Frequently Asked Questions

Traditionally, water has been a popular medium used in dyeing, finishing, and cleaning of textile materials. It makes the textile industry as one of the largest consumers of water resources. According to the World Resources Institute, the conventional fabric dyeing processes consume roughly 5 trillion liters of water every year to meet the increasing demand in the world for new apparel. Moreover, according to the United Nations World Development Report, 80% of the global wastewater is dumped into the environment without adequate treatment. In a world where usable water resources are becoming alarmingly scarce, such that water has even started trading on Wall Street as a 'Futures Commodity' to join the likes of Gold and Oil, it is imperative that we need the development of more sustainable solutions in the world. That's where SUPRAUNO®, developed by Deven Supercriticals, comes in. It is a patented, sustainable waterless dyeing technology that uses Supercritical CO2 to revolutionize textile dyeing. Our innovative solution allows the waterless use of conventional dyes and their traditional tri-chrome recipes in the sustainable dyeing operation of various man-made and natural fabric types, including Cotton, Polyester, Nylon, Viscose, Linen, Wool, Acrylic, and Blends, with the help of Supercritical CO2. SUPRAUNO® further requires no reduction clearing for polyester, uses no salt for cotton, improves overall dye utilization, follows single bath dyeing of textile blends, and uses up to 90% lesser auxiliary chemicals, which otherwise would have ended up in the wastewater. Thus, it substantially reduces Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) load, lowering batch times, leading to ~67% lesser Energy Load. The use of our technology not only reduces the water use by 76% but also reduces the use of auxiliary chemicals by 90%, which would have ended up in the wastewater. We believe that our technology could have a significant positive impact on the environment and help the industry shift towards a more sustainable and responsible way of textile dyeing

SUPRAUNO® differs from Prior-Art Supercritical CO2 technologies in its ability to dye a variety of fabric types. It not only is a viable solution for Polyester, but also can be used to dye other fabric types such as Cotton, Nylon, Viscose, Acrylic, and their blends. Prior-Art Supercritical CO2 technologies relied on dissolving dyes directly in supercritical CO₂ and then transporting them to the textile substrate. This created several fundamental limitations. Dye solubility in CO₂ is inherently low, which restricts the achievable dye concentration and slows down mass transfer. The interaction between dye and textile is limited by flow dynamics, often leading to non-uniform dyeing due to channeling effects. These systems are also largely restricted to hydrophobic fibers such as polyester and require specially engineered dyes instead of conventional dye chemistries. Shade control becomes dependent on exposure time, making reproducibility and scale-up difficult. SUPRAUNO® Supercritical CO₂ dyeing changes the core mechanism of dye transfer by shifting where and how dye solubilization occurs. Instead of relying on the fluid phase to carry dye, the process begins by applying a controlled and uniform layer of dye and auxiliary chemicals directly onto the textile surface through processes like padding, spraying, printing, etc. This pre-coating step distributes dye molecules across the entire fabric in a highly controlled manner, followed by drying. When this pre-coated textile is placed inside a high-pressure dyeing vessel and exposed to pure supercritical CO₂ at controlled temperature and pressure, the CO₂ interacts with the dye already present on the fiber surface. It locally solubilizes these dye molecules and facilitates their diffusion deep into the fiber matrix. This approach removes the dependence on bulk dye solubility in CO₂ and ensures uniform interaction across the textile surface. The system itself operates as a closed loop with continuous CO₂ circulation, incorporating high-pressure vessels, heat exchangers, separators for dye recovery, and PLC-based control systems to ensure consistent operation. Due to the innovative, patented steps followed by SUPRAUNO®, it allows the use of conventional dyes already used in the industry in the sustainable dyeing process, improves dye utilization and cuts the batch time by half. Moreover, the simple design helps in an easy scale-up to commercial scale and is economically viable to be implemented. SUPRAUNO® is a complete, viable, sustainable solution for efficient textile dyeing!

Unlike Prior Art Supercritical Technologies used for dyeing of fabric that only focus on Polyester, SUPRAUNO® can be used for Polyester, Cotton, Nylon, Viscose, Linen, Acrylic, Flax, Wool, Blends, etc. SUPRAUNO® can be used to dye knitted, woven, and non-woven fabrics. It is also suitable for the dyeing of yarn and fibre. It enables simultaneous dyeing of blended fabrics in a single step using supercritical carbon dioxide at an optimized pressure and temperature, removing the need for:  ✘ Two-bath, Two-step  ✘ Salt in cotton dyeing  ✘ Reduction clearing for polyester  The impact is not incremental; it’s systemic:  → Up to 76% reduction in water usage  → Up to 67% lower energy consumption  → Up to 90% reduction in chemical usage  Thus, it substantially reduces the Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) load and reduces the energy requirement for Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) by 78%.

No, one of the standout advantages of SUPRAUNO® is its compatibility with conventional dyes and traditional tri-chrome recipes. This innovation eliminates the need for manufacturers to invest in specialized dyes, allowing dye masters to continue leveraging their expertise. By applying a pre-coating to the textile, SUPRAUNO® enhances dye solubilization in supercritical CO2 compared to earlier methods. This advancement not only simplifies adoption but also makes the process economically viable for large-scale industrial use. Thus, you can use the same conventional dyes and tri-chrome recipes currently used in the conventional methods of dyeing with SUPRAUNO® as well for the waterless dyeing of multiple natural and synthetic fabric types.

SUPRAUNO® is economically viable not just because it is sustainable, but because it directly improves the cost structure of textile dyeing. In conventional processes, a significant portion of operating cost comes from water procurement, chemical consumption, energy for heating and drying, and wastewater treatment infrastructure. SUPRAUNO® eliminates water as a solvent and reduces auxiliary chemical use by up to 90%, immediately reducing a large portion of recurring operating expenses. It also avoids process steps such as salt-based dyeing and reduction clearing, simplifying operations and reducing both material and labor costs. From a process efficiency standpoint, the technology reduces resource intensity across the board. Reported benchmarks show up to 76% reduction in water usage, 67% lower energy consumption, and significant reductions in processing time due to single-step dyeing and faster mass transfer. These improvements translate into lower utility costs, higher throughput per machine, and reduced dependency on effluent treatment systems, which are both capital- and energy-intensive. In regulated environments where Zero Liquid Discharge is mandatory, this reduction alone can materially improve margins. Importantly, SUPRAUNO® does not introduce economic friction typically associated with new technologies. It allows the use of conventional dyes and existing dyeing know-how, avoiding the need for specialized consumables or retraining. In fact, cost comparisons indicate that the technology can deliver meaningful savings, with some implementations showing around 60% cost reduction for blended fabric dyeing while maintaining competitive pricing with conventional systems. Combined with increasing regulatory pressure on water usage and pollution, SUPRAUNO® positions itself not just as a sustainable alternative, but as a financially superior process over the long term.

Yes, SUPRAUNO® dyeing is fully compatible with cotton and other cellulosic fibers such as viscose and linen. Unlike conventional supercritical CO₂ dyeing technologies that are largely limited to hydrophobic fibers like polyester, SUPRAUNO® enables effective dyeing of hydrophilic substrates by fundamentally changing the dye delivery mechanism. The process uses a controlled pre-coating step where conventional dyes, including reactive dyes used for cotton, are uniformly applied onto the textile surface before exposure to supercritical CO₂. This ensures that dye molecules are already present at the fiber interface, allowing the supercritical CO₂ to act as a diffusion enhancer rather than a transport medium. As a result, the dye penetrates efficiently into the fiber structure despite the natural affinity of cellulosics for aqueous systems. This approach eliminates the need for salt, significantly reduces auxiliary chemicals, and avoids multi-step aqueous processes typically required for cotton dyeing. It also enables uniform dyeing, good color depth, and strong wash fastness, while maintaining the broader sustainability advantages of a waterless, closed-loop CO₂ system.

Yes, SUPRAUNO® can dye blended fabrics such as polyester–cotton in a single step. In conventional dyeing, blended fabrics require a two-bath, two-step process because each fiber behaves differently. Polyester typically needs high-temperature dyeing followed by reduction clearing, while cotton requires a separate bath with salt-intensive dyeing. This makes the process resource-intensive, consuming large amounts of water, energy, time, and chemicals. SUPRAUNO® changes this by enabling simultaneous dyeing of both fibers in one step using supercritical CO₂ at optimized pressure and temperature. It eliminates the need for multiple baths, salt in cotton dyeing, and reduction clearing for polyester. The result is a significantly more efficient process, delivering up to 76% reduction in water usage, 67% lower energy consumption, and up to 90% reduction in chemical usage, while also reducing ETP load and lowering ZLD energy requirements by 78%.

Arvind Limited, one of India’s largest textile manufacturers, has installed the world’s first commercial-scale SUPRAUNO® dyeing machine at its Ahmedabad, India, facility. This deployment has been enabled in collaboration with H&M Group, which has actively supported the adoption and scaling of the technology as part of its sustainability initiatives. H&M’s involvement is particularly significant because it represents downstream brand validation, signaling that global fashion companies are willing to integrate SUPRAUNO® into their supply chains. In addition to these, SUPRAUNO® has been part of global innovation platforms such as Fashion for Good, where it has been recognized as a high-potential solution for transforming textile wet processing. A semi-commercial scale SUPRAUNO® plant enabling brands and mills to carry out full-width dyeing trials would be set up at BTRA (Bombay Textile Research Association), Mumbai, India, in 2026.

Yes, 95% of the CO₂ used in the SUPRAUNO® process is recovered and reused within a closed-loop system. After the dyeing step, the supercritical CO₂ carrying any residual dye exits the dyeing vessel and is routed to a separator, where pressure and temperature are reduced. This causes the dissolved dye to precipitate out, allowing it to be separated and recovered. The CO₂ is then cooled, recompressed, and circulated back into the system for the next cycle. This continuous recirculation minimizes CO₂ loss and ensures efficient utilization of the solvent. Because the process operates in a sealed system, there is negligible CO₂ emission during normal operation. The CO₂ itself is inert, non-toxic, non-flammable, and typically sourced as an industrial byproduct, meaning it is not newly generated for the process. This makes SUPRAUNO® not only waterless but also a low-emission, resource-efficient technology from a process engineering standpoint.

SUPRAUNO® is offered as a complete supercritical CO₂ dyeing system, including three high-pressure dyeing vessels, CO₂ circulation and recovery units, and automated process controls. This forms the core investment and replaces conventional water-based dyeing machines. Most supporting infrastructure, such as pre-coating, drying, washing, stentering, and utilities like thermopac, air compressor, chillers, can typically be leveraged from existing dye house setups or sourced as standard equipment. Importantly, the need for large water handling and effluent treatment systems is significantly reduced or eliminated. Overall, the investment shifts toward advanced process equipment, but this is offset by lower operating costs due to savings in water, chemicals, energy, and wastewater treatment.