US2141845A - Method of treating fibrous material - Google Patents

Description

Patented Dec. 27, 1938 UNITE/D STAT 9 Claims.

greasing fibrous material include principally fats,.

oils', waxes, paraffin and other highmolecular hydrocarbons and also mineral oils and higher fatty acids, such as stearic acid, palmitic acid and oleic acid. There are, however, cases in which it will not suffice for the fibres readily to absorb the agents'used, but it is desirable that after the operations on the fibrous material the agents should be readily removable from the fibre either partially or entirely as utility may require. In addition to these properties, it is desirable that the agents used should meet several other'requirements. They should not injure the fabric or otherwise affect itobjectionably, as, for example, by making it tacky or otherwise giving it an unpleasant feel. It is further important that the agents used, especially if they are to be left in the fibre either permanently or for a considerable time, should be non-odorous and as far as possible neutral and not subject to decomposition 'under the action of light and air. Theymust be asstable as possible and have no corroding effect on machinery and appliances with which the ma- METHOD OF TREATING rmnous MATERIAL- Walther Schrauth, Berlin-Dahlem, Germany No Drawing. Application. June -1, ms, Serlal No. 82,917. In Germany July 27, 1928 I ES HPATEQIT OFFICE Russ-urn its 25 194 combined therewith. The presence of the sul- 'fonates makes it possible to form, emulsions of the alcohols in water. The necessity for using the solvents heretofore used is thus eliminated ina particularly satisfactory manner in that the sulfonates themselves have 'a desirable effect upon the fibre.

The sulfonates possess an excellent wetting out and dispersing power. Owing to this they promote in mixture with the alcohols the penetrating effect. of the alcohols in the fibre. In this manner they impart to the fibre a most stable smoothness. 0n the other hand regarding the emulsifying properties of the sulfonates the mix .tures of the alcohols and the sulfonates can be removed, if necessary, more easily by means of. water.

' The aforesaid alcohols are perfectly neutral and non-odorous and they have no detrimental terial 'comes in contact during the processes ofmanufacture. A.

Greasing agents heretofore used have been only partly satisfactory. Waxes and hydrocarbons are difilcult to remove from the fibre. The fatty acids are not always neutral to the fibre and above all they\have a highly corrosive effect on working appliances. of the fatty acids penetrate the fibre and can be removed only with great difficulty. Fats and oils The heavy metal salts.

are decomposed by the action. of light and airand turn rancid and the resultant fatty acids act upon the metal parts of working appliances. The higher molecular fatty alcohols including the so-called wax alcohols having from 8 to 30 -carbon atoms such as the octyl, decyl, lauryl, myristyl, cety l, stearyl, hexadecenyl, oleyl, ricinoleyl, linoleyl, dihydroxy octadecane, eicosyl, carnaubyl, ceryl, 'cerotyl and myricyl offer most, of the advantages of v the greasing materials here- 'combined with the fatty alcohols.

efiect whatever on the fibre and on the working appliances. Moreover they are absolutely stable to the action 'of light and air.

When used for greasing, the alcohols mentione have also the property .of imparting to the fibre great'suppleness, insensitiveness to water and resistance to deleterious chemical action, since they are highly resistant to the action of chemical agents.

' Any of the fatty alcohols, thatis to say the primary aliphatic saturated and unsaturated alcohols having 8 to 30 carbon atoms in the molecule may be used but the most satisfactory are those having 12 to 18 carbon'atoms in the molecule.

It has been discovered further in accordance with the present invention that naphthenic alcohols can be advantageously used instead of or thenic alcohols'may be used either alone .or as tofore used andar'e free from most of the disad- -'vantages. These alcohols are particularly efi'ectlve when used for the treatment of threads, fibres and fabrics of wool, cotton, natural and emulsions in combination with the sulfonates of the fatty alcohols or of the sulfonates'of naphthenic alcohols. They have a somewhat different effect than the fatty'alcohols in use. For example, they are according to their smaller water The naphthe fibre. This effect is very important in such cases, in which the fibres are impregnated only during a working operation of the manufacture. By impregnating with the 'naphthenic alcohols one even obtains on the fibre a certain moisture content, which prevents the drying up of the fibre, that no moistening of the factory rooms is necessary. Furthermore the naphthenic alcohols have on account of their certain amount of sulfur compounds a valuable disinfecting power,

which protects the fibre against mould and other damages. 7

A composition consisting of alcohols selected from the above mentioned groups, especially those saturated primary aliphatic alcohols having from 12 to 18 carbon atoms or. the unsaturated primary aliphatic alcohols having 16 to 22 rcarbon atoms, combined with sulfonatesof the alcohols of the same group provides a particularly effective and valuable treating composition. The proportion of sulfonate may vary over a wide range in accordance with the results desired. Ordinarily from 0.5 to 75% of sulfonate in the mixture gives agood mixture for usual commercial purposes. About 5% is probably most satisfactory for greasing'fibres. If it is desired that the treating material shall remain in the fibrous material nly during the working operations and shall be s bstantially,entirelywashed out thereafter, a larger proportion of sulfonate, as for example, about. 10% is desirable. If on the other hand it is desired that a substantial proportion of the alcohol shall be retained in the fibrous material after the manufacturing operations are completed in order to condition the material as, for, example, to render it water resistant or to give a soft handle, then a composition having less sulfonate, for example about 0.5%, will be found more satisfactory.

Mixtures of parafiin oil. and oleyl alcohol, wherein the parafiin oil is from 20 to of the mixture to which may be added from 0.5 to 50% of a sulfonate, as for example lauryl sulfate are particularly suitable for greasing purposes.

These compositions may also be-combined with.

other treating agents toward which they are neutral. Good results are obtained, for example, by using them conjointly with emulsions of fatty substances, oils, waxes, hydrocarbons, mineral oils and the like.

Compositions containing alcohol and a sulfonate are particularly effective for. use in acid baths such as dyeing, and in mercerizing and the like baths, because they are not decomposed by the acids and alkalies usually used.

The compositions are effective for brightening and sizing of artificialfibres, threads, or fabrics and for the greasing of wool to be worked up into worsted yarn. They are advantageously employed in the manufacture of artificial-threads. For example inmaking viscose silk even a comparatively small aniount of the alcohols mentioned, or better st 11, a mixture of thealco'hols .and their sulfonates added in the form of emulsions to the highly concentrated sulfuric acid precipitating bath will be sufiicient to prevent the sticldng of the threads and protect them from the injurious. action of the sulfuric acid.

, The alcohols and the sulfonates combined water. v

Example 1 For the sizing of artificial silk one may use an aqueous emulsion containing 5% of wool fat alcohol which contains 8% of the sodium sulfate of a concentrated emulsion of 0.75 part of myristyl alcohol, 2.5 parts of cetyl alcohol and 0.17 part of sodium lauryl sulfonate 20 parts of Example 3 v A good loading-and finishing composition is, obtained by working up 150mm ofdextrine, 80 parts of potato starch, 3 parts of cetyl alcohol, 1 part of oleyl alcohol, 5 parts of a 30% aqueous paste of the sodium salt of oleyl alcohol sulfuric 35 acid ester to an aqueous emulsion together with the desired amount of a loading material such as kaolin, china clay or the like.

Example 5 0 'A finishing composition may also be prepared by emulsifying 150 parts of dextrine, 2 parts of stearyl alcohol and 5 parts of a 30% aqueous {oleyl alcohol sulfonate paste per litre of water and adding the desiredamount .of loading substances such as kaolin, china clay or the like.

Example 6 2% naphthenic alcohol and 0.3 to 0.5% of the sodium salt of the true sulfonic acid of myrlstln alcohol are added to the carbonizing acid usually employed, i. e., sulphuric acid of about 4 Be. By this admixture one obtains a ready and perfectly uniform wetting of the fibres.

Example 7 An impregnating bath for cotton fabrics which will impart a soft handle to thefabrics is obtained by adding 3 parts of naphthenic alcohol and 0.17 part of the sodium salt of the sulfuric acid ester of the naphthenic alcohol to parts of water.

Example 8 An excellent'avivage eifecton woolmay be obtained by impregnating the wool with a solution of 3.5 parts of naphthenic alcohol in 100 parts of trichlorethylene. After impregnating the wool is squeezed ofland the excess of the solvent is removed.

Example 9 Prior to the spinning operation the woolmay be softened with an aqueous emulsion containing 18% of mineral oil, 5% of naphthenic alcohol and 5% of the sodium salt of the'sulphuric acid cute 75 of the oleyl alcohol. This impregnation can easily be removed after operation.

The foregoing particular description is illus-- trative merely and is not intended as defining the limits of the invention.

This application is a continuation in part of .the applicant's copending application, Serial No. 671,010, filed May 13, 1933.

I claim: 7

1. The method of treating natural or finished artificial textile fibres or fabrics to enhance their fitness for working and to improve their quality which comprises applying thereto an emulsion of alcohol of the group consisting of the primary aliphatic alcohols containing 8 to 30 carbon atoms in the molecule and the naphthenic alcohols with a sulfonate of an alcohol of such group.

2. The method of treating natural or finished artificial textile fibres or fabrics to enhance their fitness for working and to improve their quality which comprises applying thereto an emulsion of high molecular, primary aliphatic alcohol con- I taining 8 to 30 carbon atoms in the molecule with a sulfonate of such an alcohol.

3. The method of treating natural or finished artificial textile" fibres or fabrics to enhance their.

which comprises applying thereto an emulsion of naphthenic alcohol with a sulfonate of naphthenic alcohol.

5. The method of treating natural or finished artificial textile fibres or fabrics to enhance their fitness for working and to improve their. quality which comprises applying thereto an emulsion of naphthenic alcohol with a sulfonate of an alcohol of the group consisting of the primary allphatic alcohols containing 8 to 30 carbon atoms in the molecule.

6. The method of treating natural or artificial textile fibres or fabrics according to claim 1 wherein the sulfonate is equal to 0.5 to 75% of the weight of the alcohol.

7. The method of treating natural fibrous material to enhance its fitness for working and applying thereto naphthenic alcohols and the re- 'to improve the quality thereof which comprises action products of these alcohols with sulfuric 7 acid.

8. The method of treating natural fibrous material to enhance its fitness for working and to 12 to 18 carbon-atoms in'the molecule.

9. The method of treating natural or finished artificial textile'fibres or fabrics to enhance their fitness for working and to improve their quality which comprises applying thereto an emulsion improve the quality thereof which comprises 'ap plying thereto an emulsion of naphthenic alcohol and a sulfonate of an aliphatic alcohol having