Re+ N E I ENCLAND ASSOCIATION 4 t h
of
CllEMISTRY TEACUERS
Chemistry in Textiles' HAROLD R. STURTEVANT Albi Chemical Corporation, New York City
M
If people believed all the advertisements they read today, no one would think of buying a man's shirt unless the fabric was trade-marked "Sanforized." The "Sanforized" process is not a chemical process so much as it is a matter of the mechanical handling of the fabric in its final processing. It is really a controlled shrinkage process carefully supervised and checked to guarantee that the fabric will not shrink more than 1 per cent either in the warp or the fillimg after it has been made up into a garment. Different fabrics and the different processes a fabric goes through before reaching the final finishing operation require a different set of controls on the sanforizing range. The final finish consists of cutting out pieces of the fabric, marking exact measurements on the cloth both crosswise and lengthwise, wash in^ in a standard washinx machine, drying, and measuring. The Broadhurst. and Lee Drocess (known -~- Toodall. ~-~~~~~ popularly as the crease-proof or anti-crease finish) is familiar to most people through some garment or fabric they have purchased. This finish is a urea-formaldehyde resin. The fabric is saturated with urea in conjunction with a catalyst, a plasticizer, and formaldehyde. The fabric is dried, or more accurately, the resin is cured by heating the combined chemicals on the cloth at temperatures high enough and for a time long enough to complete the chemical reaction between the urea and formaldehyde. This is followed by a series of neutralizing and washing operations to complete the process. Many improvements have been made in this process' since the original patents were granted and the result is a fairly easily controlled process which is being applied to a large number of fabrics, e. g., noncrush velvets, spun rayon dress goods, and summer sport wear of either spun rayon or filament rayon. The introduction of this resin finish on textiles has opened up a new field of development which is still being camed on although held up somewhat at present because of the shortage of chemicals. Numerous patents have been issued on resin coatings for fabrics. One of these, which may be classified as a nonshrink finish, specifies the application of a weak urea-formalI Abstract of an address presented at the225th meeting of the dehyde resin to a fabric. This will not give it antiN.E.A.C.T. on February 12, 1944, at the New Bedford Textile crease properties, but will set the elasticity of the fabric School. New Bedford, Massachusetts. 3(18 OST of my work since leaving this school in 1915 has been in connection with the finishing of cotton piece goods, and my remarks will be confined chiefly to this branch of the textile industry. At that time finishing was a more or less standard procedure which could be found in any textbook on the subject. Since then, there has been a gradual change because of a number of developments: the increase in the number and kinds of organic coloring matters for dyeing and printing, the introduction of rayon, acetates, aralac, and mixtures of these fibers, and the introduction of special finishes. The whole trend of the finishing industry today, in fact, is toward the so-called permanent finishes, so that anyone buying a piece of cloth or a completed garment will have the same fabric after it has been cleansed or laundered as when purchased. The customer today will not tolerate loss of 20 to 25 per cent of the fabric as starch or fillers of various types during the cleansing operation. The customer will npt tolerate the calico prints of yesterday which would run, bleed, crock, fade, and disappear. The indanthrene and other vat colors used for both dyeing and printing a t present are fast to light, fast to crocking, and fast to washing, so that the problem has been solved satisfactorily. The first of the so-called permanent finishes was that known as the permanent organdy finish. This was a ' development of the Swiss chemist, Haberlein, and was patented for use in the U. S. The process consisted of treating cotton fabrics in solutions of sulfuric acid or mixed acids for a definite time and a t a definite temperature. When the cellulose of the fabric became partly gelatinized the process was stopped by diluting the acid below the gelatinizing strength. It was found that constant control of three things was very important, namely, acid concentration, temperature, and time. Different fabrics and fabric constructions required a slightly different time or acid strength to get a desired result. A difference of about 6' Baum6 meant either no reaction on the cellulose a t all or, a t the other extreme, the complete distintegration of the cotton.
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JUNE,
1944
309
enough so that i t will hold its size. It may be thought dissolved out when tlie fabric was immersed in water. There is a wide field open for the research chemist of as a chemical process to compete with the sanforizing process already mentioned. As a matter of fact, it is who has a knowledge of resins, organic synthesis, deterused principally on spun rayon material which has the gents, surface-active agents, the chemistry and mefault of being finished a t a width of 36" (for example) chanicsof emulsions,and thechemistry of proofingmatehut changing to 35" in some places and 37" in others rials as used in mothproofing, waterproofing, weathersoon after. In my opinion the best spun rayon fab- proofing, and fireproofing. Advances in the near future rics are those finished with a combination of the anti- are likely to be made in alkali cellulose finishes, processing and dyeing of mixed fabrics, fabric labeling, cationic crease and the sanforize finish. I t is to be noted that the urea-formaldehyde finish softeners, and in the development of fabrics of the newer is produced by the formation of the resin on and in types-aralac, soybean, nylon, vinyon, and fiberglass the fabric. Other types of resins and resin-like subSIXTH SUMMER CONFERENCE stances have been applied to the fabric in the form of water-dispersed emulsions, water in oil or reversed Connecticut College, New London, emulsions, and in solutions, without getting the desired result. The urea-formaldehyde anti-crease finish August 2443,1944 is formed in the fibers whereas the Others are resin he program of the Sixth Summer Conference to he held at coatings. The most promising of these other types a t Connecticut College from Thursday evening, August 24, t e present are the vinyl, the anylate, and the ethyl cellu- Monday noon. August 28, 1944, will be centered about two themes: (1) a symposium an oxidation-reduction, and (2) lose types, The increased use of resins still remains one main recent developments in various fields of chemistry. Considerafor the research tion will also be given t o postwar teaching problems in the the most promising and and textile chemists. sciences. Details will he announced in the next issue. Although the summer conferences are held primarily for the During the first World War shelter tent duck was dyed with sulfur colors or a mineral khaki, ~h~ sulfur benefit of members of the N.E.A.C.T., anyone interested will be welcome. Connecticut College, a privately endowed liberal arts not stand up college and cO!ors are not fast to for women, opened for study in 1915. I t is situated on a under the intense sunlight of the tropics. These Colors hilltop overlooking the town of N ~ WLondon, Long Island Sound, also were easily detectable in aerial photographs, so the Thames River, and the hills of eastern Connecticut. A changes were necessary, vat dyes are used principally spacious campus surrounding modern granite buildings is supplemented by a 100-acre arboretum with lake and outdoor theater. at present and the fabric is fireproofed, Ocean Beach Park,a beautiful new recreation and bathing beach and Of the duck is finished with operated by the city of New London, can be reached in 20 minutes "Hooper's Solution." This is a petroleum-solvent solu- by convenient bus service. New London is located midway between New York and Boston tion containing chlorinated rubbber and chlorinated hydrocarbons to produce the waterproofing, antimony on the Shore Line of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad; excellent roads from several directions are available and boron com~omds for the flameproofingp copper to those able to come by automobile, and bus service is frequent. naphthenate for the mildewproofing, mineral pigments ~ h S, U ~ ~ Csession , of the college (June 21 to September 13) for the O.D. 7 shade, and a resin which acts as a binder. will be in progress during the period of the N.E.A.C.T. meeting. The cost of meals and lodging for each day will be $3.00, or for Pentachlorophenol was first used for the mildewproofthe entire conference, $12.00. All members and others in ing' The desized duck in the gray state is completely attendance must register t o help carry the expenses of the consaturated with HoO~er's squeezed through a ference. The schedule of registration fees is as follows: heavy roll padder, and then placed on ordinary drying Members: 8 . 0 0 if paid before August 1. cans. In one operation a continuous range produces $4.00 if paid after August 1. 35 to 45 yards per minute of the completed duck. Nonmembers: WOO, including membership in the association The problem of finding a mildewproofing agent is and subscription t o THISJOURNAL for one-half year. Nonprofessional guests: $1.50. difficult, because i t should be insoluble in water, capable Of being added to a bath, a finishing mixture, Dr. Carroll B. Gustafson. Massachusetts College of Pharmacy, a water-repekIt, or a waterproofing agent, and i t must is Chairman of the Conference and Rev. Joseph A. Martus, not color the fabric or change the shade in the dyeing. SJ., Cranwell Preparatory School, Lenox, Massachusetts, is should be nontoxic and nondermatitic to man, if treasurer. All communications concerning the conference should be addressed to the committee secretary, Miss Helen Crawley, possible, and be permanent. No agents have 45 Lawton Road, Needham, Massachusetts. The other membeen found yet which are not lacking in a t least one of bers .f the committee are the following: Millard W. Bosworth, these respects, but some have giyen fair results. The Leallyn B. Clapp, Irwin B. Donglass. Gretta L. Dyas, Ina M. principal used have been mercury salts, Grauara, Donald C. Gregg, Elizabeth S. Hollister, Clinton S. Johnson, Zelda J . Lurie, Mary C. McKee, Evelyn L. Murdock, copper naphthenates, copper ammonium duoride, and Norris W. Rakestraw, John R. Suydam, John A. Timm, and other copper salts. Thev are not always compatible Raymond S. Tobey. The Chairman has announced the followwith the other finishing agents. ing subcommittees: Social, Murdock, Lurie, Dyas; Reception In the fireproofing field, too, difficulties have been and entertainment of speakers, Timm, Suydam; Transportsare watersoluble tion, Tobey; Motion Pictures, Bosworth; Exhibits. Johnson; metbecause the effective Program, printing, and mailing, Crawley. with Theodore C. and hence are leached out of the fabric on washing. Sargent and Raymond E. Neal; Sessions Gregg; Some have been found which could he bound to the Registration, Martus, Hollister, Granara; Publicity. Rakestrar. fabric by a resin but the fire-retarding chemical was Clapp.
mildewproofed'
