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Emily Parker, 919/515-6529
Joshua Hammond, 513/762-1708

Nov. 25, 2002

Procter & Gamble Donates Patents to NC State College of Textiles

The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is donating to North Carolina State University 37 patents, patent applications and accompanying intellectual property related to a significant advancement in textile production technology. P&G has developed technology that could potentially lower the cost of textile manufacturing.

NC State and the College of Textiles will host representatives from Proctor & Gamble for a recognition luncheon on Tuesday, Nov. 26, from noon to 1:30 p.m. The event will take place in Room 2425 in the College of Textiles on Centennial Campus. (Enter through Room 2427.) Media coverage of this event is welcomed.

Following the luncheon, College of Textiles faculty will give a presentation on their proposed research with the patent donation. Tours of the textile facilities will follow the presentation.

Since P&G invents more technology than it can use, the company donates technologies that no longer fit into its strategic plans but have great commercial potential if further developed. In this case, the patents and associated intellectual property have substantial implications for the textile industry, as they could potentially lower the temperatures at which textiles are manufactured through the use of cationic peroxide bleach activators.

In the typical textile production and dyeing process, it is necessary to initially remove the impurities and pigments that occur naturally on raw cotton. These impurities and pigments make cotton yellow-brown in color and naturally water repellant. In addition, these natural qualities can inhibit the even dyeing and color matching of textiles. Traditionally, these impurities are removed by heating cotton to high temperatures with caustic and hydrogen peroxide at great cost and significant use of electricity. The use of cationic activators results in much milder bleaching conditions and allows the cotton textile to retain more of its fiber strength versus the high temperature bleaching which is in widespread use today. The use of cationic activators with hydrogen peroxide will permit this important step to be completed at near room temperature, yielding a more efficient and effective process.

"We are thrilled that NC State will be able to continue the development of the cationic activators technology," said Dr. Keith Beck, professor and head of the Department of Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science. "Utilizing the development expertise at NC State joined with this donation from P&G underscores the importance of innovative public/private cooperation in research. The results of this donation could have a beneficial impact on the entire textile industry."

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