WO2019114493A1

WO2019114493A1 - Copolymer of polyalkylenimine and polysiloxane and compositions con-taining the same

Info

Publication number: WO2019114493A1
Application number: PCT/CN2018/115646
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sijun ZHU; Laszlo Szarvas; Hoang Trang TRAN-THIEN
Original assignee: Basf Se
Priority date: 2017-12-14
Filing date: 2018-11-15
Publication date: 2019-06-20
Also published as: CN111479855A; TW201930406A

Abstract

Provided are a copolymer of polyalkyleneimine and polysiloxane, a textile softening composition comprising said copolymer, a process for treating a textile by said copolymer, use of said copolymer for treating a textile and a textile softening kit comprising said copolymer. It is found that the textile treated by said copolymer will have special hand feeling and improved water repellency.

Description

COPOLYMER OF POLYALKYLENIMINE AND POLYSILOXANE AND COMPOSITIONS CON-TAINING THE SAME

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a copolymer of polyalkylenimine and polysiloxane for use as textile treatment agent in textile industry, particularly a copolymer of polyalkylenimine and poly-siloxane which is useful in a textile softening composition or in a water-repellent composition. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a textile softxening composition or a water-repellent composition containing the same. The present invention relates as well to a process comprising the use of such a copolymer as textile softening agent or as water-repellent agent in textile industry, especially in the textile finishing process.

Description of the Related Arts

The hand of fabric is the “feel" of the fabric, meaning the way the fabric feels when it is touched. The textile hand is texture, drapability, stretch, wrinkle resistance etc. A “soft hand” is smooth to the touch and a fabric that would imagine to be a comfortable cloth to wear and being smooth or fine to the touch is basically a soft fabric. This may also be referred to as a “fine hand” .

A textile softener is a treating agent for textile to make the textile soft, fluffy and anti-static, pro-viding it with a soft hand. Silicone oil is a widely used kind of textile softener in the art, which can offer soft and fluffy hand feeling. However, generally silicone oil textile softeners are hydro-phobic, which will reduce the hydrophilicity of the treated textile, and in turn impair the fluffy hand feeling of the treated textile.

In recent years, many modified silicone oils were developed to improve the hydrophilicity, such as amino silicone oil, hydrophilic silicone oil, etc. These modified silicone oils are widely used in textile, which offer hydrophilic performance to the treated textile, while maintaining soft and fluffy hand feeling and anti-static properties.

CN 1919896 A describes a process for preparing an amino modified hydrophilic silicone oil, comprising reacting low-hydrogen silicone oil with polyether in the presence of a chain transfer agent and a catalyst, and further reacting with an amino coupling agent. In the process, an ether mixture of a polyether under name F-6 (an allyl polyoxyalkylene ether) and an allyl glycidyl ether is used as the polyether, and the amino coupling agent is selected from small molecules such as γ-aminopropyl triethoxysilane, N- (β-aminoethyl) -γ-aminopropyl methyl diethoxysilane.

CN104558618A discloses a block modified silicone represented by a formula of

wherein n is in the range of 200 to 1000, x+y is in the range of 2 to 50, and m is in the range of 1 to 200.

CN101497697B describes a process for preparing a water-soluble block silicone oil, including (1) amidation of amino coupling agent, (2) preparation of silicone intermediate containing terminal hydrogen by reacting octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane and/or low viscosity hydroxyl silicone oil with 1, 1, 3, 3-tetramethyldisiloxane in the presence of the amidated amino coupling agent, (3) prepa-ration of a linear block copolymer of polysiloxane-polyether by reacting the product from step (2) with a allyl polyether, and (4) ammonolysis of the block copolymer from step (3) . The amino coupling agent is selected from small molecules such as γ-aminopropyl methyl dimethoxysilane, γ-aminopropyl ethyl dimethoxysilane.

CN102964601A describes a hydrophilic block silicone oil and a process for preparation thereof including (1) charging 35 to 45 parts of aliphatic polyether diamine, 300 to 340 parts of isopro-panol, 360 to 400 parts of epoxy terminated silicone oil into a reactor, heating to 80 ℃ and keeping at the temperature for 8 hours, (2) charging 4 to 6 parts of 20%sulfuric acid and bal-ancing for 30 minutes, (3) charging 400-450 parts of dipropylene glycol balancing for 30 minutes, and then reducing pressure to a certain vacuum, raising the temperature to 100℃, further vac-uumizing to a highest degree, balancing for 30 minutes, decreasing the temperature to 50 ℃; (4) charging 150 to 170 parts of isomeric alchohol polyoxyethylene ether and 1 to 3 parts of acetic acid, decreasing the temperature to 35 ℃.

Although such silicone oil softeners used as a textile finishing agent show excellent flexibility and good durability, but the lack of hydrophilicity after finishing, though the softness has been significantly improved is a drawback, leading to the development of hydrophilic silicone oil sof-teners which have a less soft hand and a poor wash durability.

However, these silicone oil-based softeners are generally physically adhered to the surface of the textile being treated. Hence, as time goes by, these softeners on the textile surface will be removed gradually and the effect thereof will be ruined, by for example using the treated textile, washing the treated textile, exposing the treated textile to radiation or light, and the like. Addi-tionally, soft and fluffy hand feeling provided by those silicone oil-based softeners are some-times not satisfactory.

Therefore, there is still a need in the market to provide a textile softener, respectively a textile softening composition, for textile treating in textile industry, which will provide the treated textile with special hand feeling, such as soft and fluffy hand feeling, but will also improve durability of the soft hand.

A water-repellent agent, such as fluoro-containing water-repellent agent is commonly used as a treating agent for textile to provide the textile with water-repellent properties. EP 2205688A1 discloses a method of treating substrates with fluorinated water-soluble (meth) acrylate copoly- mers which do impart water repellency. However, the fluorinated compounds for such use are harmful to the environment and human body. Especially, perfluorinated compounds may reduce the immune and reproductive capacity and are found to be causing substances such as thyroid disease Bar specified in Stockholm Party Conference in 2009 as an international environmental hazardous substance.

Therefore, in order to avoid the above-mentioned regulations, there is still a need in the market to provide a water-repellent agent, respectively a water-repellent composition which is not only harmless to humans and the environment, but also exhibits satisfactory water repellency.

Summary of the invention

It was found that the above objectives can be addressed with copolymers according to the pre-sent invention, namely copolymers of a polyalkylenimine, especially polyethylenimine or poly-propylenimine, and epoxy terminated-polysiloxane, particularly in combination with a fixing agent.

Hence, the present invention relates to several aspects regarding a copolymer of polyalkylen-imine, especially polyethylenimine or polypropylenimine, and polysiloxane, especially its use for textile softening or water-repellency in textile industry.

In the first aspect, the present invention relates to a copolymer of polyalkylenimine, especially polyethylenimine or polypropylenimine, and epoxy terminated-polysiloxane, especially for use as a textile softening agent or a water-repellent agent in textile industry.

In the second aspect, the present invention relates to a textile softening composition containing the copolymer of a polyalkylenimine, especially polyethylenimine or polypropylenimine, and epoxy terminated-polysiloxane, as a textile softening agent.

In the third aspect, the present invention relates to a process, especially an industrial process, for treating a textile, comprising a step of contacting the textile softening composition comprising the copolymer of polyalkylenimine, especially polyethylenimine or polypropylenimine, and epoxy terminated-polysiloxane with the textile, preferably during the textile finishing process in textile industry.

Particularly, the present invention relates to an industrial process for treating a textile, compris-ing a first step contacting it with a textile softening composition comprising the copolymer of polyalkylenimine, especially polyethylenimine or polypropylenimine, and epoxy terminated-polysiloxane, and in a second step contacting the textile with a fixing agent.

This fixing agent is preferably selected from the group consisting of epichlorohydrin (ECH) , tri-chlorotriazine and dialdehydes.

In the fourth aspect, the present invention relates to the use of the copolymer of polyalkylen-imine, especially polyethylenimine or polypropylenimine, and epoxy terminated-polysiloxane for treating textile in textile industry, particularly during the textile finishing step in textile industry. Particularly, the present invention relates to use of the copolymer of polyalkylenimine, especially polyethylenimine or polypropylenimine, and epoxy terminated-polysiloxane in combination with a fixing agent.

This fixing agent is preferably selected from the group consisting of epichlorohydrin (ECH) , tri-chlorotriazine and dialdehydes for treating textile in textile industry.

In the fifth aspect, the present invention relates to a textile softening kit, comprising

(A) the copolymer as described above for the first aspect of the present invention as a textile softening agent or the textile softening composition as described above for the second aspect of the present invention; and

(B) a fixing agent, which is selected from the group consisting of epichlorohydrin (ECH) , trichlo-rotriazine and dialdehydes,

wherein in such textile softening kit, the textile softening agent and the fixing agent are sepa-rately packed from each other.

In the sixth aspect, the present invention relates to a water-repellent composition containing the copolymer of a polyalkylenimine, especially polyethylenimine or polypropylenimine, and epoxy terminated-polysiloxane, as a water-repellent agent.

In the seventh aspect, the present invention relates to a process, especially an industrial pro-cess, for treating a textile, comprising a step of contacting the water-repellent composition com-prising the copolymer of polyalkylenimine, especially polyethylenimine or polypropylenimine, and epoxy terminated-polysiloxane with the textile, preferably during the textile finishing process in textile industry.

Particularly, the present invention relates to an industrial process for treating a textile, compris-ing a first step contacting it with a water-repellent composition comprising the copolymer of pol-yalkylenimine, especially polyethylenimine or polypropylenimine, and epoxy terminated-polysiloxane, and in a second step contacting the textile with a fixing agent.

Without being intended to be bound to any theory, it is found that with the subjects of the pre-sent invention, the treated textile will have special hand feeling, such as soft and fluffy hand feeling, and improved water repellency, at the same time the durability of these desired proper-ties is improved.

It is believed that especially with some additives, such as epichlorohydrin (ECH) , trichlorotria-zine, and some dialdehydes, the synthesized copolymer of polyalkylenimine, especially polyeth-ylenimine or polypropylenimine, and epoxy terminated-polysiloxane of the present invention will be fixed more firmly on fabric (especially cotton) by its residual amine groups to facilitate the permanent soft and fluffy hand feeling and improved water repellency.

Detailed Description of the Invention

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs.

Expressions “a” , “an” , “the” , when used to define a term, include both the plural and singular forms of the term.

The first aspect of the present invention relates to a copolymer comprising the following struc-tural units per molecule:

(i) at least one polyalkylenimine structural unit containing an average of at least 10 polymerized C ₂-C ₁₀-alkyleneimine units, and

(ii) at least one polysiloxane structural unit derived from an epoxy terminated-polysiloxane for use as a textile softening agent or a water-repellent agent in textile industry.

Hereinafter, when copolymers comprising polyalkylenimine structural units and epoxy terminat-ed-polysiloxane structural units according to this aspect of the present invention arebe men-tioned, the expression “the copolymer of the present invention” or “the copolymer according to the present invention” is used.

In one embodiment of the present invention, polyalkylenimine structural units (i) are preferably polyethylenimine or polypropylenimine structural units.

The term “polyalkylenimine” in the context of the present invention, such as polyethylenimine and polypropylenimine, refers to polyalkylenimine polymer from which the polyalkylenimine structural unit of the copolymer of the present invention are derived.

The term “polyethylenimine” in the context of the present invention does not only refer to poly-ethylenimine homopolymers but also to polyalkylenimines containing NH-CH ₂-CH ₂-NH units together with other alkylene diamine units, for example NH-CH ₂-CH ₂-CH ₂-NH units, NH-CH ₂-CH (CH ₃) -NH units, NH- (CH ₂) ₄-NH units, NH- (CH ₂) ₆-NH units or NH- (CH ₂) ₈-NH units but the NH-CH ₂-CH ₂-NH units being in the majority with respect to the molar share. Preferred polyeth-ylenimines contain NH-CH ₂-CH ₂-NH units being in the majority with respect to the molar share, for example amounting to 60 mol%or more, more preferably amounting to at least 70 mol%, referring to all alkylenimine units. In a particular embodiment, the term polyethylenimine refers to those polyalkylenimines that contain only one or zero alkylenimine unit other than NH-CH ₂-CH ₂-NH per polyethylenimine structural unit.

The term “polypropylenimine” in the context of the present invention does not only refer to poly-propylenimine homopolymers but also to polyalkylenimines containing NH-CH ₂-CH (CH ₃) -NH units together with other alkylene diamine units, for example NH-CH ₂-CH ₂-CH ₂-NH units, NH-CH ₂-CH ₂-NH units, NH- (CH ₂) ₄-NH units, NH- (CH ₂) ₆-NH units or NH- (CH ₂) ₈-NH units but the NH-CH ₂-CH (CH ₃) -NH units being in the majority with respect to the molar share. Preferred pol-ypropylenimines contain NH-CH ₂-CH (CH ₃) -NH units being in the majority with respect to the molar share, for example amounting to 60 mol%or more, more preferably amounting to at least 70 mol%, referring to all alkylenimine units. In a particular embodiment, the term polypropyl-enimine refers to those polyalkylenimines that bear only one or zero alkylenimine unit other than NH-CH ₂-CH (CH ₃) -NH per polypropylenimine structural unit.

The polyalkylenimine structural unit is preferably branched, more preferably highly branched. Branches may be alkylenamino groups such as, but not limited to -CH ₂-CH ₂-NH ₂ groups or (CH ₂) ₃-NH ₂-groups. Longer branches may be, for examples, - (CH ₂) ₃-N (CH ₂CH ₂CH ₂NH ₂) ₂ or -(CH ₂) ₂-N (CH ₂CH ₂NH ₂) ₂ groups.

Highly branched polyethylenimines are, e.g., polyethylenimine dendrimers or related molecules with a degree of branching (DB) in the range from 0.25 to 0.95, preferably in the range from 0.30 to 0.80, particularly preferably 0.5 to 0.7, most preferably 0.60 to 0.65.

Such hyperbranched polymers are characterized by a degree of branching (DB) which repre-sents the percentage of dendritic and terminal monomers among the total monomers in the pol-ymer: The degree of branching can be determined for example by ¹³C-NMR or ¹⁵N-NMR spec-troscopy, preferably in D ₂O, and is defined as follows:

DB = (D+T) / (D+T+L)

with D (dendritic) corresponding to the fraction of tertiary amino groups, L (linear) corresponding to the fraction of secondary amino groups and T (terminal) corresponding to the fraction of pri-mary amino groups.

In the context of the present invention, CH ₃-groups are not being considered as branches.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the weight average molecular weight (M _w) of the polyalkylenimine structural unit, preferably of polyethylenimine or polypropylenimine structural unit, is in the range of from about 430 to about 4.3×10 ⁶ g/mol preferably in the range of from about 500 to about 2×10 ⁶, more preferably in the range of about 800 to about 2×10 ⁶, even more preferably in the range of about 800 to about 2×10 ⁵, most preferably about 800 to 2×10 ⁴ g/mol. The weight average molecular weight (Mw) of polyalkylenimine units may be determined by Gel Permeation Chromatography-Light Scattering (GPC-LS) of respective polyalkylenimine.

Polyalkylenimine and particularly polyethylenimine suitable for the purpose of the present inven-tion may be commercially available or obtained by a skilled person in the art via well-known processes. Suitable processes for preparing branched polyethylenimines are well known. For example, polyethylenimines may be prepared for example by the ring opening polymerization of aziridine, which has been developed for a long time, for example as described in Advances in the Chemistry of Polyethyleneimine (Polyaziridine) , Zhuk, D. S., Gembitskii, P. A., and Kargin V. A., Russian Chemical Reviews, Vol 34 (7) , 515-526, 1965.

In a particular embodiment of the present invention, for example the polyethylenimine structural unit may have a composition represented by a general formula of: - (CH ₂-CH ₂-NH) - _m, with 10 ≤m ≤ 10 ⁵, preferably 10 ≤ m ≤ 10 ⁴, more preferably 10 ≤ m ≤ 10 ³, most preferably 10 ≤ m ≤ 100, e.g. such as 10 ≤ m ≤ 50.

Polysiloxane structural units (ii) comprised in the copolymer according to the present invention are derived from an epoxy terminated polysiloxane having a structure of formula (I)

wherein

R ₁, R ₂, R ₃ and R ₄, independently from each other, are hydrogen, C ₁-C ₄ alkyl, or C ₁-C ₄ alkoxy;

R ₅ and R ₆, independently from each other, are hydrogen; C ₁-C ₄ alkyl, C ₁-C ₄ alkoxy, or a group of

wherein G is C ₁-C ₂₀ alkylene, preferably C ₁-C ₈ alkylene, which is optionally interrupted by O and *represents the attachment to the remaining moiety of the molecule, with the proviso that at least one of R ₅ and R ₆ is epoxy group or has epoxy group at the end, and

n is in the range of from 1 to 90, preferably in the range of from 1 to 80, more preferably in the range of from 4 to 70, such as from 4 to 60.

In one embodiment of the epoxy terminated polysiloxane having a structure of formula (I) , at least one of R ₅ and R ₆ is a group of formula (II)

wherein

w is a variable in the range of 1 to 10, preferably 1 to 6, more preferably 1 to 4, and refers to the number of the ethylene repeating units,

R ₇ is H or C ₁-C ₄ alkyl, preferably H and methyl, and

* represents the attachment to the remaining moiety of the molecule.

The epoxy terminated-polysiloxane from which the polysiloxane structural unit (ii) of the copol-ymer of the present invention is derived can be prepared by a skilled person according to well-known processes. The process for producing an epoxy terminated-polysiloxane is known in the art. For example, the epoxy terminated-polysiloxane may be commercially available or prepared by a process as described in, for example, Synthesis of Epoxy Dicapped Silicone, ZHU Hong, et al., Textile Auxiliaries, p18-20, No. 8, Volume 32, 2015; or Synthesis of Epoxy Modified Methi-cone and Application of the Same in Thermal Transfer Ribbon, DU Xiaopeng, et al., Silicone Material, 32-36, 22 (1) : 2008.

The copolymer of the present invention may be prepared by reacting polyalkylenimine contain-ing an average of at least 10 polymerized C ₂-C ₁₀-alkyleneimine units with an epoxy terminated-polysiloxane. Any preferences as described hereinabove for the polyalkylenimine and epoxy terminated-polysiloxane may be applied here. In such a reaction, the epoxy group of the epoxy terminated-polysiloxane reacts with the hydrogen atoms of the amino group in the polyalkylen-imine to obtain the copolymer of the present invention.

For example, the reaction of polyalkylenimine with the epoxy terminated-polysiloxane may be carried out at a temperature in the range of 10 to 90℃, more preferably 20 to 60 ℃ and most preferably at a temperature around 50 ℃.

There is no particular restriction to the pressure at which the reaction is carried out, which is for example 1 to 5 atm, preferably 1 atm.

In one particular embodiment according to the present invention, the reaction may be carried out at about 50℃ and 1 atm.

There is no particular restriction to the reaction time, which may typically be several hours, for example 5 hours.

In a preferable embodiment, the copolymer of the present invention is prepared by reacting the polyalkylenimine as defined above with the epoxy terminated-polysiloxane as defined above in the presence of an agent, especially in case of the epoxy dicapped-polysiloxane, meaning epoxy-terminated, which can control the crosslinking between the polyalkylenimine and the epoxy-terminated polysiloxane so as to provide water soluble copolymers. Without being in-tended to be bound to any theory, such an agent may function as a terminator competing with the polyalkylenimine in the reaction of the polyalkylenimine with the epoxy-terminated polysilox-ane. The agent is for example selected from dialkanolamines in which the alkanol groups may be the same or different, polyether diamines.

In a more preferable embodiment, the copolymer of the present invention is prepared by react-ing the polyalkylenimine as defined above with the epoxy terminated-polysiloxane as defined above in the presence of the agent which can control the crosslinking between the polyalkylen-imine and the epoxy-terminated polysiloxane in a molar ratio of the polyalkylenimine to the agent in the range of 1 : 1 to 10 : 1, more preferably 1.5 : 1 to 5 : 1.

Useful dialkanolamines include, but are not limited to N, N-di (2-ethanol) amine, N, N-di (2-propanol) amine, N, N-di (3-propanol) amine, N, N-di (2-butanol) amine, N, N-di (3-butanol) amine, N-ethanol-N- (2-propanol) amine, N- (2-ethanol) -N- (2-butanol) amine and N- (2-propanol) -N- (2-butanol) amine. N, N-di (2-ethanol) amine or diethanolamine is preferred.

Useful polyetherdiamines include, but are not limited to, polyether diamines having a structure of formula (III)

wherein

R ₈ is H or methyl, preferably methyl;

R ₉ is H or methyl, preferably methyl; and

x is a number such that the polyether diamines have a weight-average molecular weight (M _w) in the range of from 200 to 4000, preferably from 230 to 2000.

Examples of polyetherdiamines include

D230,

D400,

D2000, commercially available from Huntsman Corporation, Shanghai, China.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, for each mole of the epoxy terminated-polysiloxane, an excess amount of polyalkylenimine is used for the reaction, such that all the epoxy terminated-polysiloxane in the reaction system will be attached to the polyalkylenimine and there are remaining free amino groups, especially primary and secondary amino groups. Generally, for the reaction, the molar equivalent ratio of epoxy-terminated polysiloxane to the primary amine group of the polyalkylenimine is in the range of from 1: 1 to 1: 40, preferably the mole ratio of epoxy-terminated polysiloxane to the primary amine group of the polyalkylenimine is in the range of from 1: 5 to 1: 30, more preferably the mole ratio of epoxy-terminated polysilox-ane to the primary amine group of the polyalkylenimine is in the range of from 1: 10 to 1: 20.

Particularly, the copolymer of polyethylenimine and epoxy terminated-polysiloxane is used in the present invention in combination with a fixing agent. As described further below, this fixing agent is preferably selected from the group consisting of epichlorohydrin (ECH) , trichlorotria-zine, and dialdehydes.

The second aspect of the invention relates to a textile softening composition which comprises: (A) at least one copolymer according to the present invention as described above for the first aspect of the present invention as a textile softening agent.

Preferably, the textile softening composition, when practically applied for textile treating, con-tains 0.1%to 5%by weight, preferably 0.2%to 2%by weight of the component (A) . The textile softening composition may be in a form of aqueous solution or concentrate which will be diluted to the desired concentration, before textile softening. A concentrate may contain the component (A) for example in a range of from 10%to 50%by weight, preferably 15%to 40%by weight, more preferably 15%to 20%by weight and may then be diluted before application with water.

The textile softening composition of the present invention, in case of aqueous solution or con-centrate, may contain high level of water, at least in an amount of about 50%, preferably at least about 60%, and more preferably at least about 70%, based on the total weight of the tex-tile softening composition.

The textile softening composition of the present invention, in case of aqueous solution or con-centrate, may also contain a solvent other than water. Solvents are useful for fluidizing the tex-tile softening composition of the present invention, and may provide good dispersibility, and in some embodiments, provide a clear or translucent composition. Suitable solvents for the pre-sent invention can be water-soluble or water-insoluble. Non-limiting examples of solvents in-clude ethanol, propanol, isopropanol, n-propanol, n-butanol, t-butanol, propylene glycol, 1, 3-propanediol, ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, 1, 2, 3-propanetriol, propylene carbonate, phenylethyl alcohol, 2-methyl-1, 3-propanediol, hexylene glycol, glycerol, butyl Di-glycol sorbitol, polyethylene glycols, 1, 2-hexanediol, 1, 2-pentanediol, 1, 2-butanediol, 1, 4-butanediol, 1, 4-cyclohexanedimethanol, pinacol, 1, 5-hexanediol, 1, 6-hexanediol, 2, 4-dimethyl-2, 4-pentanediol, 2, 2, 4-trimethyl-1, 3-pentanediol (and ethoxylates thereof) , 2-ethyl-1, 3-hexanediol, phenoxyethanol (and ethoxylates thereof) , glycol ethers such as butyl carbitol and dipropylene glycol n-butyl ether, ester solvents such as dimethyl esters of adipic, glutaric, and succinic acids, hydrocarbons such as decane and dodecane, or any combinations thereof. In one embodiment, the composition is free or substantially free of the above-identified solvents.

The textile softening composition of the present invention may further contain surfactant. Sur-factants are emulsifiers for the textile softening agent and may also help disperse the composi-tion during the treating process. Appropriate surfactants may include nonionic surfactants, for example C ₁₂-C ₁₈ alkyl ethoxylates, such as,

nonionic surfactants from Shell; cationic surfactants such as alkoxylate quaternary ammonium (AQA) surfactants; zwitterionic surfactants such as betaine, for example alkyl dimethyl betaine and cocodimethyl amidopropyl betaine; am-photeric surfactants, such as aliphatic derivatives of secondary or tertiary amines; and mixtures thereof.

Preferably the textile softening composition of the present invention may further contain a non-ionic surfactant.

The textile softening composition of the present invention may also contain further additives. The additional additives applicable for a textile softening composition may be incorporated into the textile softening composition of the present invention by a skilled person according to practi-cal application.

Preferably, the textile softening composition of the present invention containing (A) the copoly-mer according to the present invention may be used in combination with (B) a fixing agent.

Without being bound by any particular theory, it is believed that the fixing agent effectively im-proves the attachment of the copolymer according to the present invention, for example by crosslinking the fiber material of the textile or forming a three-dimensional network with the co-polymer according to the present invention. Through the fixation of the copolymer according to the present invention by the fixing agent, desired softening effect, especially soft and fluffy hand feeling, can be provided by the textile softening composition for a prolonged period, even after several times of rinsing of the textile or several times of laundering.

Useful dialdehydes as component (B) of the textile softening composition of the present inven-tion may have 2 to 15 carbon atoms, preferable 2 to 10 carbon atoms and more preferably 2 to 8 carbon atoms, for example glyoxal, malondialdehyde, succinaldehyde, glutaraldehyde and adipaldehyde, most preferably glyoxal and glutaraldehyde.

The weight ratio of component (A) to component (B) , when both are to be applied for textile treating, is in the range of from 50: 1 to 1: 10, more preferably from 20: 1 to 1: 1. For example, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the weight ratio of component (A) to component (B) is in the range of 20: 1 to 6: 1, more preferably 10: 1 to 6: 1.

Generally, the component (B) is applied in a form of solution, when practically applied for textile treating. Water is preferable as the solvent for the solution of the fixing agent. There is no par-ticular limitation to the concentration of the fixing agent in the solution with the provision that effective amount of fixing agent is available for improving the attachment of the component (A) , the copolymer of the invention, to the textile. The amount of the fixing agent will depend on the component (A) to be left on the textile and may be adjusted by controlling the concentration of the fixing agent and/or the time of period for the treatment with the fixing agent. It is desirable that the concentration of fixing agent in the solution is in the range of 0.01%to 0.1%by weight.

The third aspect of the present invention is a process, especially an industrial process, for treat-ing textile, comprising a step of treating the textile with a solution of textile softening agent se-lected from the copolymer of the present invention, especially the textile softening composition of the present invention. The step of treating the textile is not particularly limited, which can be effected by for example impregnation, spraying, printing and/or plating. Preferably, the textile is impregnated with the solution of textile softening agent by immersing the textile into or passing the textile through the solution of textile softening agent. Preferably, the process for treating textile of the invention is an exhaust process or padding process.

In a preferable embodiment, the process for treating textile according to the present invention comprises further treating the textile loaded with the textile softening agent by a fixing agent selected from the group consisting of epichlorohydrin (ECH) , trichlorotriazine, and dialdehydes. The dialdehydes are preferably selected from glyoxal, malondialdehyde, succinaldehyde, glu-taraldehyde or adipaldehyde, more preferably from glyoxal or glutaraldehyde.

Accordingly, a preferable process for treating textile according to the present invention compris-es

a) treating the textile with a solution of textile softening agent selected from the copolymer of the present invention to obtain a substrate loaded with textile softening agent;

b) optionally, removing any excess softening agent from the textile loaded with textile softening agent; and

c) further treating the textile loaded with textile softening agent by a fixing agent selected from the group consisting of epichlorohydrin (ECH) , trichlorotriazine, and dialdehydes, wherein the dialdehydes are preferably selected from glyoxal, malondialdehyde, succinaldehyde, glutaral-dehyde or adipaldehyde, more preferably from glyoxal or glutaraldehyde.

It is to be understood that all features and corresponding preferences described hereinabove for the textile softening agent, i.e. the copolymer of the present invention, and the fixing agent, can be applied accordingly for the process for treating textile of the invention according to the third aspect.

In a preferable embodiment in which the textile softening agent is impregnated onto the textile, the textile is immersed into or passed through a solution of textile softening agent, typically an aqueous solution of textile softening agent. There is no particular limitation to the concentration of the textile softening agent in the solution with the provision that effective amount of textile softening agent can be loaded in the finished textile. Generally, the concentration of the textile softening agent in the solution is in the range of 0.1%to 5%by weight, preferably 0.2%to 2%.

The solution of textile softening agent may further contain additional additives that are common-ly used in a textile softening composition in a conventional amount. Such additives include, without limitation, additional solvents, surfactant and the like. All features and corresponding preferences described hereinabove for the additional additives can be applied here accordingly.

Optionally, the method according to the present invention comprises step b) for removing any excess textile softening agent from the textile loaded with the textile softening agent before the treatment with a fixing agent in step c) , especially in the case where impregnation is used to incorporate the textile softening agent into the textile in step a) . Typically, the removal can be effected by passing the textile loaded with textile softening agent through an apparatus compris-ing one or more rollers in order to leave on the textile the required amount of the textile soften-ing agent. Any apparatuses containing one or more roller can be used for this purpose, such as kiss rollers or foulards. One apparatus suitable for this purpose is for example Pneumtic Type Horizonal Padding Mangle Model P-BO, commercially available from Xiamen Rapid Precision Machinery Co., Ltd. China.

The pressing pressure will depend on the amount of the textile softening agent to be left in the finished material, on the concentration of the solution and/or on the type and water content of the textile to be treated. In general, a pressing pressure of from 0.5 to 6 bar can be used, pref-erably a pressure of from 2 to 4 bar being applied.

The steps a) and b) can be carried out at any suitable temperatures that will not change the properties of the textile and the textile softening agent. It is preferable that both step a) and b) are effected at room temperature, for example 23 ℃.

In step c) , the textile loaded with the textile softening agent obtained from step a) or step b) , if step b) is carried out, was subjected to a treatment with the fixing agent. The treatment in step c) can be effected by any suitable means that introduce the fixing agent into the textile loaded with the textile softening agent obtained from step a) or step b) , if step b) is carried out, for ex-ample by impregnation or spraying.

According to a preferable embodiment in which the fixing agent is introduced into the textile loaded with textile softening agent by impregnation, said textile is immersed into or passed through a solution of the fixing agent, typically an aqueous solution of the fixing agent. The treatment with fixing agent will generally be carried out at a temperature in the range of from 10 ℃ to 50 ℃, preferably from 15 ℃ to 30 ℃, and more preferably 20 ℃ to 25 ℃. There is no par-ticular limitation to the concentration of the fixing agent in the solution with the provision that effective amount of fixing agent are available for fixing the textile softening agent to the textile. The amount of the fixing agent will depend on the textile softening agent to be left on the fin-ished materials and may be adjusted by controlling the concentration of the fixing agent and/or the time of period for the treatment with the fixing agent. It is desirable that the concentration of fixing agent in the solution is 0.01%to 0.1%by weight.

As described hereinabove for the second aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that the textile softening agent and the fixing agent are comprised in the finished textile at a weight ratio in the range of from 50: 1 to 1: 10, more preferably from 20: 1 to 1: 1, still preferably 12: 1 to 6: 1. For example, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the weight ratio of the textile softening agent and the fixing agent is in the range of 20: 1 to 6: 1, more preferably 10: 1 to 6: 1.

In a particular embodiment, the process for treating textile according to the present invention further comprises a step d) for drying the textile which has been subjected to the treatment with the fixing agent in step c) .

In step d) , the textile which has been subjected to the treatment with the fixing agent is dried, preferably in an oven, at a temperature in the range of from 100 ℃ and 220 ℃, preferably from 120 ℃ to 170 ℃, for a period of time that depends on the amounts of the textile softening agent, the fixing agent and water present in the textile, on the type of the textile to be treated, on the temperature and/or the efficiency of the drying system.

The process for treating textile according to the present invention may be performed continu-ously, that is, the textile is subjected to incorporation of the textile softening agent for example by impregnation, optional removal of any excess textile softening agent by for example press- ing, treatment by the fixing agent by for example impregnation and drying without any interme-diate stages or pauses.

The textile suitable for being treated by the textile softening compositions of the present inven-tion may be prepared from various natural or synthetic fibers, which could be for example wo-ven, knitted or nonwoven fabric. For example, the textile may be prepared from natural fibre, e.g. cotton, or synthetic fibre, e.g. polyester (such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) , polygly-colide or polyglycolic acid (PGA) , polylactic acid (PLA) , polycaprolactone (PCL) , Polyhydroxyal-kanoate (PHA) , polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) , polyethylene adipate (PEA) , polybutylene succinate (PBS) , poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) , polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT) , polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) , and so forth) , polyamide such as polyamide 6 and pol-yamide 66, polyethylene (PE) , PP (polypropylene) , and the like.

For example, the copolymer of the present invention may be applied to a PE/PP or a PE/Polyester (e.g. PE/PET) bi-component nonwoven fabric, which is made from continuous filament fibers and is non-linting or very low in linting, and which comprises a polyethylene (PE) sheath and a core made from polypropylene (PP) or a polyester (e.g. polyethylene terephthalate (PET) , polyglycolide or polyglycolic acid (PGA) , polylactic acid (PLA) , polycaprolactone (PCL) , polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) , polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) , polyethylene adipate (PEA) , poly-butylene succinate (PBS) , poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) , polytri-methylene terephthalate (PTT) or polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) ) . The core part provides strength and polyethylene sheath part provides softness and low melting point.

The fourth aspect of the present invention is the use of the copolymer of the invention for textile softening in textile industry, particularly during the textile finishing step in textile industry. Particularly, the present invention relates to the use of the copolymer of the invention in combi-nation with a fixing agent for prolonging the soften feel of the textile. As described above, this fixing agent is preferably selected from the group consisting of epichlorohydrin (ECH) , trichloro-triazine and dialdehydes, wherein the dialdehydes are preferably selected from glyoxal, malondialdehyde, succinaldehyde, glutaraldehyde or adipaldehyde, more preferably from gly-oxal or glutaraldehyde.

The fifth aspect of the present invention is a textile softening kit, comprising

(A) the copolymer according to the present invention as described above for the first aspect of the present invention as a textile softening agent or the textile softening composition as de-scribed above for the second aspect of the present invention; and

(B) A fixing agent, which is selected from the group consisting of epichlorohydrin (ECH) , trichlo-rotriazine, and dialdehydes,

wherein in such textile softening kit, the textile softening agent and the fixing agent are sepa-rately filled from each other.

It is to be understood that all features and corresponding preferences described hereinabove for the textile softening agent, i.e. the copolymer of the present invention, and the fixing agent, can be applied accordingly for textile softening kit according to the fifth aspect.

The textile softening agent and the fixing agent may be contained in different packages or con-tained in different parts in a single package such that they are not mixed during storage or transportation.

In the sixth aspect, the present invention relates to a water-repellent composition comprising: (A) at least one copolymer according to the present invention as described above for the first aspect of the present invention as a water-repellent agent.

Preferably, the water-repellent composition, when practically applied for textile treating, contains 0.1%to 5%by weight, preferably 0.2%to 2%by weight of the component (A) . The water-repellent composition may be in a form of aqueous solution or concentrate which will be diluted to the desired concentration, before textile treatment. A concentrate may contain the component (A) for example in a range of from 10%to 50%by weight, preferably 15%to 40%by weight, more preferably 15%to 20%by weight and may then be diluted before application with water.

The water-repellent composition of the present invention, in case of aqueous solution or con-centrate, may contain high level of water, at least in an amount of about 50%, preferably at least about 60%, and more preferably at least about 70%, based on the total weight of the water-repellent composition.

The water-repellent composition of the present invention, in case of aqueous solution or con-centrate, may also contain a solvent other than water. Solvents suitable for being used in the water-repellent composition include those described hereinabove in the second aspect. In one embodiment, the composition is free or substantially free of the above-identified solvents.

The water-repellent composition of the present invention may further contain surfactant and/or other customary additive. Surfactants are emulsifiers for the water-repellent agent and may also help disperse the composition during the treating process. Appropriate surfactants may include nonionic surfactants, for example C ₁₂-C ₁₈ alkyl ethoxylates, such as,

nonionic sur-factants from Shell; cationic surfactants such as alkoxylate quaternary ammonium (AQA) surfac-tants; zwitterionic surfactants such as betaine, for example alkyl dimethyl betaine and coco-dimethyl amidopropyl betaine; amphoteric surfactants, such as aliphatic derivatives of second-ary or tertiary amines; and mixtures thereof.

Preferably the water-repellent composition of the present invention may further contain a non-ionic surfactant.

The additional additives applicable for a water-repellent composition may be incorporated into the water-repellent composition of the present invention by a skilled person according to practi-cal application.

Preferably, the water-repellent composition of the present invention containing (A) the copoly-mer according to the present invention may be used in combination with (B) a fixing agent.

This fixing agent is preferably selected from the group consisting of epichlorohydrin (ECH) , tri-chlorotriazine and dialdehydes. Suitable fixing agents for being used in water-repellent composi-tion include those described in the above aspects.

The preferred embodiments for the water-repellent composition are same or similar to that of the textile softening composition described hereinabove. All features and corresponding prefer-ences are same or similar as described hereinabove for the textile softening composition.

In the seventh aspect, the present invention relates to a process, especially an industrial pro-cess, for treating a textile, comprising a step of treating the textile with a solution of water-repellent agent selected from the copolymer of the present invention, especially the water-repellent composition of the present invention. The step of treating the textile is not particularly limited, which can be effected by for example impregnation, spraying, printing and/or plating. Preferably, the textile is impregnated with the solution of water-repellent agent by immersing the textile into or passing the textile through the solution of water-repellent agent. Preferably, the process for treating textile of the invention is an exhaust process or padding process.

Particularly, the present invention relates to an industrial process for treating a textile, compris-ing a first step contacting it with a water-repellent composition comprising the copolymer of the present invention, and in a second step contacting the textile with a fixing agent.

The preferable processes for treating a textile by using the water-repellent composition are same or similar to those for treating a textile with a textile softening composition. All features and corresponding preferences are same or similar as described hereinabove for the textile treatment process with a textile softening composition.

EXAMPLES

The present invention will be further illustrated hereinafter with the reference of the specific Ex-amples which are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive.

Following materials were used in the preparation processes as described hereinafter. Each part and percentage when used, if not defined otherwise, is provided on weight basis.

Materials that were used:

Preparation Examples

Example 1: production of the Copolymer-1 of the present invention

Polyethylenimine-8h (23g) ,

D230 (3.99g) and iso-propanol (i-PrOH) (40g) were placed into a reactor and heated to a temperature of 50℃. At 50℃, the epoxy terminated-polysiloxane (42.79g, Polysiloxane, Yound, YD-830) dissolved in i-PrOH (50g) was added dropwise into the reactor. The reaction was kept for further 1 h at the same temperature and then the solvent i-PrOH was carefully evaporated off.

The obtained product was Copolymer-1 having the composition showing in Table 1:

Table 1

Copolymer-1	Polyethylenimine	epoxy terminated-polysiloxane	Jeffamine D230
wt [%]	33	61	6

Example 2: production of the Copolymer-2 of the present invention

Step I: The epoxy terminated-polysiloxane (42.8g, Polysiloxane, Yound, YD-830) , diethanol amine (1.17g) and i-PrOH (50g) were added in reactor No. 1 at a temperature of about 50℃ respectively, and then stirred for 30 min at the same temperature after the addition. The solution obtained from the reaction in this step was be used in step II.

Step II: Polyethylenimine-8h (23g) and i-PrOH were placed into reactor No. 2 to form a PEI so-lution. The solution prepared in step I was dosed into the PEI solution. The reaction system was heated up to a temperature of about 50℃ and kept at that temperature for 2.5h to complete the reaction.

The obtained product was Copolymer-2 having the composition showing in Table 2:

Table 2

Copolymer-2	Polyethylenimine	epoxy terminated-polysiloxane	diethanol amine
wt [%]	34	64	2

Example 3: production of the Copolymer-3 of the present invention

Step I: The epoxy terminated-polysiloxane (20.5g, Polysiloxane, Yound, YD-830) , diethanol amine (0.56g) and i-PrOH (50g) were added in reactor No. 1 at a temperature of about 50℃respectively, and then stirred for 30 min at the same temperature after the addition to complete the reaction. The solution obtained from the reaction in this step was be used in step II.

Step II: Polyethylenimine-13h (23g) and i-PrOH (40g) were added into reactor No. 2 to form a PEI solution. The solution prepared in step I was dosed into the PEI solution. The reaction sys-tem was heated up to a temperature of about 50℃ and kept at that temperature for 2.5h to complete the reaction.

The obtained product was Copolymer-3 having the composition showing in Table 3:

Table 3

Copolymer-3	Polyethylenimine	epoxy terminated-polysiloxane	diethanol amine
wt [%]	52	47	1

Example 4: production of the Copolymer-4 of the present invention

Step I: The epoxy terminated-polysiloxane (20.54g, polysiloxane, Yound, YD-830) , diethanol amine (0.56g) and i-PrOH (50g) were added in reactor No. 1 at a temperature of about 50℃, and then stirred for 30 min to complete the reaction. The solution obtained from the reaction in this step was be used in step II.

Step II: Polyethylenimine-20h (23g) and i-PrOH (40g) were placed into reactor No. 2 to form a PEI solution. The solution prepared in step I was dosed into the PEI solution. The reaction sys-tem was heated up to a temperature of about 50℃ and kept at that temperature for 2.5h to complete the reaction.

The obtained product was Copolymer-4 having the composition showing in Table 4:

Table 4

Copolymer-4	Polyethylenimine	epoxy terminated-polysiloxane	diethanol amine
wt [%]	52	47	1

D230 in Example 1 and diethanol amine in Examples 2 to 4 respectively were used as the agent to control the crosslinking between the polyethylenimine (PEI) and the epoxy-terminated polysiloxane during the synthesis of the copolymers for avoiding generation of water insoluble polymers.

Working Examples

Each copolymer 1 to 4 according to the present invention and as prepared above and a com-parative hydrophilic silicone oil textile softening agent product were applied in a padding pro-cess and evaluated for respective performance of improving hand feeling by rating.

Following commercially available material were tested as the Comparative products:

Materials	description	Supplier
TF405B	hydrophilic silicone oil	TRANSFAR INTERNATIONAL CORP, Zhejiang, China

The padding process was conducted as follows.

A piece of Cotton knit fabric was impregnated into a bath containing an aqueous solution of 4g/l softening agent at pH of 4.5 adjusted by acetic acid, then passed through one roller at a pres-sure of 4 bar with the uploading rate of 100% (which is an amount calculated according to the formula: Uploading rate = (Weight of the fabric passed through the roller -Initial weight of the fabric) /Initial weight of the fabric) , then dried in an oven at 160 ℃ for 120 seconds, and bal-anced for 2 hours at a temperature of 20 ℃ and a humidity of 65%.

The softness of the treated fabric samples were measured by hand feeling, and rating thereof was provided as follows:

“5” : Best,

“4” : Very good,

“3” : Good,

“2” : Inferior, and

“1” : Worst.

The test results were provided in Table 5 hereinbelow.

For testing the washing durability of the textile softener of the present application after one or more washing cycles, the fabric material, was further evaluated after one time of washing (1) , and after five times of washing (5) according to washing standard GB/T 8629-2001 ( “Textiles-Domestic washing and drying procedures for textile testing” eqv to ISO 6330: 2000) . These re-sults are given as well in table 5 below.

Fixation process

Fixation was carried out in the same padding machine after padding process in order to improve the durability of the softening agent on fabric.

A piece of Cotton knit fabric was impregnated into a bath containing 4g/l softening agent at pH of 4.5 adjusted by acetic acid, then passed through one roller at a pressure of 4 bar with the uploading rate of 100% (which is an amount calculated according to the formula: Uploading rate = (Weight of the fabric passed through the roller -Initial weight of the fabric) /Initial weight of the fabric) . The fabric was dried at 120 ℃ for 180 seconds. Next, the fabric was impregnated into a bath containing an aqueous solution of 0.2g/l glutaraldehyde for 3 seconds, removed, dried in an oven at 120 ℃ for 120 seconds, and balanced for 2 hours at a temperature of 25 ℃ and a humidity of 65%.

The process parameters were provided as follows.

Table 5. Softness and Durability Performance

1: The term “blank” means the fabric is tested as such without any treatment.

Water Repellency Test

The copolymer 2 according to the present invention and prepared as described hereinabove, a comparative hydrophilic silicone oil textile treatment agent product and initial raw material YD-830 were applied in a padding process/afixation process and evaluated for respective perfor-mance of improving water repellency. The padding process and fixation process are same as described above, except that the test fabric was impregnated into a bath containing an aqueous solution of 4g/L textile treatment agent as water-repellent agent.

The evaluation of water repellency of textile fabric was performed according to the AATCC 22-2010, EN 24920 (Spray-Test Dynamic Water Repellency 100-Point Testing Scale) . The test results were provided in Table 6 herein below.

Test procedure

The test fabric was fastened securely in the 150 mm diameter hoop so that the face of the test fabric will be exposed to the water spray. The surface of the fabric should be smooth and with-out wrinkles. The hoop was placed on the stand of the tester in 45°with the fabric uppermost in such a position that center of spray pattern coincides with the center of the hoop. The distance should be 150 mm.

250ml of distilled water was poured into the funnel of the tester at a temperature of 27℃ and allow it to spray onto the test fabric for 25 to 30 sec. After shaking off remaining drops, the wet or spotted pattern was compared with the rating chart.

The efficiency of water repellency is graded in 6 rating as 0, 50, 70, 80, 90 and 100.

A spray rating of 100 means no ticking or wetting of the upper surface (best water repellency) .

A spray rating of 90 means slightly random sticking or wetting of the upper surface.

A spray rating of 80 means wetting of upper surface at spray point.

A spray rating of 70 means partial wetting of whole of upper surface.

A spray rating of 50 means complete wetting of whole upper surface.

A spray rating of 0 means complete wetting of whole upper surface and lower surfaces.

Table 6. Water Repellency Performance

Sample	Water Repellency
YD-830	50
Hydrophilic silicone oil emulsion TF405B	0
Copolymer-2	90
Copolymer-2 with fixation	80
Blank	0

The term “blank” means the fabric is tested as such without any treatment.

Claims

A copolymer comprising the following structural units per molecule:

(i) at least one polyalkylenimine structural unit containing an average of at least 10 polymerized C ₂-C ₁₀-alkyleneimine units, and

(ii) at least one polysiloxane structural unit derived from an epoxy terminated-polysiloxane for use as a textile softening agent in textile industry.
The copolymer according to claim 1, wherein the polyalkylenimine structural unit (i) is poly-ethylenimine or polypropylenimine structural unit.
The copolymer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the polysiloxane structural unit (ii) is de-rived from an epoxy terminated polysiloxane having a structure of formula (I)

wherein

R ₁, R ₂, R ₃ and R ₄, independently from each other, are hydrogen, C ₁-C ₄ alkyl, or C ₁-C ₄ alkoxy; R ₅ and R ₆, independently from each other, are hydrogen; C ₁-C ₄ alkyl, C ₁-C ₄ alkoxy, or a group of
wherein G is C ₁-C ₈ alkylene which is optionally interrupted by O and *rep-resents the attachment to the remaining moiety of the molecule, with the proviso that at least one of R ₅ and R ₆ is epoxy group or has epoxy group at the end, and

n is in the range of from 1 to 90, preferably in the range of from 1 to 80, more preferably in the range of from 4 to 70, such as from 4 to 60.
The copolymer according to any of claims 1 to 3 prepared by reacting a polyalkylenimine con-taining an average of at least 10 polymerized C ₂-C ₁₀-alkyleneimine units with an epoxy termi-nated-polysiloxane.
The copolymer according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the epoxy terminated polysiloxane is epoxy dicapped-polysiloxane.
The copolymer according to claim 5 prepared by reacting a polyalkylenimine containing an average of at least 10 polymerized C ₂-C ₁₀-alkyleneimine units with an epoxy terminated-polysiloxane in the presence of an agent selected from dialkanolamines in which the alkanol groups may be the same or different, or from polyether diamines.
The copolymer according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the molar equivalent ratio of epoxy-terminated polysiloxane to the primary amine group of the polyalkylenimine is in the range of from 1: 1 to 1: 40, preferably from 1: 5 to 1: 30, more preferably from 1: 10 to 1: 20.
The copolymer as defined in any of claims 1 to 7 for use as water-repellent agent in textile industry.
A textile softening composition, which comprises the copolymer as defined in any of claims 1 to 7 as a textile softening agent.
The textile softening composition according to claim 9, further comprising a surfactant.
A process for treating a textile, comprising a step of treating the textile with a solution of tex-tile softening agent selected from the copolymer as defined in any of claims 1 to 7.
The process for treating a textile according claim 11, wherein the copolymer as defined in any of claims 1 to 7 is applied by impregnation, spraying, printing and/or plating.
The process for treating a textile according claim 11 or 12, wherein after application of the copolymer as defined in any of claims 1 to 7, the textile is treated with a fixing agent selected from a group consisting of epichlorohydrin (ECH) , trichlorotriazine, and dialdehydes.
The process for treating a textile according claim 13, wherein the fixing agent is a dialde-hyde which has 2 to 15 carbons, preferably 2 to 10 carbons and more preferably 2 to 8 carbons.
The process for treating a textile according claim 13, wherein the fixing agent is a dialde-hyde selected from the group consisting of glyoxal, malondialdehyde, succinaldehyde, glutaral-dehyde and adipaldehyde, most preferably glyoxal and glutaraldehyde
The process for treating a textile according to claim 11, comprising

a) treating the textile with a solution of textile softening agent selected from the copolymer as defined in any of claims 1 to 7 to obtain a substrate loaded with textile softening agent;

b) optionally, removing any excess softening agent from the textile loaded with textile softening agent; and

c) treating the textile loaded with textile softening agent by a fixing agent selected from the group consisting of epichlorohydrin (ECH) , trichlorotriazine and dialdehydes, wherein the dial-dehydes have 2 to 15 carbons, preferable 2 to 10 carbons and more preferably 2 to 8 carbons, for example glyoxal, malondialdehyde, succinaldehyde, glutaraldehyde and adipaldehyde, most preferably glyoxal and glutaraldehyde.
The process for treating a textile according to any of claims 13 to 16, wherein the ratio by weight of the textile softening agent to the fixing agent is in the range of from 50: 1 to 1: 10, more preferably from 20: 1 to 1: 1, such as in the range of 20: 1 to 6: 1, more preferably 10: 1 to 6: 1.
The process for treating a textile according to any of claims 11 to 17, wherein the textile is prepared from natural or synthetic fibers, for example woven, knitted or nonwoven fabric.
The process for treating a textile as defined in any of claims 11 to 18, wherein the copoly-mer as defined in any of claims 1 to 7 is used as water-repellent agent.
Use of the copolymer as defined in any of claims 1 to 7 for treating a textile as a textile sof-tening agent in textile manufacturing.
The use according to claim 20, wherein the copolymer as defined in any of claims 1 to 7 is used in combination with a fixing agent selected from the group consisting of epichlorohydrin (ECH) , trichlorotriazine, and dialdehydes.
The use according to claim 21, wherein the dialdehydes have 2 to 15 carbons, preferable 2 to 10 carbons and more preferably 2 to 8 carbons, for example glyoxal, malondialdehyde, suc-cinaldehyde, glutaraldehyde and adipaldehyde, most preferably glyoxal and glutaraldehyde.
The use according to claim 21 or 22, wherein the ratio by weight of the textile softening agent to the fixing agent is in the range of from 50: 1 to 1: 10, more preferably from 20: 1 to 1: 1, such as in the range of 20: 1 to 6: 1, more preferably 10: 1 to 6: 1.
The use according to any of claims 20 to 23, wherein the copolymer as defined in any of claims 1 to 7 is used during textile finishing in textile manufacturing.
The use according to any of claims 20 to 24, wherein the copolymer as defined in any of claims 1 to 7 is used as water-repellent agent for treating a textile in textile manufacturing.
A textile softening kit, comprising

(A) the copolymer as defined in any of claims 1 to 7 as a textile softening agent, or the textile softening composition as defined in claim 8 or 9; and

(B) a fixing agent, which is selected from the group consisting of epichlorohydrin (ECH) , trichlo-rotriazine, and dialdehydes,

wherein the textile softening agent and the fixing agent are separated from each other.
The textile softening kit according to claim 26, wherein the dialdehydes have 2 to 15 car-bons, preferable 2 to 10 carbons and more preferably 2 to 8 carbons, for example glyoxal, malondialdehyde, succinaldehyde, glutaraldehyde and adipaldehyde, most preferably glyoxal and glutaraldehyde.
The textile softening kit according to claim 26 or 27, wherein the ratio by weight of the textile softening agent to fixing agent is in the range of from 50: 1 to 1: 10, more preferably from 20: 1 to 1: 1, such as in the range of 20: 1 to 6: 1, more preferably 10: 1 to 6: 1.