Bapuji Institute of Engineering &

Technology
DAVANGERE-577004, KARNATAKA

A TECHNICAL PRESENTATION ON

COLORATION OF CELLULOSIC MATERIAL

SALT-FREE DYEING OF MODAL/COTTON

BLENDS
WITH
REACTIVE DYES
By
Jaibasker . B

Introduction To Salt-Free
Dyeing
Cotton is still the king of fibers because most of
worlds apparel is made of cotton. It has fairly good strength
and it is considered to provide comfort, good moisture
absorption and wicking properties. Cotton fabrics however,
have a tendency to wrinkle badly and have smooth drying
properties after laundering. The rupture and reformation of
hydrogen bonds cause wrinkles on cotton or cotton blend
fabrics.
With growing popularity of reactive dyes for dyeing of
modal /cotton blends environmental problems associated
with their use have received attention. Since cotton has only
moderate affinity for most reactive dyes, large quantity of
electrolyte such as NaCl or Na2So4 (40-100 gpl) are normally
required for exhaustion. Hence dye bath exhaustion and
fixation can still be as low as 50% for some dyes. Waste
water therefore contains a significant quantity of dye and
salt, leading to serious environmental problems.
The aim of present work was to determine the effectiveness
of PVAmHCl as pretreatment for cotton in improving its
dyeability with reactive dyes and in achieving evenness of
dye uptake. It was also of interest to determine wheather it

Fibres & Dyes

Fibre

Dye Class having

affinity

Cellulosic: Cotton, Jute,

rayon, lyocell, modal,
etc.

Direct, vat, solubilised

vat and sulphur,
reactive, aniline dye.

Protein/ Polyamide: Wool, Direct, acid, metal

silk, nylons
complex and basic,
reactive.
Polyester

Disperse

Cationic-dyeable

Cationic

Polyester

Disperse

Acrylic

Disperse

Materials
The fabric:

The modal/cotton yarns were spun & the fabric was woven. The geometrical properties of the fabric are
shown in table.

Fabric

Ends/c
m

Picks/c
m

Gm/m Warp Count

2
(Tex)

Weft Count
(Tex)

Thickness
(mm)

Cotton

27

27

130

20

0.20

20

The dye & chemicals:

The details of the dye and the chemicals used are

shown in table.
Sl No.

Dye and Chemicals

Functions

CI Reactive Red 2 (Generic name)

Reactive brilliant Red x-3B (Commercial
name)

Dyeing

Polyvinylamine Chloride (PVAmHCl)

Pretreatment

Potassium di hydrogen Phosphate

(KH2PO4)

To maintain pH

Sodium Carbonate (Na2CO3)

Fixing agent

Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH)

Swelling agent

Sodium Chloride (NaCl)

Exhaustion agent

Methods
Preparation of Fabric:

The fabric sample was desized by using

acid desizing method.
The fabric was scoured by alkali method
using standard procedure.
Then it was subjected to bleaching
process using hydrogen peroxide as
bleaching agent.
The fabirc was given to mercerization
treatment to improve lusture by using
25% caustic soda.

Pretreatment
Padding method was used for
pretreatment of cotton with
PVAmHCl the pH of
pretreatment liquor was
maintained at buffer
comprising potassium
dihydrogen phosphate (7
gpl) and Sodium Hydroxide
(1.39 gpl). Padding was
carried out using 2 dips (3
min for each) and 2 nips.
Fabric samples were pre
dried at room temperature
and then baked at 100oC for
10 min in rapid baker.
Padding was done at
different concentration of
PVAmHCl. Pretreatment
process conditions are as
shown in table.

PVAmHCl

3.0, 5.0, 10, 15,

20

KH2PO4

7 gpl

NaOH

1.39 gpl

pH

Pretreatment
time

3 min (2dips)
for each

Curing
100OC
Temperature
Curing Time

10 min

Dyeing
The fabric dyed with
reactive dye using
procedure recommended
by dye manufacturer.
This fabric sample is
considered as control
sample. Exhaust dyeing
was carried out at liquor
ratio 1:30. Dyeing of
fabric pretreated with
different concentrations
of PVAmHCl was carried
out at 35-400 C for 90
min. Fixation was
conducted for 20 min.
using 10 gpl of Na2CO3.
Process conditions for
dyeing are shown in table

Percentage Dye
(OWF) %

Dyeing
Temperature

35-400C

Na2CO3

10 gpl

NaCl

20 gpl
(Only for
conventional
dyeing)

pH

10-11

Time of Dyeing

90 min

Fixation time

20 min.

Testing
The details of various tests
conducted on the fabric were as
follows.
Colour strength (K/S Value):
Color strength K/S was measured
on Minolta Spectrophotometer.
These values are calculated
using the following KUBELKAMUNK equation.
K/S = (1-R )2/2R
Where K- Absorption co-efficient
R- Reflectance of the dyed
S Scattering co-efficient at the
wavelength of maximum
absorption.
Physical properties: The physical
properties of the dyed fabric
samples and the instruments
used are shown in table

Sl.No
.

Property

Instrument used

1.

Thickness

Thickness guage.

2.

Wash
fastnes
s

Wash fastness tester

(Lander o- meter)

3.

Rubbing
fastnes
s

Crockmeter.

4.

Tensile
strengt
h

Eureka tensile strength

tester

5.

Flexural
rigidity

Shirley stiffness tester.

6.

Crease
recover
y angle

Eureka Crease recovery

angle tester

7.

Aerial
Density

Quadrant balance

Effect Of Pretreatment On K/S

Value
Results of K/S value is
presented in table. From the
table following observations
can be made.
K/S value an untreated
sample is comparatively
lower than the K/S value of
samples treated with 5 & 10
% concentration of
Polyvinylamine Chloride.
K/S value is found to be less
than conventional method
when 2.5% Polyvinylamine
Chloride was used.
Maximum K/S value found at
10% Polyvinylamine Chloride.
As the concentration of
Polyvinylamine Chloride
increases above 10% K/S
value found to be decreasing.

PVAmHCl
concentration
(g/l)

K/S Value

2.5

12.3

5.0

15.1

10.0

18.8

15.0

16.1

20.0

12.5

Conventional

13.7

Untreated & no salt

8.3

Effect of pretreatment on
wash and rubbing fastness
properties
Results of wash and
rubbing fastness are
presented in table.

PVAmHCl
concentration
(g/l)

Wash
fastn
ess

Rubbing
fastnes
s

2.5

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

Conventional

3-4

3-4

Untreated & No
salt

Effect of pretreatment on physical

properties
Sample

Tensile Strength
(Kgs)
(Warp+Weft)

Flexural Rigidity
(mg-cm)

Cloth Crease
Recovery angle
in

Aerial
densit
y
(GSM)

Thickness
(mm)

Sample dyed with

conventional
process

60

210

140

220

0.68

Treated Sample
(10 gpl
concentration
of PVAmHCl)

58

216

165

200

0.56

From the table following observations can be made:

1. Tensile strength of conventional dyed fabric and pretreated
samples is found to be almost same.
2. There is increase in crease recovery angle of fabric when
treated with PVAmHCl.
3. Flexural rigidity of sample increases as a result of pretreatment.

Effect of pretreatment on physical

properties
Sample

Tensile
Strength (Kgs)
(Warp+Weft)

Flexural
Rigidity
(mg-cm)

Cloth Crease
Recovery angle
in degree

Aerial
density
(GSM)

Thickness
(mm)

Sample dyed
with
conventional
process

60

210

140

220

0.68

Treated Sample
(10 gpl
concentration of
PVAmHCl)

58

216

165

200

0.56

From the table following observations can be made:

1. Tensile strength of conventional dyed fabric and
pretreated samples is found to be almost same.
2. There is increase in crease recovery angle of
fabric when treated with PVAmHCl.
3. Flexural rigidity of sample increases as a result of
pretreatment.

Conclusion
When the modal/cotton blend fabrics were pretreated with
PVAmHCl the reactivity of reactive dyes on fibre gets
increased. Wash fastness, rubbing fastness of pretreated
sample are better than conventional dyed sample. Fabric
crease recovery and flexural rigidity increases as a result
of pretreatment. There is no change in the tensile
strength of fabric as a result of pretreatment.
By using pretreatment method the following the following
benefits can be obtained.
Elimination of salt as an electrolyte
Maximum fixation of dye
Minimum hydrolysis of dye
Low volume of water requirement during wash off
process
Significant saving in process cost
Environmental friendly

Reference
1. Wei Ma, Shufen Zhang, Bingtao Tang
and Jinzong Yang, Color.
Technol.,121(2005)193.
2. R S Blackburn and S M Burkinshaw , j.
appl. Polym. Sci., 89(2003)1026.
3. Z Y Hu, S F Zhang, J Z Yang and C Yu,
J. Appl. Polym.sci., 89(2003)1026.
4. D J Dawson, K M Otteson and P C
Wang, Macromolecules, 11(1978)320.