He and his colleagues are working to modify the surfactants so they will. Another concern, voiced by Dale Spall, a recently retired chemist who worked on liquid CO 2 at Los Alamos, is that clothes colored with vegetable dyes might shrink when cleaned with liquid CO 2 . While Spall praises the use of liquid CO 2 as innovative and says it shows a great deal of potential, other dry-cleaning industry specialists are cautious. Manfred Wentz, vice president of research and development at R.R. Street and Company, which makes and distributes dry-cleaning chemicals and additives, says additives have to be developed to prevent stains removed by liquid CO 2 from being redeposited on clothes during the cleaning process. Our tests indicate that it is better than the perc process.
Cost is one crucial concern for dry-cleaners.
That's probably the biggest thing right now. He notes that liquid CO 2 may have some economic factors in its favor. The shorter cleaning cycle means more garments can be cleaned in less time. Furthermore, labor costs for finishing or pressing the garments may be reduced, since the garments are cleaned at lower temperatures, which reduces wrinkling. Such factors will help determine if the liquid CO 2 process will fit within the present dry-cleaning infrastructure, says Wentz.