Chemistry: electrical and wave energy – Processes and products – Electrostatic field or electrical discharge
Patent
1998-10-16
2000-08-15
Mayekar, Kishor
Chemistry: electrical and wave energy
Processes and products
Electrostatic field or electrical discharge
204165, 8112, 81281, B01J 1908
Patent
active
061030686
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a process for antifelt finishing of animal fibres that are prone to felting, especially wool, by subjecting the fibres to a low temperature plasma treatment.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The principles of gas discharge and of plasma chemistry are known and described for example in A. T. Bell "Fundamentals of Plasma Chemistry" ed. J. R. Hollahan and A. T. Bell, Wiley, N.Y. (1974).
Processes for the plasma treatment of wool are likewise known per se and described for example in the papers by A. E. Pavlath et al., Text. Res. J. 45(1975) p. 742, and W. Rakowski, Melliand Textilber. 10(1989) p. 780.
German Offenlegungsschrift DE-41-17-332-A1 describes a process for the plasma treatment of moving textile webs wherein, inter alia, dried wool fabrics are subjected to a direct current discharge in air at about 80 to 90 Pa.
German Offenlegungsschrift DE-43-39-427-A1 likewise describes a plasma treatment process for fabric webs, but it is additionally supplemented by a downstream ozone treatment. This process is used for cleaning and desizing a cloth so as to replace traditional liquid pretreatments of textile webs. Both processes concern the treatment of already woven or knitted fabrics or of other webs of material. The references do not concern the pretreatment of unspun fibres or raw wool.
Processes are also known for a low temperature plasma or corona discharge treatment of wool to improve the dyeing of the wool. For instance, European Offenlegungsschrift EP-0 548 013 A1 describes a process for dyeing wool level in the fibre and the piece by subjecting the dried wool to a low temperature plasma or corona discharge with a non-polymerizable gas and then dyeing it from an aqueous liquor free of levelling agent.
It has now been found that the plasma treatment does in practice bring about a certain improvement in dyeability. However, the textile processing industry is particularly interested in a reduction in the felting tendency of wool, especially of raw, or unprocessed, wool.
The felting of wool is customarily reduced by finishing the wool with applied auxiliaries.
However, processes are also known for the antifelt finishing of wool by means of a combination of plasma pretreatment and enzymatic aftertreatment. Such a process is described for example in German Offenlegungsschrift DE-43 44 428 A1.
The existing processes cited are ineffective or unsatisfactory with regard to the antifelt finishing of wool.
In addition, plasma treatment processes are handicapped by the presence of water, present in most wools up to a maximum proportion of 33% by weight or even up to 40% by weight in the case of alkali treatment.
The varying moisture content of the fibre is considered a disadvantage for these processes because the production throughput fluctuates as a result. For this reason, in the processes, the wool material is dried prior to the plasma treatment at the cost of additional complication and expense.
Plasma treatment in the presence of small amounts of water is otherwise only known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,344,462.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
However, this reference is concerned not with the antifelt finishing of raw wool, but with improving the dyeability or impregnation of paper webs, plastics films or textile materials having a very different composition. The effect of the plasma described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,344,462 on raw wool is not known.
It is an object of the present invention to provide wool, especially in the form of combed sliver, with an antifelting finish, so that it will not felt and shrink in the washing machine after further processing into made-up material.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
This object is achieved according to the invention by a process for antifelt finishing of wool material composed of especially animal hairs by means of a low temperature plasma treatment, characterized in that moist wool material having a water content of 4 to 40% by weight is exposed, prior to further processing into textile fabrics or webs, to a high fre
REFERENCES:
patent: 3746858 (1973-07-01), Pavlath et al.
patent: 3870610 (1975-03-01), Baird et al.
patent: 5160592 (1992-11-01), Spitsin et al.
patent: 5344462 (1994-09-01), Paskalov et al.
patent: 5407446 (1995-04-01), Sando et al.
patent: 5435156 (1995-07-01), Sando et al.
patent: 5972160 (1999-10-01), Straemke
A. E. Pavlath et al, "Effect of the Afterglow or the Felting Shrinkage of Wool" Textile Research Journal, 45 (month unavailable) 1975, p. 742.
W. Rakowski, Melliand Textilber. 10 (month unavailable) 1989, pp. 780-785.
Database, Sec. CH, Wk 9513, AN 95-097118 and RU 2016156, Jul. 15, 1994.
Textile Research Journal, vol. 38, Jun. 1968, pp. 644-658.
John R. Hollanhan, Alexis T. Bell: "Techniques and Applications of Plasma Chemistry, Tech. Applications" 1974, Attila E. Pavlath, "Plasma Treatment of Natural Materials", pp. 149-175.
Hocker Hartwig
Merten Thomas
Thomas Helga
Bayer Aktiengesellschaft
Gil Joseph C.
Mayekar Kishor
Whalen Lyndanne M.
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