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Textile Chemicals
During the process of manufacturing, textile has to go through a long process of chemical
and non chemical treatments. The Textile finishing procedure includes preparation and
pretreatment, dyeing, printing and refinement of fabrics. Certain Textile Chemical
Products are highly specialized chemicals such as biocides, flame retardants, water
repellents and warp sizes. Others are relatively simple chemicals or mixtures such as
emulsified oils and greases, starch, sulfonated oils, waxes and some surfactants. Over
sixty distinct textile chemical product classes are used in yarn formation, fabric
pretreatment and finishing, textile laminating and coating, and other miscellaneous
applications.
Textile Chemicals - Categories and Subcategories
rom pretreatment of textile to its finishing, there are various categories and
subcategories of textile chemicals !
Pretereatment Chemicals
scouring agents, low foam scouring agents, wetting agents, low foam wetting agents,
se"uestering agents, mercerising agents, peroxide stabilisers, peroxide #illers, neutralizers
Textile Dyeing Chemicals
$olubalisers % dispersents, levelling agents, soaping agents, dyeing agents.
Dyeing Printing Chemicals
vat levelling agents, thic#ners, binders, stain removers, anti bac# staining agents
!inishing Chemicals
cationic softners fla#es& paste, nonionic softners fla#es& paste, anionic softners fla#es&
paste, reactive softners, cold water soluble softner fla#es
"ntistatic "gents
spin finishes, spining aids
#ther Speciality Chemicals.
Chemical $ased Procedures o% Textile &anu%acturing
'arious processes are carried by the textile production units where different chemicals
find their usage. These processes include, $couring, (leaching, Desizing, $oftening,
)ercerization, Dyeing, etc.
Scouring
*aw textile materials, in their natural form, have additives, dirt, soil and other impurities
that are not suitable for clothing materials. Pesticides, fungicides, worm #illers, etc are
also there in these raw materials. The removal of these matters is called scouring. +t is
done by adding suitable wetting agents, al#ali or other chemical or non chemical
materials. ,fter scouring, the fabric gives better wetting and penetration properties. This
ma#es the subse"uent bleach process easy resulting in better dye upta#e.
$leaching
+f cloth is to be finished white or is to be given surface ornamentation, all natural colors
must be removed. This process of decolorization of raw textile material is bleaching.
(leaching is classified in to oxidative bleaching and reductive bleaching. -enerally
oxidative bleaching is carried out using sodium hypochlorite, sodium chlorite or
hydrogen peroxide. .atural fibers li#e cotton, ramie, /ute, wool, bamboo are all generally
bleached with oxidative methods. *eductive method of bleaching is done with $odium
hydrosulphite, a powerful reducing agent. ibers li#e Polyamide, Polyacrylics and
Polyacetates are generally bleached using reductive bleaching technology. ,fter scouring
and bleaching, Optical (rightening ,gents 0O(,1, available in different tints such as
blue, violet and red, are applied to give the textile material a brilliant white loo#.
$leach Clean up
(leaches are highly reactive chemicals and any such chemicals left on the fabric can
hinder the process of dyeing. Thus cleaning of bleach is also done. The bleach is
neutralized with a precisely controlled reducing agent.
Desi'ing
During weaving, specially for the fabrics made from cotton or blends, the warp threads
are coated with an adhesive substance #nown as 2size2. This is done to prevent the threads
from brea#ing during weaving. $tarch and its derivatives are the most common sizing
agents. ,fter weaving, the 2size2 is removed again in order to prepare the fabric for dyeing
and finishing. This is called Desizing. +t is done by treating the fabric with chemicals
such as acids, al#ali or oxidising agents.
!abric so%tening
abric softener also called abric Conditioner is used to prevent static cling and ma#e
fabric softer. Their use may however reduce the water absorption
capabilities of the fabric. abric softeners wor# by coating the surface of the cloth fibers
with a thin layer of chemicals. These chemicals have lubricant properties and are
electrically conductive, resulting in smoother feel and preventing the buildup of static
electricity. +t also increases resistance to stains and reduces wrin#ling.
&erceri'ation
+n this process, textiles 0typically cotton1 are treated with a caustic solution for improving
properties such as fiber strength, shrin#age resistance, luster, and dye affinity. 3igher4end
fabrics may be double or triple mercerized for added benefits. The treatment consists of
dipping the yarn or fibre in a solution of sodium hydroxide and then treating the material
with water or acid to neutralize the sodium hydroxide.
Dyeing
5hile dyeing, large volume of dyestuff, thic#ening agent and small amount of water are
used. )any textile chemicals li#e Dispersing agent, 6eveling agent, ,cid buffer etc are
used during the process. The dyestuff have to be either fermented 0for natural dye1 or
chemically reduced 0 for synthetic vat and sulfur dyes1 before being applied. This ma#es
the dye soluble so that it can be absorbed by the fiber. Direct dyes are water soluble and
can be applied directly to the fiber from an a"ueous solution. )ost other classes of
synthetic dyes, other than vat and sulfur dyes, are also applied in this way.
Printing
Dyeing decorates fabric by imparting colours which can further be enhanced by printing
colour designs on the finished cloths. )any #inds of dyes are used for printing including
vat, reactive, naphthol, disperse and pigment colours among others. These are fixed to the
fiber by means of resins. $ometimes cheap prints are also made with basic colours mixed
with tartar emetic and tannic acid. $il# is usually printed with acid colours. 5ool is
treated with chlorine to ma#e it more receptive to colours and to prevent shrin#ing and is
printed with acid or chrome dyes. abics made of synthetic fibers are generally printed
with disperse and cationic dyes.
Problems in !inishing Processes and their Solutions
+t has been found that 789 of the problems in finishing processes are due to poor
treatment of the fabric. Thus it becomes essential to give emphasis on right #ind of
chemicals and process control parameters right from pretreatment to ultimate dyeing and
printing steps for getting best finished textile.
$ome of the faults due to poor pretreatment can be listed as poor absorbency, catalytic
damage or poor fluidity, stains , )oire effect, shade change from selvedge to selvedge,
shrin#age&distortion, creasing&chafe mar#s, inferior brightness&luster, cloudy dyeing,
s#itteriness, pale areas, dar#spots, ropemar#s etc. )ost of these faults can be easily
corrected with certain precautions li#e use of specialty chemicals, suitable heat setting
temperatures, thorough relaxation of the material, controlled tension and uniformity of
batching during pretreatment and chec#ing for rough patches in the machine.
5hile dyeing, selection of dyes with better dispersion stability, use of efficient
dispersants, controlled heating when the dye exhibits a particularly high rate of
exhaustion, use of anti foamers and special chemicals li#e welting agent or defoamer
combinations etc. can give the best results.