Cleaning device PPE

Applicant(s): DECONTEX HOLDING
Inventor(s): Thomas Verminck, Zander Macharis 
Patent number: EP4435168
Publication date: 2024-09-25

The process of cleaning or decontaminating textile products is a task that has been performed for a considerable length of time. In the majority of applications, water and detergents are employed to submerge the textile products in a solution, while a mechanical action is applied. The use of household washing machines is a well-documented example of the application of cleaning or decontamination processes.

In other cleaning or decontamination processes, a solvent is employed to dissolve the contamination on the textile products.

Recently, there has been a resurgence of interest in the use of liquefied gases for the cleaning and decontamination of textile products. One advantage of this process is that the washing liquid, in the form of compressed gases, can be recovered to a significant extent and does not need to be discarded or drained. In the majority of processes, the gas CO₂ is employed, in either a compressed liquid or supercritical liquid state, for the cleaning of textile products. For example, see WO2021105501.

The necessity for apparatus for cleaning textile products, protective gear and/or equipment using compressed or supercritical liquids is ongoing. Such apparatus should be more straightforward to use, more effective during cleaning, less time-consuming to operate and/or adapted to achieve a higher level of cleaning performance.

The invention provides a cleaning apparatus for the cleansing of textile products, protective equipment and/or machinery. The apparatus comprises a receptacle for the reception of the aforementioned textile products, protective gear and/or equipment. Said receptacle is adapted to receive a compressed gas, which serves as the cleaning fluid. The compressed gas may exist in a gaseous, liquid, or supercritical liquid state. Furthermore, the apparatus comprises a first and a second, mutually separated fluid system. The first fluid system comprises a first fluid conducting means in the container, which is used to heat the compressed gas in gaseous, liquid or supercritical liquid state. The second fluid system comprises a second fluid conducting means in the container, which is used to cool the compressed gas in gaseous, liquid or supercritical liquid state.

The apparatus overcomes the shortcomings of conventional cleaning techniques by facilitating the utilisation of two entirely independent and segregated fluid systems.

Consequently, the apparatus allows for the utilisation of disparate fluids for the heating and cooling of the cleaning fluid within the vessel, facilitating an instantaneous transition between cooling and heating.