REACTIVE DYES

DISCOVERED IN 1956: BRITISH CHEMIST

RATTEE AND STEPHEN, ICI NOW ZENECA
COLOURS
AFTER 100 YEARS OF DISCOVERY OF FIRST
SYNTHETIC DYE, PERKINS, BRITISH CHEMIST
CHEMICAL REACTION BETWEEN DYE AND
FIBRE
COVALENT BOND FORMATION
NAMED AS REACTIVE DYES

MODE OF REACTION
STRUCTURAL FEATURES

S-D-B-X

S SOLUBILIZING GROUP
C CHROMOPHORE
B BRIDGING GROUP
X REACTIVE GROUP

REACTIVE DYES BASED ON TRIAZINE

SCHEMATIC REPRESENTATION OF TRIZINE

REACTIVE DYES

REACTIVE DYES BASED ON VINYL SULPHONE

CLASSIFICATION
MONO-FUNCTIONAL REACTIVE DYES
BI-FUNCTIONAL REACTIVE DYES
MONO-FUNCTIONAL REACTIVE DYES

PRESENCE OF REACTIVE GROUP (ONE OR TWO) AT A SINGLE

LOCATION ON DYE MOLECULE
REACTIVE DYES DEVELOPED AT EARLY STAGES WERE MONOFUNCTIONAL
TYPICAL EXAMPLES ARE
MONOCHLORO TRIAZINE
DICHLORO TRIAZINE (TWO REACTIVE GROUPS LOCATED ON
THE SAME TRIAZINE RING)
VINYL SULPHONE

MONO FUNCTIONAL REACTIVE DYES

REACTIVE GROUP ATTACHED TO A SINGLE
CHROMOPHORE
NO SEPARATION OF REACIVE GROUPS FROM
EACH OTHER

Typical mono functional reactive groups

CLASSIFICATION
BIFUNCTIONAL REACTIVE DYES

RECENTLY INTRODUCED
PRESENCE OF TWO REACTIVE GROUPS OF SAME TYPE
(MONO OR DIDCHLORO TRIAZINE) OR DIFFERENT TYPES
(MONOCHLORO TRIAZINE AND VINYL SULPHONE
AT TWO DIFFERENT LOCATIONS IN THE DYE MOLECULE.
THESE DYES ALSO CALLED AS HE DYES
SHOW HIGH EXHAUSTION, HIGH FIXATION
BETTER COLOUR YIELD
REDUCED POLLUTION: LESS DYE IN EFFLUENT
VERY POPULAR FOR EXHAUST DYEING.
HIGH EXHAUSTION IS DUE TO HIGH MOLECULAR WEIGHT
SIMILAR TO DIRECT DYES, HIGH AFFINITY TO COTTON
REACT WITH CELLULOSE WITH CROSS LINK FORMATION.

BIFUNCTIONAL REACTIVE DYES

CHROMOPHORE

BRIDGE

REACTIVE
GROUP

CHROMOPH
ORE

REACTIVE
GROUP

Homo and Hetrobifunctional reactive dyes

DYEING METHODS
Batch dyeing
THREE STAGES
EXHAUSTION FROM AQUEOUS BATH CONTAINING
ELECTROLYTE, UNDER NEUTRAL CONDITION
ADDITION OF ALKALI TO PROMOTE FURTHER UPTAKE
AND DYE FIBRE REACTION AT OPTIMAL pH AND TEMP.
RINSING AND SOAPING AT BOIL TO REMOVE
ELECTROLYTE, ALKALI AND UNREACTED DYE.
FOLLOW DYE MANUFACTURERS RECOMMENDTIONS FOR
DYEING

DYEING CONDITIONS

REACTIVE GROUP

DYEING
TEMP.00

COMMON
SALT (g/l)

SODA
ASH g/l

DICHLORO
TRIAZINE

30

25-55

2-15

MONOCHLORO
TRIAZINE

80-85

30-90

10-20

VINYL SULPHONE

70-80

30-80

10-20

BIFUNTIONAL

80-85

30-60

10-20

DYEING CYCLE

WASHING OFF AFTER DYEING

EFFECTIVE WASHING AFTER DYEING IS VERY
ESSENTIAL FOR THE COMPLETE REMOVAL OF
UNREACTED DYE
UNREACTED DYE IF NOT REMOVED GIVES FALSE
INDICATION OF LOW WASH FASTNESS
RINSE 2-3 TIMES WITH FRESH WATER AT 50-600C
SOAP AT BOIL FOR 15-30 MIN. USING EASILY
RINSABLE DETERGENT
RINSE WITH COLD WATER UNTILL THE RINSED
WATER IS COLOURLESS OR SLIGHTLY TINTED

AFTER TREATMENT
IN THE DYEING OF DEEP SHADES OR INEFFICIENT
WASHING EQUIPMENT THERE MAY BE INCOMPLETE
REMOVAL OF UNFIXED DYE

AFTER TREATMENT WITH CATIONIC DYE

FIXING AGENT
INSOUBILIZES UNFIXED DYE
IMPROVE WASH FASTNESS
TREAT WITH 5-10 g/l CATIONIC DYE FIXING AGENT
AT 50-600C FOR 15-30 MIN.
FINAL RINSE IS NOT ESSENTIAL.
TREATMENT WITH DYE FIXING AGENT SHULD
NEVER BE REGARDED AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR THE
MOST EFFICIENT WASHING OFF PROCESS

SEMI CONTINUOUS DYEING

KNOWN AS PAD-BATCH DYEING

ABLE TO DYE FABRIC LENGTH OF 1000-2000 METERS PER
SHADE AT ECONOMICAL COST.

PAD-BATCH DYEING

1.

SATURATION OF FABRIC WITH DYE AND ALKALI AT ROOM

TEMP.
UNIFORM SQUEEZING OF SURPLUS LIQUOR WITH THE
HELP OF PADDING MANGLE
WRAPPING OF THE BATCHED ROLL OF WET FABRIC IN
POLYTHENE FILM AND STORAGE AT AMBIENT TEMP. FOR 224 hr. DEPENDING ON DYE REACTIVITY AND pH
WASHING AND SOAPING
DRYING

2.
3.

4.
5.

PAD-BATCH METHOD

MERITS

SIMPLE PROCESS
LOW CAPITAL COST OF EQUIPMENT
LOW ENERGY AND WATER CONSUMPTION
EXCELLENT REPRODUCIBILITY
BATCH LENGTHS OF 1000-10,000 m PER COLOUR.
HIGH REACTIVITY DYES PREFERRED FOR LOW BATCHING TIME (2-4
hr)
LOW REACTIVITY DYES ARE PREFERRED FOR WITH LONGER
BATCHING TIME (6-24 hr)
DEMERITS
WITH MODERATE AND HIGH REACTIVITY DYES IT IS NECESSARY TO
HAVE DYE ALKAI MIXER FOR IMPROVED BATH STABILITY
TAILING EFFECTS DURING PADDING DUE TO DYE AFFINITY TO FIBRE
TAILING CAN BE AVOIDED BY CONTINUOUS FEEDING OF
CALCULATED CONC. OF DYE SOLUTION IN PADDING TROUGH
LIMITED DYEBATH STABILITY IN PREENCE OF ALKALI

CONTINUOUS METHODS
HIGH PRODUCTIVITY
DYE FIXATION ACHIEVED IN FEW SECONDS OR
MINUTES BY HEATING AT HIGH TEMPERATURE
HIGH CAPITAL COST

METHODS
PAD-DRY
PAD-DRY-BAKE
PAD-STEAM
PAD-WET FIXATION (alkali Boil)

PAD-DRY METHOD
SUITABLE FOR HIGHLY REACTIVE PROCION M DYES
PROCESS ORIGINALLY DEVELOPED FOR PROCION M DYES
TOGETHER WITH 10 g/l SODIUM BICARBONATE
UREA MAY BE ADDED TO IMPROVE DYE SOLUBILITY
SODIUM ALGINATE IN SMALL CONC. ADDED TO MINIMIZE DYE
MIGRATION DURING DRYING.
LOWER THE DYE SUBSTANTIVITY AND REACTIVITY OF DYE
HIGHER IS MIGRATION
HIGH SUBSTANTIVE DYES WITH HIGH REACTIVITY ARE
PREFERRED.
HIGH REACTIVTY ALSO INCREASE THE CHANCES OF DYE
HYDROLYSIS IN BATH RESULTING IN LOW DYEBATH SATBILITY
PROCESS NOT SUITABLE FOR DYES WITH LOW REATIVITY
LIKE PROCION H OR REMAZOL

PAD-DRY METHOD

PAD-DRY-BAKE METHOD

PAD-DRY-BAKE PROCESS SUITBLE FOR PROCION H DYES

GOOD DYEBATH STABILITY IN PRESENCE OF ALKALI AT
ROOM TEMP.
PAD-BATH COMPOSITION
DYE 10-30 g/l, SODIUM BICARBONATE 10-20 g/l,
UREA 100-200 g/l
PAD-DRY (90-100 0C - BAKE AT 150 0C FOR 3-5 MIN.
WASH-SOAP-DRY
ROLE OF UREA
IMPROVE DYE SOLUBILITY
MELT AT 132 0C,
FORMS MOLTEN BATH
DYE SOLUBILITY IN MOLTEN BATH AND FIBRE SWELLING
DYE DIFFUSION AND DYE RECTION WITH FIBRE

DYEING OF COTTON WITH REACTIVE

DYES
WORLD FIBRE CONSUMPTION (X1000
tonne)
Year

Cotton

Regenerat
ed

wool

Synthetic

Total

1990

18700
49%

2700

2000

14900
39%

39300

1996

20700
49%

2500

2000

17300
41%

42600

2000

23400
49%

2400

2200

20500
42%

48500

Dye consumption (Tonne)

Dye class

1988

1995

2004

Sulphur

90 000

70 000

70 000

Direct

74 000

60 000

68 000

Vat

36 000

21 000

22 000

Indigo

12 000

12 000

12 000

Azoic

28 000

18 000

13 000

Reactive

60 000

109 000

178 000

Total

300 000

290 000

354 000

SALIENT STATISTICS
The

total world-wide production of cotton is

estimated at 23 x106 te p.a. (metric tonnes per
annum).
The corresponding amount of reactive dye used for cotton

coloration is estimated to be 120,000 te p.a. Of this about two

thirds is dyed by exhaust technology.
Salient statistics, which follow from these figures, include:
4 x 106 te p.a. of cotton is exhaust dyed with reactive dyes;
4 x 108 te p.a. of fresh water is used in the overall process,
and all of this is ultimately discarded in a contaminated state;
2.8 x 106 te p.a. of salt is used in the process; and all of this is
ultimately discarded in the aqueous effluent;
8 x 104 te p.a. of reactive dye is applied, with an average
fixation yield of 70%, thus:
2.4 x 104 te p.a. of dye is discarded in the aqueous effluent.