to 10-12 ppm. These achieved results shows that bacterial sterilization at high degrees may be obtained with ozone.

Therewithal, the powerful disinfection ability of ozone can provide the death or inactivation of harmful microorganisms remained on contaminated textile materials employed in hospital, health care unit etc. Ozone is the only disinfectant that does not leave any remain and residue after disinfection. Owing to this fact, ozone, a product of the natural cycle, is an economic solution, which is both much healthier and much cheaper to obtain as compared to the other disinfectants with many side effects. With such features, ozone is of great importance for many sectors.

The protective scope of this application is determined in the section of the claims, and the scope may by no means be limited to the description above provided only for exemplary purposes. It is obvious that a person skilled in the art may provide the innovation put forward by the invention also by using the similar embodiments and/or may apply this embodiment to the other fields used in the relevant art for similar purposes. Consequently, such embodiments would obviously lack the criteria of innovative step and particularly of exceeding the state of the art.

Claims

1. A process for sterilization of the textile products and for covering the same with the package having antibacterial surface characterized in that it comprises the steps of - applying the ozone (O₃) gas to the textile products whose sewing step has been completed,

- removing the ozone gas that remains on textile products after the application by converting the gas to oxygen,

2. The process according to Claim 1 characterized in that said textile product is the clothing, medical textile, medical textile product or the household textile product.

3. The process according to Claim 1 characterized in that said textile product is subjected to ozone gas (O₃) for at least 5 minutes during the sterilization.