The temperature dependence of the emission of perchloroethylene from dry cleaned fabrics

A study was conducted to evaluate the emission of perchloroethylene (tetrachloroethylene) from freshly dry cleaned fabrics using small environmental test chambers. The temperature dependence of the release of perchloroethylene was evaluated over a temperature range of 20 to 45 degrees C. A linear relation exists between the logarithm of perchloroethylene retention time (tau) and the reciprocal of the absolute temperature (1/T). The temperature dependence of the retention time can be expressed as tau = 2.36 x 10(-16)e13,892/T and 8.38 x 10(-9)e8766/T sec for 100% wool and 55% polyester/45% wool fabrics, respectively. These results indicate that "airing out" freshly dry cleaned fabrics at temperatures near 20 degrees C for short time periods (e.g., 5 hr) will not appreciably reduce the total emissions of perchloroethylene.