Cleaner purification of contaminants on cotton substrate interfaced with supercritical carbon capsules for sustainable development in cleaning industries

An efficient and ecofriendly purification of simulated contaminants from cotton substrate was investigated by employing carbon capsules which were defined as a system formed in-situ with SCF-CO 2 and surfactants to wrap and transfer working solution. The results show that the simulated contaminants on cotton fabric samples could be efficiently and uniformly removed with a standard deviation lower than 0.03. An optimized process was recommended with 1.2   g the mixture of Span80 and Tween60 (3:1), 25   mL ethanol, 0.024   g synthetic detergent, 30   mL water, 14   MPa and 50℃ with 60   min cleaning duration, by achieving a high purification efficiency in weight loss at 19.14% and capillary rise height at 9.0   cm. Moreover, it was found that an efficient purification of the simulated contaminants from the surfaces of cotton was directly observed in SEM investigation by achieving much smoother and clearer fiber surfaces. Contact angle, XRD, TG-DTG and FT-IR analysis further prove that the carbon capsule purification could impart the substrate a good wettability with contact angle at 0.0° within 1   s, higher thermal stability, and improved aggregation structure with no evident variations in chemical structures. Obviously, this study holds significant importance in advancing green and sustainable developments in textile or other cleaning industries.