Carbon Dioxide-Based Cleaning of Military Textiles

TERSUS Solutions developed and demonstrated a liquid carbon dioxide (CO2)‐based cleaning solution for cleaning military textiles and garments. Port Hueneme Naval Base served as the demonstration location for this project. During this project TERSUS Solutions, and its partners, designed, built, installed, validated and operated a CO2‐ based military garment cleaning machine. Adapting TERSUS Solutions’ existing textile and garment cleaning equipment to operate in a military setting overcame two main challenges: scaling of the equipment to handle increased volume and a process to validate cleaning at military standards.

TERSUS Solutions demonstrated 76 percent higher operational efficiency (for example, higher throughput) and 15 percent utility savings compared to traditional water‐based cleaning methods. Additionally, TERSUS CO2‐based cleaning system showed savings of 117.5 gallons of water per every 150 pounds of laundry.

This project demonstrated that widespread adoption of TERSUS Solutions cleaning system is environmentally preferable by substantially reducing the water, energy and natural gas consumption of military textile cleaning. Beyond the Department of the Navy, these solutions can service multiple military and government institutions, amplifying their environmental and financial impact.