Investigation of the washing in silk fabric-printing process in terms of productivity

This study was carried out at the Vakko Production Center's Printing Unit to investigate saving water, chemicals, energy and unnecessary labour used in post-press washing processes, and to make sustainable production with less waste. In the first stage, the feasibility study was conducted by comparing the water, chemical energy consumption and labour time of Haspel washing machines used in post-press washing with the Continuous Washing Machine. In this feasibility study, it was calculated that 98% water, 97.5% chemical and 90% energy savings could be achieved by using a “New Generation Continuous Washing Machine”. Accordingly, it was predicted that the processing time would be shortened by 70%. In the second stage, in line with theoretical calculations and predictions, it was ensured that the New Generation Continuous Washing Machine was integrated into the Printing Unit. The amounts of water, energy and chemicals used after printing in washing with this machine were determined and compared with theoretical calculations. It has been determined that the savings rates realized with the New Generation Continuous Washing Machine and the results in the theoretical calculations show parallelism with each other. As a result of the washings carried out in the facility, 97% of water, 95% of chemicals, 89% of energy and 73% of time were saved. With this study, savings were made in the use of our limited resources such as water and energy; nature and the environment were protected as a result of the use of fewer chemicals and less wastewater and positive contributions were made to both the business and the country's economy.