Introduction

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Introduction
What is Textile Finishing?
 Broad definition
 Narrow definition

Challenges in Finishing
 Proper formulation and consideration of parameters
 Compatibility of components
 Stability of emulsions
 Compatibility of primary and secondary effects

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Introduction
Importance of Finishing
 Market share

3
Introduction
 Price and production of finishing products

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Softening

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Softening
Why do we need softening?
 To impart soft hand (supple, pliant, sleek and fluffy)
 Pliability
 Flexibility
 Drape
 Smoothness
 Feeling of added fullness
 To impart antistatic properties
 To improve sewability.
 The hand of a fabric is a subjective sensation felt by the
skin when a textile fabric is touched with the finger tips
and gently compressed.
 The perceived softness of a textile is the combination of
several measurable physical phenomena such as elasticity,
compressibility and smoothness.

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 The fabric becomes very stiff and harsh during
processing due to…………..
 Removal of natural waxes and oil
 Various chemical finishes produce undersirable stiff
hand
 Mechanical finishing processes can also make fabric feel
stiff

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 Almost all apparel and home furnishing textiles are
treated with softeners, because the hand of a textile is
a very important quality for most buyers and users.
 Nearly,everyone who examines a textile automatically
touches it with their fingers to get an impression of the
hand.
 Only a few speciality fabrics do not receive a softener
finish. These include wall coverings, carpeting and
most industrial textiles.

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Softening
Mechanisms of the softening effect
 Mainly by surface softening
 Small molecules of the softener penetrate the fibre and
provide an internal plasticisation of the fibre forming
polymer by reducing of the glass transition
temperature Tg
 Softening depends on orientation of softener
molecules at the surface that further depends on
depends on the ionic nature of the softener molecule
and the relative hydrophobicity of the fibre surface.

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Softening
Mechanisms of the softening effect
 Softeners contain one or two long, hydrophobic
chains, usually C18 hydrocarbon.
 These are attached to a water-soluble polar ‘head’
group to form an amphiphilic, and therefore surface-
active, molecule.
 About one-third of the softeners used in the textile
industry are silicone based.

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Softening
Structure of Softener

Interacting group
Softness imparting group

Classification of Softeners
 On the basis of Ionicity
 Cationic Softeners
 Anionic Softeners
 Amphoteric softeners
 Nonionic softeners

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Softening
 Orientation of cationic and anionic softener on fiber

 Orientation of nonionic softener

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Softening
Chemistry of Softeners
Classification depending upon chemical nature
 Long chain hydrocarbons

 Silicone based

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Softening Long chain hydrocarbons

Long chain hydrocarbons

Classification depending upon their ionicity
 Cationic Softeners
 Anionic Softeners
 Amphoteric softeners
 Nonionic softeners

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Softening Long chain hydrocarbons

Chemistry of Softeners
 Cationic Softeners
 Quaternary ammonium salts
 Amido amine compounds
 Imidazoline

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Softening Long chain hydrocarbons

 Cationic Softeners
 They are the ones which carry positive structure charge.
 They are the most effective softening materials known, imparting the
greatest degree of softening for a given weight; levels of 0.2% actives on
the fibre can give a full soft hand.
 They are substantive to all fibres including glass and particularly
cotton, facilitating simple exhaust application from rinse baths.
 The manufacturing technology is well established and prices are at a
minimum as a result of the economies of scale and competition.
 They provide a highly characteristic handle, which is well-liked – bulky
but not too greasy.
 Reasonably durable to laundering.
 They impart good antistatic and lubricative properties to fibres.
 Many variants are possible by altering the molecular structure or by
formulation.

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Softening Long chain hydrocarbons

Cationic Softeners
 Quaternary ammonium salts
 Distearyl dimethyl ammonium chloride, often referred to as DSDMAC

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Softening Long chain hydrocarbons

Cationic Softeners
 Quaternary ammonium salts
 Distearyl dimethyl ammonium chloride, often referred to as DSDMAC

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Softening Long chain hydrocarbons

Cationic Softeners
 Miscellaneous cationic compounds
 Normally, high softness is required without changing other
properties.
 Softness effect like that of DSDMAC is most wanted
 Properties that could be improved are;
 Lower tendency to cause waterproofing, especially for towelling
applications
 Reduction of the deleterious effects on optical brighteners and
dyestuffs, such as change of shade, reduced fastness and
yellowing
 Reduced toxicity to biological effluent systems and reduced fish
and aquatic toxicity (they are easily removed from waste water by
adsorption and by precipitation with anionic compounds)
 Reduced tendency to cause skin reactions in certain individuals

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Softening Long chain hydrocarbons

Cationic Softeners
 Miscellaneous cationic compounds
 The ester linkage is biodegradable

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Softening Long chain hydrocarbons

Merits and demerits

 Imparts excellent softening properties
 Can improve the washing fastness of direct and reactive dyes
 Impart hydrophobicity
 Not compatible with anionic products (precipitation of insoluble
adducts)
 Attract soil
 Adversely affect the lightfastness of direct and reactive dyes
 Yellowing due to heating or exposure to sunlight
 Formation of azo and azoxy groups

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Softening
 Anionic softeners

 Compatible with dye bath and other finishes

 Antistatic properties, better than cationic softeners
why?
 Good rewetting propertie
 Can easily be washed off
 Can be applied in combination with FBA.

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Softening
Amphoteric Softeners
 Contain anionic (carboxyl) and cationic (amine) groups
within same molecules

 They impart good softness and excellent antistatic effect

 Low permanence to washing
 High antistatic effects (because of their strong ionic
character).

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Softening
Nonionic Softeners
 Do not carry any charge.

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Softening
Nonionic Softeners
 Based on paraffin and polyethylene
 Ethoxylated non-ionic softeners
 Paraffin Waxes
 Petroleum products
 Non polar and insoluble in water
 Impart hydrophobicity

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Softening
 Nonionic Softeners
 Polyethylene
 Synthetic with high melting point
 Hydrophobic in nature but can be chemically modified to
impart hydrophillic character
 Properties can be tailor made
 Available in emulsified form
 Capability to impart softness by high lubrication (reduced
surface friction)
 Does not discolor in sunlight like paraffin wax
 Not durable to dry cleaning
 Stable to extreme pH conditions and heat at normal textile
processing conditions
 Reasonably priced and compatible with most textile
chemicals.

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Softening
Nonionic Softeners
 Ethoxylated compounds
 These polyglycol ethers are synthesised by the addition
of ethylene oxide to fatty alcohols, carboxylic acids,
esters, amides or amines
 They are surfactants and often used as antistatic agents
and as components of fibre spin finishes.
 Their main characteristics are;
 Relatively high substantivity and hydrophilicity
 Nonyellowing
 Sometimes a low softening effect and lubricity
 A potential for foaming during processing

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Softening
Nonionic Softeners
 Ethoxylated compounds
 Basic Reaction:

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Softening
Reactive Softeners
 Contains N-methylol groups

 Impart permanant softening effect resistant to

washing
 Needs curing after application
 Impart hydrophobicity
 The hydrophobicity is more than all ionic and
nonionic softeners. Why???

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Softening
Silicone Softeners
 Silicone softener contains Polydimethylsiloxanes
(PDMS)

 PDMS impart excellent softness to textile, much better

than all other softeners. Why?

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Softening
Silicone Softeners
 Silicone softeners impart better softness due to
following reasons:
 Highly flexible backbone: 0kJ/mole bond rotational
energy (Si-O). While 12kJ/mole for C-C*
 Low surface energy (21mN/m), low affinity for organic
species. Hence, prevent fiber to fiber adhesion.
 Low Tg. Film remains flexible between -90°C to +200°C
 The film is permeable to oxygen and nitrogen. Good for
human comfort.
 Highly surface active: Excellent spreading and film
forming properties.

*http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/RotationAboutCarbonCarbonBonds/ 31
Softening
Silicone Softeners
 Type of Silicone softeners on the basis of chemistry
 PDMS
 Reactive PDMS
 Aminofunctional PDMS
 Hydrophilic PDMS

Types according to the particle size

1) Macro silicones
2) Micro silicones
3) Nano-silicones

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Softening
Silicone Softeners
 PDMS

 They are used in combination with easy care finish to

improve the tear strength
 To increase the shade depth particularly for polyester (?)

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Softening
Silicone Softeners
 Reactive PDMS

 Form crosslinked network rubber like structure with

excellent elastic properties
 Good for knitwear because it imparts dimensional
stability as well
 Impart permanent softness for synthetic fibers
 On cotton, permanancy is satisfactory, but reduces on
repetitive washing due to swelling
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Softening
Silicone Softeners
 Reactive PDMS

 Expoxy reacts with hydroxyl groups of cellulose and

impart permanant softness durable to repetitive washing

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Softening
Silicone Softeners
 Aminofunctional silicone softeners
 Impart supersoftening and best in all silicone softeners.
 In the case of cellulose, wool, silk and polyamide fibres, there are
strong hydrogen bonds between the hydroxyl or amino groups of
the fibres and the amino groups of the modified silicones.
 These bonds act as an anchor for the silicone, which forms an evenly
distributed film on the fibre surface
 In the case of relatively non-polar fibres such as polyester, the
hydrophobic segments of the silicone chains interact strongly with
the hydrophobic fibre surface.

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Softening
Silicone Softeners
 Hydrophilic PDMS

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Softening
Silicone Softeners
 Cationic silicone softener

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Softening
Silicone softeners
 Emulsions
 Silicone softeners are available as oil in water emulsions.

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Softening
Silicone softeners
 Effect of emulsion type on softness of fabric

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Softening
 Properties of macro and microemulsions

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Softening
Silicone Softeners
 They provide very high softness, special unique hand,
high lubricity, good sewability, elastic resilience, crease
recovery, abrasion resistance and tear strength.
 They show good temperature stability and durability,
with a high degree of permanence for those products
that form crosslinked films
 Able to provide a range of properties from
hydrophobic to hydrophilic.

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Softening
 Summary of softeners’ properties

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Softening
Compatibility and Combinability
 Non-ionic softeners have the best compatibility with
other finishing compounds.

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Environmental Aspects of Chemical
Softeners
 Chemical soft finishes are difficult to categorise in terms of environmental behaviour
because of the great diversity in chemical types used
 In recent years, numerous additions and changes to the laws and guidelines regulating
the disposal of material into the environment have been published
 Many softening materials are benign – for example, hydrocarbon waxes, fatty esters and
sorbitan ethoxylates.
 Unfortunately, many softeners are based on nitrogen compounds that have a higher
tendency to be physiologically active
 Certain starting materials used by softener manufacturers carry the greatest risks e.g.
Alkylamines (volatile and foul smelling etc).
 Any manufacturer using such materials should be well aware of the appropriate
regulations
 Once these raw materials have been converted to soft finishes the dangers are largely
depleted.

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 The amine salts are surface-active and have the usual risks of foaming and
increasing the BOD and COD of the effluent.
 The quaternary ammonium compounds, however, have a degree of fish
toxicity and retard biological effluent treating systems. It should be pointed
out that only low concentrations of free softeners actually reach the
effluent system and have not caused adverse effects over many years of
use.
 Silicone softeners :no known ill effects because of inertness and low
physiological activity.
 However, according to ZDHC the following are banned.
 2-(2-Aminoethylamino)ethanol (AEEA) containing fabric softeners.
 Cyclic siloxane can be present as contaminants in the formulations that
contain silicone, such as softeners.
 Following are the cyclic siloxane that are banned.
 Octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane
 Decamethylcyclopentasiloxane
 Dodecamethylcyclohexasiloxane

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Troubleshooting for Softening
Finishes
 Microemulsions of softeners, mainly amino-modified
silicones, give special softening effects.
 Their main advantage is high emulsion stability.
 This is important for applications with high shear, as
in jet or package dyeing machines.
 Emulsions that do not have excellent shear stability
can actually breakdown and deposit softener particles
on equipment and fabric that are either very difficult
or impossible to remove.

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 Softeners and thermomigration of dyes: Many hydrophobic
softeners are solvents for disperse dyes. Therefore they
increase thermomigration of the dyes and the staining of
adjacent yarns (bleeding). The crockfastness and washfastness
of the fabric decrease as the dyes migrate to the fibre surface.
Volatility: Some softeners are volatile or contain volatile
components. During drying, heatsetting or curing these volatile
components can condense on cooler areas of the ovens and
then drop back onto the fabric, causing spots. Heating the top
of the ovens can help prevent this problem.
Yellowing: This problem arises especially with undyed fabrics.
It can be caused by the oxidation of cationic softeners or
amino-modified silicones and anionic fluorescent brighteners
(extinguishing the fluorescence by salt formation). Dispersing
agents and product selection are then helpful

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 Mechanical softening: Softening effects can be
gained on some fabrics without chemicals, only by
mechanical treatment
 Degree of softness is normally increased in the
following order: going from mechanical treatments to
fabric construction (for example with micro fibres) to
chemical softening, in other words chemical softening
has the greatest effect.

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 Deeper colour, darker black: Finishes with silicone softeners
or elastomerics generate deeper colour impressions, similar to
wet textiles. Why?

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 Removing softener marks?

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Hand building

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Hand Building
One of the oldest finish.
What is hand building?
 The process of imparting firmness to textiles is called
hand building.

Why do we need hand building?

 To improve the weight of the fabric
 To improve the processsability (if fabric is flimsy,
raggy)

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Hand Building
Types of hand builders
 Fullness imparting agents (feeling of increased bulk or
weight)
 Stiffening agents (that imparts resistance to bending)

Mechanism of hand building

 Filling of interfiber spaces (causing fullness)
 Filling of interyarn spaces (causing fullness)
 Attachment of fibers (causing stiffness)
 Attachment of yarns (causing stiffness)
 Role of glass transition Temperature Tg

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Hand Building
Examples of textiles with hand builders
 Cotton dresses for summer
 Fabrics for internal suit lining (low ends and picks)
 Mattress duck, tapestry, awning
 Window blinds
 Carpet backings
 Denim, workwear
 Industrial uniform such jeans, overalls, apron and lab
coats

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Hand Building
Chemistry of hand builders
 Hand builders are of two types
 Non durable
 Durable

Non Durable hand builders

 The effect is lost after one or two launderings
 Mainly used compounds are starch derivatives and
polyvinyl alcohols

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Hand Building
Non durable Hand builders
 Starch (2 main components)

Amylose
Amylopectin

 Polyvinyl alcohol

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Hand Building
Non durable Hand builders
 PVA is made by the incomplete hydrolysis of
polyvinyl acetate and several grades with varying
degrees of hydrolysis are available.
Improving durability…
 Incorporating N-methylol crosslinking agents into
PVA and starch formulations can increase the
laundering durability of their hand building
effects.
 In addition to their use as hand builders, starch
and polyvinyl alcohol are important warp sizes.

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Hand Building
Durable Hand Builders
 The fabrics retain their stiffening and fullness effects
after repeated launderings
 Durable hand builder are aqueous emulsions of
polymers.
 Three types are;
 Vinyl acetate containing polymers
 Acrylic copolymers
 Thermosetting polymers
 These materials form insoluble film on fibers

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Hand Building
Durable Hand Builders
 Vinyl acetate containing polymers

Polyvinyl acetate Polyethylene Ethylene-vinyl acetate coplymer (EVA)

Tg = 30 °C Tg = -70 °C Tg = ????

Tg < -20 °C
Polyvinyl methyl ether (PVME)
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Hand Building
Durable Hand Builders
 Acrylic coplymers

• The properties depends on R and R’

• If R = H, the polymer will be tacky and soft (acrylate)

(Low Tg)

• If R = CH3, the polymer will be hard and brittle

(methacrylate) (High Tg)
• Acrylic emulsions are also used as print paste binders.
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Hand Building
Durable Hand Builders

Acrylic coplymers
The alcohol chain length R’ effects the Tg

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Hand Building
Problems
 Increased soiling and staining of the finished fabrics
 Increased fabric flammability
 Mark-off, a special finishing fault that exists when
fabrics show chalk-like marks when scratched.

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Easy-care finishing

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65
Defining ‘easy-care’
A ‘wish list’ for the easy-care finisher might be as follows:
(1) high ‘durable press’ rating, high dry and wet crease recovery
angles
(2) minimal shrinkage, abrasion loss, tensile/tear strength loss
(3) little effect on shade and fastness of dyed fabrics or yellowing
of whites
(4) good absorbency
(5) low or zero formaldehyde levels
(6) good pilling resistance
(7) desirable handle

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Easy-care finishing
Commonly used terms for easy
 Minimum care, easy-to-iron, no-iron, wash and wear,
crease resistant, durable press, permanent press,
shrink proof, wrinkle resistant and wrinkle free

Cellulose
 The degree of polymerization depends on origin of
fiber
 3000 for cotton and 270-300 for viscose
 Amorphous regions: 30% for cotton and 70% for
viscose rayon

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Easy-care finishing
Mechanism of creasing
 The cellulose chain contains -OH groups in both
amorphous and crystalline regions.
 The breakage of hydrogen bonds in the amorphous
regions when a cotton fabric is folded and pressed
 Formation of new hydrogen bonds in the amorphous
region causes the formation of creases
 On wetting, the fibers swell which causes the
movement of chains in amorphous regions. The fiber
tends to shrink and creasing takes place.
 As the fibres swell, the fabric must crease and shrink to
relieve the internal stresses caused by the swelling

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Easy-care finishing
Mechanisms of easy-care
 Two approaches are used
 Old approach: incorporation of a polymerised finish in
the pores of the fibres, so that water molecules cannot
easily penetrate the fibre
 Newer approach: the reaction of multifunctional
crosslinking agents with the hydroxyl groups of adjacent
cellulose molecules that hinder the swelling of the
cellulose fibre

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Easy-care finishing
Chemistry of easy-care
 Formaldehyde-containing products
 Urea–formaldehyde
 Melamine–formaldehyde
 Dimethyloldihydroxyethylene urea (DMDHEU)

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Easy-care finishing
Urea–formaldehyde
 Formed by the reaction of urea and formaldehyde

 Synthesised from water solutions of urea and formaldehyde

at pH 7.5–9

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Easy-care finishing
Urea–formaldehyde
The main properties of U/F
 DMU is highly reactive; finish baths have to be used in
a few hours
 Low stability to hydrolysis, low durability to
laundering
 High chlorine retention
 High content and release of formaldehyde

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Easy-care finishing
Melamine–formaldehyde
 Formed by the reaction of formaldehyde and
melamine

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Easy-care finishing
Melamine–formaldehyde
 Methylol melamine is very unstable
 Modified with methanol to make it stable

 The presence of 6 functional groups leads to extensive

crosslinking.

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Easy-care finishing
Melamine–formaldehyde
 The main properties of M/F
 Better stability to hydrolysis and better washing
durability than U/F products
 Relatively high formaldehyde content and release
 Fewer problems with chlorine retention than U/F
products
 More dimensional stability and stiffness

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Easy-care finishing
Dimethyloldihydroxyethylene urea (DMDHEU)
 90 % of the easy-care and durable press finish
products are based on DMDHEU

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Easy-care finishing
Dimethyloldihydroxyethylene urea (DMDHEU)
 It is less reactive than DMU and TMM
 The reactivity of DMDHEU can be further reduced by
reaction with methanol and diethylene glycol.
 These alcohols are also formaldehyde scavengers by
forming acetal.
 A typical DMDHEU commercial product is made from
about 45 % DMDHEU, 9 % diethylene glycol and 2 %
methanol.

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Easy-care finishing
Dimethyloldihydroxyethylene urea (DMDHEU)
The main properties:
 Low to very low reactivity (when ether modified)
 Excellent durability to laundering
 Low chlorine retention.
 Medium to very low formaldehyde release
 The most commonly used durable press products.

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Easy-care finishing
Dimethyloldihydroxyethylene urea (DMDHEU)
 Effect of alcohol on Formaldehyde release

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Easy-care finishing
Acceptable Limits of Formaldehyde in Clothing
 Infants under 2 years of age < 30ppm (30mg/kg);
 Adults and children with sensitive skin < 30ppm
 Adult clothing in direct contact with skin< 100ppm
 For clothing and textiles not in direct contact with
skin: no greater than 300ppm

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Easy-care finishing
Non-Formaldehyde containing products
 Dimethyldihydroxyethylene urea (DMeDHEU)

 Can be further modified by reacting it with alcohol to

make its ether derivatives.

 Other names, DMUG (dimethylurea glyoxalate) or

DHDMI, derived from the name dihydroxy dimethyl-
2-imidazolidinone.
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Easy-care finishing
Dimethyldihydroxyethylene urea (DMeDHEU)
 It reacts with cellulose to make crosslinks

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 The two hydroxyl groups in the 4,5-position of DMeDHEU
are less reactive than the N,N'-methylol groups of
DMDHEU.
 Stronger catalysts or harsher reaction conditions are
needed for successful crosslinking.
 DMeDHEU costs about twice as much as DMDHEU.
 To achieve comparable easy-care and durable press effects
to DMDHEU, nearly twice the amount of DMeDHEU is
needed.
 This poor cost performance ratio is one reason for the
relatively small market penetration by this formaldehyde-
free finish.
 Another reason is that a completely formaldehyde-free
finish is not as commercially important since the advent of
the ultra low formaldehyde products.
 1:1 mixture of DMDHEU and DMeDHEU can be used.

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The main properties of DMeDHEU products
are:
 Formaldehyde free
 Very low reactivity
 Very low chlorine retention
 Limited durability to laundering
 Yellowing effect when not ether modified
 Price/effect ratio nearly 4:1 compared with
DMDHEU
 Development of unpleasant odours
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Easy-care finishing
Polycarboxylic acids
 For example, Butanetetracarboxylic acid (BTCA)
 1,2,3,4-Butanetetracarboxylic acid (BTCA)
 Formaldehyde-free crease resistant finish.
 good crease recovery
 Limited laundering durability owing to hydrolysis of the
ester bonds to cellulose.
 These polycarboxylic acids are relatively expensive,
comparable in cost to DMeDHEU.
 The reactions of these acids with cellulose require large
amounts of sodium hypophosphite as a catalyst.
 Not only is sodium hypophosphite expensive, but it is also a
reducing agent that discolours certain dyestuffs, especially
some reactive and sulfur dyes.

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86
Easy-care finishing
 Easy-care mechanism polycarboxylic acid

 Good crease recovery but very poor laundring fastness

87
Easy-care finishing
 Polycarboxylic acids
 They requires high amount of sodium hydrosulphite
for crosslinking which is very expensive
 Sodium hydrosulphite is reducing agent: it degrades
the dye.
 Recently, polyacrylic acid-based products, for example
maleic acid anhydride copolymers have been
introduced that provide similar properties to BTCA
finishes but at a more economical price

88
 Poly carboxylic acids are good alternative for DMDHEU and
other formaldehyde cross-linkers.
 Most commonly reported carboxylic acids are
 Maleic acid
 Itaconic acid (methylidenesuccinic acid)
 Citric acid
 Butane tetra carboxylic acid (BTCA)
 However, di carboxylic acids like maleic acid and itaconic acid
are less effective than BTCA.
 BTCA is too expensive
 Citric acid is good cross-linker but exhibit yellowing.
 Significant research is currently being carried out to enhance
the performance of the carboxylic acid and couple of products
are sold as modification of carboxylic acid but its technology is
kept secret.

89
Novel cellulosic crosslinking agents
 Novel cellulosic crosslinking agents with interesting
properties are gained by molecular incorporation of
the phosphorus catalyst in the BTCA structure.
 These formaldehyde-free phosphono- and
phosphinocarboxylic acids (APCM, modified
polycarboxylic acids) show good crosslinking
properties with minimal strength losses, no shade
changes and good durability for up to 20 washing
cycles.
 The APCM products are liquid, water soluble and
neither toxic nor skin irritating.

90
Effects of the Easy-Care Finish
Positive effects
 Reduction in swelling and shrinkage
 Improved wet and dry wrinkle recovery
 Smoothness of appearance after drying
 Retention of intentional creases and pleats.
 The total crease recovery angle (CRA), that is the sum
of the crease recovery angles of the warp and the fill
directions of the fabric, increases from about 150° to
about 300°.

91
92
Effects of the easy-care finish
 Negative effects
 Reduction in the elasticity and flexibility of the
cellulose fibres.
 Decrease in abrasion resistance and tear and tensile
strengths on natural cellulose fibers. why?
 The dry tear strength of regenerated cellulose fibres
decreases only slightly with a crosslinking finish, but
the wet tear strength actually increases. Why?

93
Possibilities for remedy
 General disadvantages:
 Loss of abrasion, tear and ripping Wet condensation
strength
 Remedy:
 Wet condensation
 liquid ammonia treatment
 Addition of silicones and other auxiliaries for example
polyvinyl acetate, polyurethane

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Problem: Hard handle
Remedy: Combination with softeners
Problem: Greying during washing
Remedy: Combination with soil-release finishes
Problem: Less dilatable and elastic
Remedy: Combination with silicones, for example
elastomerics
Problem: Release of larger amounts of formaldehyde
Remedy: Formaldehyde-free or low formaldehyde
formaldehyde finishes, selection of products and
condensation conditions (better than formaldehyde
scavengers and cheaper than washing with new drying)

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Problem: Reduction of light fastness and shade changes of
coloured fabrics (because of acidic pH, metal catalyst, high
temperature and longer curing time)
Remedy: Selection of products as dyestuffs, crosslinkers,
catalysts
Problem: Yellowing, especially when not dyed and/or
fluorescent brightened
Remedy: Selection of catalysts, fluorescent brighteners and
application conditions
Problem: Objectionable odours, sometimes fish smell
Remedy: Selection of catalysts (no ammonium products),
crosslinkers, if necessary
washing
Problem: Chlorine retention, causing marked yellowing and
strength loss
Remedy: Selection of crosslinking agents, use of chlorine
free washing products

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Other problems
 Residual alkali will deactivate the catalyst.
 Non-uniform wetting will cause uneven finish pickup and result in unlevel
finish effects.
 Since the durable press effect depends on chemical reactions taking place in
the fibre during curing, all parameters that may affect the reaction
(concentrations of all finish components, temperature and time of curing)
must be carefully controlled.
 Excessive curing leads to increased losses of strength and abrasion
resistance.
 Formaldehyde scavengers such as urea, ethylene urea and diethylene glycol
can be added to durable press finish baths to lower the formaldehyde levels
of the final fabric even further.
 The disadvantages of this approach include lower durable press
performance, higher chlorine retention and lower light fastness. The
durability of the easy-care and durable press finishes to repeated launderings
decreases from DMDHEU over TMM to DMU products.

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Catalysts for easy-care and durable
press finishes
 The reaction of N-methylol reactants such as
DMDHEU with cellulose requires an acid catalyst for
acceptable yields under conditions suitable for textile
processing,
 for example, 150 °C to 170 °C for 0.5 to 3 min
 pH = 4 to 5
 Acetic acid is used to maintain pH.
 The most common catalysts are Lewis acid salts such
as magnesium chloride and zinc nitrate.

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Application method
 pad–dry–cure procedure
 ‘pre-cure’ finish
 ‘postcure’ finish or ‘delay cure’ finish
 Application on stenter
 Spray method
 Tumble method

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Environmental Aspects
 Formaldehyde based cross-linkers are the cheapest and
DMDHEU is one of the best, however, formaldehyde is
toxic, irritant and most dangerously it has been classified
as confirmed human carcinogenic by the WHO
International Agency for Research on Cancer.
 Therefore, formaldehyde has already been completely
banned in certain countries and others have put strict
limits on its usage and release.
 Significant modification of DMDHEU is needed to pass the
current allowed formaldehyde limits which make the
product more expensive.
 The fact that formaldehyde release can be increased during
storage and transportation of fabric in humid conditions as
well as after washing. Therefore, formaldehyde free cross-
linkers are gaining significant importance
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Environmental Aspects
 Disposal of the remainders of finish baths should be
done in compliance with local regulations.
 Some catalysts used with these finishes contain zinc or
other metals whose presence in waste water may be
restricted.

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