How Biancalani AIRO®24 and AQUARIA® machines help to maximize linen’s inherent qualities through sustainable and advanced finishing processes
Strength and lightness are two of the exceptional properties of linen, together with absorption features. The value of this fiber has been known since the ancient times, when the plant Linum usitatissimum was already widely cultivated – dyed linen fibers have been found in a Georgian, dating back to 30.000 BC.
The story of linen is really interesting, but maybe the most pragmatic and modern part is about the finishing process, a crucial one in textile production as it significantly affects the final product’s properties. Only thanks to modern finishing techniques, strength and lightness can meet quality and sustainability. Only thanks to the again ancient power of air and water, reinvented in AIRO®24 and AQUARIA® machinery, it all happens at best.
There were some aspects that should absolutely remain unchanged, i.e. the high quality and the natural and authentic feel of linen fabrics, resulting from traditional manual or semi-automated processes including washing, bleaching, dying and ironing. The only possible way was to hold dear those traditional techniques and to make them modern thanks to advanced technologies.
Advanced Fabric Treatment with AIRO®24 and AQUARIA® Machinery
Resulting from years of constant research and development, AIRO®24 and AQUARIA® machinery by Biancalani Textile Machinery can definitely provide the ultimate preparation and finishing treatments of linen and blended fabrics. Notably, thanks to the above-mentioned machinery, some of the fiber’s features are being improved, thus maximizing linen’s inherent qualities. Softer and more durable fabrics are produced choosing an eco-friendly approach, all resulting in a product much appreciated in the apparel and home furnishing businesses. Let’s see the details.
Innovative Washing Systems with AQUARIA®
AQUARIA®’s innovative washing systems is based on a continuous open-width process which is particularly appropriated for linen fabrics. A couple of examples. First of all, a deep cleaning fundamental step removes impurities and processing residuals, something without which the final rich textured effect giving linen a fresh and pleasant look wouldn’t be possible. With AQUARIA®, linen goes through an eco-bleaching process, namely a biological option avoiding the use of caustic soda, chlorine and liquid peroxide. Finally, eco-bleaching sustainability goes hand in hand with water reduction.
AIRO®24: Enhanced Mechanical Finishing for Softness and Sustainability
A continuous open-width process is also the feature of AIRO®24 tumbler, combined with air transport to enhance linen and blended fabrics’ characteristics exactly thanks to a modern, advanced mechanical finishing technology.
The softening effect is surely AIRO®24’s highlight: combining water and mechanical action – mechanical tumbling relaxes and softens the linen fibers – it gives fabrics a soft and silky hand, while maintaining strength, one of linen’s key, natural features. While increasing efficiency, AIRO®24 reduces chemical softeners, consumption and production times, optimizing the whole system. To bring sustainable textile production to the next level is precisely Biancalani’s mission and precisely AIRO®24 has been awarded with the Green Label certification.
Linen fabric for apparel and home furnishing has experienced a continuous growth in global demand. Thus, it is mandatory to find eco-friendly and effective processing systems based on a thorough research and development path such as the one taken by Biancalani since years.
