杏吧原创

Before threads can be woven into textiles, they are usually
鈥渟ized鈥濃�攃oated with a liquid which strengthens and smoothes the thread so
that it can survive high-speed weaving. Dipping the threads into hot solutions
of starch or polyvinyl alcohol, then drying them, is messy and energy-intensive,
so researchers at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory
have replaced this 19th-century technology with thin tubes containing the same
sizing fluids at very high pressure. The pressure forces this 鈥渟upercritical鈥�
fluid into the threads as they pass through, emerging seconds later, finished
and dry. The technique reduces the amount of sizing fluid and rinse water
needed.