Attività

An Introduction to Textile Processing Auxiliaries

Although auxiliaries have been a key component of immersion dyeing processes for many years the precise mode of action of many auxiliaries has not been fully resolved. This part of the paper discusses the various types of auxiliary available and the nature of the assistance they provide in immersion dyeing processes, together with both environmental and financial aspects associated with their use, as well as a discussion of the relationship between liquor ratio and the use of auxiliaries in immersion dyeing.

The purpose of functional additives is to facilitate a textile process and/or increase its efficiency. They serve as sizing materials, lubricants, wetting agents, emulsifiers, agents accelerating or decelerating the dyeing rate, thickeners, binders, etc. often with considerable overlap in the functions and abilities of a specific chemical. Compounds used encompass many different chemical classes, some of which are affected by enzymes and thus can be regarded as substrates, and some of which remain unaffected. Owing to environment and economical concerns, pre-treatment auxiliaries are used as sparingly as possible.

Once the respective process is terminated they are to be removed completely from the treated material; however, traces could still be present and interfere negatively with subsequent processing steps.

Sizing compounds and lubricants are applied to yarns before fabric formation to protect the integrity of the yarns. While increasingly faster weaving processes demand more enduring sizes, acrylic-based compounds, natural sizes that can be decomposed are still on the market.