Classifications

• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • D06M—TREATMENT, NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE IN CLASS D06, OF FIBRES, THREADS, YARNS, FABRICS, FEATHERS OR FIBROUS GOODS MADE FROM SUCH MATERIALS
  • D06M15/00—Treating fibres, threads, yarns, fabrics, or fibrous goods made from such materials, with macromolecular compounds; Such treatment combined with mechanical treatment
  • D06M15/19—Treating fibres, threads, yarns, fabrics, or fibrous goods made from such materials, with macromolecular compounds; Such treatment combined with mechanical treatment with synthetic macromolecular compounds
  • D06M15/37—Macromolecular compounds obtained otherwise than by reactions only involving carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds
  • D06M15/39—Aldehyde resins; Ketone resins; Polyacetals
  • D06M15/423—Amino-aldehyde resins
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10S8/00—Bleaching and dyeing; fluid treatment and chemical modification of textiles and fibers
  • Y10S8/04—Polyester fibers
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10S8/00—Bleaching and dyeing; fluid treatment and chemical modification of textiles and fibers
  • Y10S8/09—Polyolefin
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10S8/00—Bleaching and dyeing; fluid treatment and chemical modification of textiles and fibers
  • Y10S8/10—Polyvinyl halide esters or alcohol fiber modification
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10S8/00—Bleaching and dyeing; fluid treatment and chemical modification of textiles and fibers
  • Y10S8/21—Nylon

Definitions

• ABSTRACT fiber Primary Examiner-George F; Lesmes Assistant Examiner-J. Cannon Attorney, Agent, or FirmBurns, Doane, Swecker Mathis [57] ABSTRACT fiber.
• the thus-exposed fabric is thereafter postheated in an inert gaseous atmosphere also in the absence of a catalyst to further polymerize and cross-link the fabric.
• US. Pat. No. 3,653,805 discloses impregnating the cellulosic material with a formaldehydereactive compound, such as urea and then contacting the impregnated fabric with formaldehyde vapors to form an insoluble reaction product on the fabric in the to a gaseous catalyst and cured to give a durable press product.
• a formaldehydereactive compound such as urea
• a primary object of the present invention is to provide a noncatalytic durable press process for treating fiber-containing cellulosic materials which process substantially prevents or alleviates the problems mentioned above.
• a more specific object is to provide a non-catalytic process which imparts an improved balance of durable press and physical properties to cellulosic materials.
• Another specific object is to provide a non-catalytic durable press process for use with cellulosic materials which produces improved wrinkle resistance and smooth drying characteristics, keeps any loss of tensile strength and abrasion resistance to a minimum, and requires relatively short processing time.
• a noncatalytic process for improving the dimensional stability, wrinkle resistance, smooth-drying characteristics and total shape retentivity of a cellulosic fiber-containing fabric which comprises: (a) applying to the cellulosic fiber-containing fabric a catalyst-free aqueous solution of a monomeric compound which has at least one active hydrogen and reacts with formaldehyde; (b) exposing the impregnated fabric to an atmosphere containing formaldehyde vapors in the absence of a catalyst'until a creaseproofing amount of an at least partially polymerized condensate of the monomeric compound and formaldehyde in substantially water-insoluble form is affixed on said fabric without effecting any substantial amount of cross-linking with the cellulosic fiber; and (c) post-heating said fabric in an inertgaseous atmosphere in the absence of a catalyst at a temperature of from about C. to about C. for from about 1 to about'20 minutes to further polymerize
• the essence of the present invention is the discovery that by post-heating in the absence of a catalyst or formaldehyde a fabric which has been impregnated with a catalyst-free aqueous solution of a monomeric compound which has at least one active hydrogen and reacts with formaldehyde, such as urea, and then exposed to formaldehyde vapors (again in the absence of a catalyst), a substantially improved wrinkle' resistance and a significantly reduced overall processing time are achieved with only minimal degradation of physical properties.
• a catalyst must be padded onto the fabric, either throughvan aqueous padding bathor by vapor padding, in order to achieve acceptable durable press properties and processing times.
• the present invention has achieved these goals without adding these catalysts to the system, thus avoiding sacrificing of significant losses in physical properties of the material.
• the present invention is useful for treating various natural or artificial cellulosic fibers alone or in mixtures with each other in various proportions or as mixtures with other fibers.
• natural cellulosic fibers useful herein include, for example, cotton, linen, flax, hemp and jute.
• Useful regenerated or artificial cellulosic fibers include viscose rayon and cuprarnmonium rayon.
• Fibers which may be used in blends with one or more of the above-mentioned cellulosic fibers are, for example, cellulose acetate, polyamides, polyesters, polyacrylonitrile, polyolefins, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidine chloride and polyvinyl alcohol fibers.
• uch blends preferably include at least about 15 percent by weight and most preferably at least about 35 percent by weight of cotton or other cellulosic fibers.
• a fabric may be knit, woven or non-woven, or be any otherwise constructed fabric.
• the fabric may be flat,
• the cotton or cellulose-containing fabric is impregnated with a catalyst-free aqueous solution containing a monomeric compound which has at least one active hydrogen and reacts with formaldehyde, e.g., a compound of the amide type.
• Suitable amide-type, reactive with formaldehyde compounds are typically water-soluble and include various ureas such as urea, butyl urea, ethylene urea, cyclic propylene urea, allyl urea, cyclic dihydroxyethylene urea, cyanuramide (melamine), thiourea as well as formamide, acetamide, maloamide, acrylamide, the lower.
• various ureas such as urea, butyl urea, ethylene urea, cyclic propylene urea, allyl urea, cyclic dihydroxyethylene urea, cyanuramide (melamine), thiourea as well as formamide, acetamide, maloamide, acrylamide, the lower.
• alkyl e.g., C C or hydroxyalkyl carbamates, such as ethyl carbamate and-hydroxyl ethyl carbamate, aryl sulfonamides, such as benzene-sulfonamide or p-benzene-disulfonamide, the lower (e.g., C C alkyl sulfonamides or bis-sulfonamides such as methane-, ethane-, n-butaneor isobutane-sulfonamide, methylene-bis-methane-sulfonamide, ethylene-bismethane-sulfonamide, l,3-propane-bis-methane sulfonamide and so on.
• Urea and ethyleneurea are preferred.
• the amide compound is preferably applied in an aqueous solution which may have a pH of from about 4 to 12.
• the aqueous solution will have an alkaline pH.
• the pH will be between above about 7 and less than about ll, preferably between about 8 cent, preferably'from about 3 to about 20percent, most preferably from about to about 15, percent of theamide.
• Pretreatment of the fabric prior to the exposure to the formaldehyde vapors, with polymeric resinous additives that form soft films such as conventional disperand 9, and containing from about 1 to about 25 perpreferably from about 3 to about 65, most preferably from about 5 to about 15, percent by weight of the dry cellulosic fabric material.
• the impregnated fabric may be dried and then used in garment manufacture (e.g., cutting, sewing and pressing) either immediately or after shipment to a different location or after storage of indefinite duration.
• garment manufacture e.g., cutting, sewing and pressing
• the resulting garments may then be further treated as described hereinbelow either immediately or after storage of indefinite duration.
• the impregnated fabric (or garment) is exposed in the absence of a catalyst to an atmosphere containing formaldehyde vapors until a crease-proofing amount of an at least partially polymerized condensate of the monomeric compound and formaldehyde (e.g., a partially polymerized ureaformaldehyde condensate) in substantially waterinsoluble form is affixed on the fabric without, however, effecting any substantial amount of cross-linking with the cellulosic fiber.
• formaldehyde e.g., a partially polymerized ureaformaldehyde condensate
• a crease-proofing amount of the at least partially polymerized condensate is that amount which, when the fabric is post-heated, yields a fabric having acceptable durablepress properties.
• the atmosphere of the reaction zone may also contain air or any other non-acidic and non-deleterious gas which does not react with the formaldehyde or the monomeric compound .and does not catalyze their reaction.
• the reaction zoneatmosphere contains from about 1 to about 100, preferably about 30 to about 95, volume percent formaldehyde.
• Contact of the impregnated fabric with the formaldehyde vapor-containing atmosphere can be performed at a temperature of from about 100C. to about l60C.
• maldehyde vapor-containing atmosphere may be emsions or latices, can result in unusually great incremental improvement in wrinkle recovery of the treated fabric.
• Polymer additives can also improve the flex, abrasion resistance, and tear strength, or alter the ratio of dry wrinkle recovery to wet wrinkle recovery, or in some instances, shorten the reaction time needed to produce an acceptable durable press fabric.
• Polymeric additives suitable for such purposes are, in most cases, available commercially in concentrated aqueous latex forms, and it is desirable to dilute these to a concentration of about 1 to about 30, often from about 5 to about ployed.
• a batch system utilizing a closed vessel 'ortube containing the reactive vapor phase atmosphere may be used into which the impregnated monomer-containing fabric may be placed and there exposed to the atmosphere for the appropriate time.
• a dynamic or continuous system can be used such as one wherein a gas stream containing formaldehyde vapor is passed through a closed elongated chamber through which the impregnated fabric or articles are also passed at an appropriate rate either concurrently or countercurrently relative to the. gas. It is also possible to use combinations of the above, that is, such as by-passing a stream containing formaldehyde vapors over a stationary fabric. 7
• the required formaldehyde vapor may be generated in any convenient manner, such as by heating a suspension of paraformaldehyde in mineral oil to generate formaldehyde gas which is then metered into the treating chamber.
• the formaldehyde vapor will be present in the reaction zone in an amount at least sufficient to react with all of the amide compound and generally will be present in an excess of that amount.
• the fabric is desirably heated at a temperature above about 80C., e.g., in the range of from about 100C. to about 180C., preferably from about 140C. to about 160C. for from about 1 to about 20 minutes, preferably from about 3 to about minutes, to further polymerize and cross-link the fabric thus improving its durability to laundering as well as improving the durable press characteristics of the treated fabric.
• this post-heating step will volatilize and remove any water vapor, unbound formaldehyde and other volatile residues.
• This post-heating step may also allow a reduction in the time of exposure to the formaldehyde vapor without sacrificing durable press performance. Heating the treating fabric may advantageously be performed in any suitable fabric heating chamber.
• the treated fabric may be subjected to the postheating step immediately after being exposed to the formaldehyde vapors or it may be stored for an indefinite period of time. If desired, the fabric may be used in garment manufacture after exposure to formaldehyde vapors and before the post-heating step. The treated fabric is preferably not washed prior to the post-heating step. Although we do not wish to be bound I by theoretical considerations, it would appear that the least. partially polymerized condensate formed in the formaldehyde vapor contact step may contain some re- 2 pounds, respectively).
• active groups such as methylol groups
• the reactivity of which may be reduced by washing with water.
• the efficiency of the overall process is thus considerably reduced when the fabric is washed between these steps.
• the reactor used in work was a cylindrical vessel having a capacity of about7l liters constructed of one- /eighth inch aluminum (42 cm. inside diameter and 57 cm. high).
• the walls of this reactor were heated with 1 band heaters equipped with a 3-way switch which perwas preferred.
• Formaldehyde gas was conducted into the reactor through heated lines from a separate vessel where it was generated as needed by heating a suspension of between about 30 to percent by weight (unless otherwise indicated) of paraformaldehyde in mineral oil.
• the reactor was further equipped with another line through which other gases such as air may be admitted when and as desired.
• the rate of flow of formaldehyde was controlled by regulating the temperature of the mineral oil between and 140C.
• test methods are in accordance with ASTM D-l424-59 and for Stoll Flex Abrasion Resistance, the test. methods are in accordance with ASTM-D-61T (using head and tension loads of k and EXAMPLE 1 Samples of 100 percent cotton twill fabric (112 X 50 thread),were padded with aqueous solutions containing from 0 to 20 percent urea and 10 percent (solids).urethane latex E-502 (Wyandotte Chemical Corporation) to give various add-ons.
• fabric properties were considerably improved when padded with a 1 percent ureacontaining solution (about 2.6 percent monomer addon calculated as the total add-on, Table 1, minus the add-on value of polymeric additive for 0 percent urea, i.e., 4.1 weight percent) as compared with the 0 percent urea-containing solution. These improved properties were generally maintained or improved with each of the aqueous solutions having increased urea concentrations.
• Table 1 indicates that as little as 1 percent urea in the aqueous solution imparts good durable press properties tocotton fabrics in the present process.
• EXAMPLE 11 The effect of formaldehyde exposure time and the presence of steam on fabric properties wasstudied in this Example in which samples of the fabric of Example I were impregnated with an aqueous solution containing 10 percent urea and 10 percent (solids) urethane latex E-502, exposed to formaldehyde vapor for from 1 to 4 minutes at 120C. in the presence or absence of any steam and then post-heated for 5 minutes at 150C.
• the resulting fabric properties shown in Table II indicate that small increases in wrinkle recovery angle and corresponding decreases in tensile strength were obtained as exposure time was increased from 1 to 4 minutes.
• gaseous formaldehyde generated by heating paraformaldehyde-mineral oil slurries may contain a minor amount (i.e., less than 5 weight percent) of impurities such as water, methanol, methyl for- TABLE 11 V
• impurities such as water, methanol, methyl for- TABLE 11
• EXAMPLE IV The effects of the moisture content of the cotton fabric prior to formaldehyde treatment were studied. Samples of the cotton twill fabric of Example I were padded with a solution containing 10 percent urea and 10 percent (solids) urethane latex E-502, dried and conditioned to various levels of moisture content, exposed to formaldehyde vapor for 2 minutes at 120C. and then post-heated for 5 minutes at 150C. g
• Rhoplex K -87 and urethane latex P -50l generally show greater strength and lower wrinkle recovery angles than the fabrics impregnated with the lower strength polymeric additives Rhoplex K-14 and urethane latex E-502.
• e-FlgUICS in parenthesis denote values for fabric treated in the presence of urea based on the weight of pad bath).
• Sample ll was post-heated for pregnation of the polymeric additive and contact with 5 minutes at C. and washed again.
• fabrics were padded with a 10 percent urea solution, dried to a moisture content of about 7 percent, exposed to gaseous formaldehyde for l to 4 minutes at l20C.,-and post-heated for 5 minutes at 150C. These fabrics also showed only moderate WRAs but higher strength losses in fabrics treated with formaldehyde in the presence of the urethane latex alone.
• Anon-catalytic process for improving the dimensional stability, wrinkle resistance, smooth drying characteristics and total shape retentivity of a cellulose fiber-containing fabric which comprises:
• a non-catalytic process for improving the dimensional stability, wrinkle resistance, smooth'drying charpost-heating said fabric in an inert gaseous atmoher-containing fabric which comprises:
• a non-catalytic process for improving the dimensional stability, wrinkle resistance, smooth drying characteristics and total shape retentivity of a cellulose fiher-containing fabric which consists essentially of the following sequential steps: r

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• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Textile Engineering (AREA)
• Treatments For Attaching Organic Compounds To Fibrous Goods (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Publications (1)

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ID=23034763

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (15)

Cited By (3)

Families Citing this family (1)

• 1972
  • 1972-07-13 US US00271237A patent/US3801277A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
• 1973
  • 1973-06-08 CA CA173,625A patent/CA998209A/en not_active Expired
  • 1973-06-12 GB GB2795173A patent/GB1390473A/en not_active Expired
  • 1973-06-15 IN IN1403/CAL/73A patent/IN139766B/en unknown
  • 1973-07-02 DE DE19732333600 patent/DE2333600A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 1973-07-05 FR FR7324815A patent/FR2193110B1/fr not_active Expired
  • 1973-07-05 CH CH983273D patent/CH983273A4/xx unknown
  • 1973-07-05 CH CH983273A patent/CH572542B5/xx not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1973-07-06 NL NL7309459A patent/NL7309459A/xx not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1973-07-06 AR AR248984A patent/AR195047A1/es active
  • 1973-07-06 IT IT26320/73A patent/IT991041B/it active
  • 1973-07-09 ES ES416725A patent/ES416725A1/es not_active Expired
  • 1973-07-09 JP JP48076661A patent/JPS4950297A/ja active Pending
  • 1973-07-09 BE BE133270A patent/BE802090A/fr unknown
  • 1973-07-09 SE SE7309621A patent/SE392925B/xx unknown
  • 1973-07-10 BR BR5141/73A patent/BR7305141D0/pt unknown

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