Continuous Dyeing of Reactive dyes

Continuous Processing of Cotton woven fabric: A general process sequence may be as below:
PRETREATMENT PART:
1. Singe & Desize (Semi Continuous process)
2. Scouring or Boiling
3. Peroxide Bleaching
4. Neutralization
5. Drying
6. Mercerising and washing off to a pH of 6
7. Neutralizing
8. Drying
9. Ready For Dyeing (RFD stage).
1. Singeing & Desizing:
a. Recipe: Bactosol HC = 5 g/l
b. Common Salt

= 5 g/l

c. Wetting Agent (100%)= 3 g/l

i.

Do cold padding with the above chemicals, batch, and keep rotating the batch

for 8 hrs
ii.

Desize washing in 4 compartments @ 90mts/minute speed.

2. Bleaching (Continuous Process)a.

Caustic Impregnation:

i. Recipe:
1.

Caustic Soda

= 70gram/liter

2.

Lissopal D paste = 10 gram/liter

a.

4 dips 1 nip @ 90 mtrs/minute speed.

b.

Steaming @ 105C for 45 minutes in the steaming chamber.

c.

Cold Wash in 2 compartments (4 dips 1 nip) x 2

b. J-BOX Bleaching optional

i.

Recipe:

1.

Sodium Hypochlorite = 2 g/l Avl Cl2

2.

Dwell time in J box 30 to 45 minutes at room temp.

3.

No washing
c. Peroxide Impregnation:

i.

Recipe:

1.

Hydrogen Peroxide(50%) = 3 ml/liter

2.

Stabilizer

a.

4 Dips 1 Nip at cold.

b.

Steam in Peroxide Steamer for 45 minutes.

3.

Washing in 5 compartments with each 4 dip and 1 nip.

4.

Dry and batch on A frame roller.

= 0.5 gram/liter

3. Mercerisation: (Chainless Merceriser)

i.

Recipe:

1.

Caustic Soda = 280 to 300 gpl

2.

Permenol N = 10 g/l

a.

Cold Padding Speed:

i.

Bleached Fabric = 25 mtrs/minute

ii.

Grey Fabric

iii.

= 15 mtrs/minute

Scoured Fabric = 20 mtrs/minute

b.

Mangle Pressure: 3.2 to 4 kg/cm2

c.

Liquor Pickup : 110%

d.

Recuperation:

e.

1st compartment strength = 8 to 27 gpl

1st compartment temp = 90 to 95C

2nd compartment strength = 1.6 to 6.4 gpl

2nd compartment temp = 65 to 95

Wash Tanks:

i.
Tank 1 50 to 55C
ii.
Tank 2 Acetic Acid Neutralizing
iii.
Tank 3 60 to 70C
iv. Wetting Agent room temp

f.

Final fabric pH 5.5.to 6.0

g.

Drying:
Fabric is dried in cylinder or stenter and batched as RFD.
4. Continuous Dyeing Method for 100% Cellulose:
a. There are 3 methods:

i.

Pad Dry Chemical Pad Steam

1.

Dye Liquor Preparation & recipe:

a.

Cotfix Dyestuff

b.

Wetting Agent

c.

Antimigartion agent

d.

Mild Oxidizing Agent = 5-10 gram/liter

2.

Padding Temperature should be < 35C

3.

Liquor Pick up%

4.

Chemical Pad Recipe:

= x grams/liter
= 2-3 gram/liter
= 8-10 gram/liter

= 60 to 80

Dyestuff G/L

Caustic Soda

Salt (g/l)

Soda Ash (g/l)

< 20

Nil

200

20

30 40

Nil

250

20

> 40

Nil

250

20

5.

Chemical Padding Temperature < 35C

6.

Liquor Pickup

70 to 80%

7.

Steaming

45-90 seconds with

Saturated steam (101 to 105) the steam should be free from acid.
ii.

Pad-Dry-Steam:

1.
This is carried out on a padding mangle attached with either Hot Flue or Flow Dried. To fix
the dyestuff, the dried material is steamed in the normal continuous steamer for 4 to 7 minutes at
100 to 103C.
2.

PAD LIQUOR PREPARATION for VS dyes:

Dyestuff

G/L 10

20

Urea

G/L 0~50 0~50

30

40

50

>50

0~50 50~70

50~75

50~75

Sodium
G/L 5
Bicarbonate

10

15

15-18

20

20-25

Resist Salt

10

10

10

10

10

G/L 10

3.

Take all the precautions and conditions mentioned for Pad Dry-Chemical Pad-Steam.

iii.

Pad-Dry-Thermo fix Process:

1.

Here again there are 2 processes:

a.

Soda Ash Method

b.

Sodium Bicarbonate Method

PAD LIQUOR PREPARATION for VS dyes

Dye

G/L 2

10

20

40

60

Urea

G/L 15 30

45

60

80

Soda
Ash(OR)

G/L 8

12

17

25

33

Sodium
G/L 12 18
Bicarbonate

27

36

45

The material is padded in the above liquor at room temperature, dried & thermo fixed as follows:

Temperature Soda Ash

Process

Sod.Bicarnonateproc
ess

100C

5-7 minutes

4-6 minutes

120C

2-4 minutes

3-5 minutes

140C

40-60 seconds

60-90 seconds

5. After treatment:
a. Overflow Cold wash in soapers 4 dip 1 nip in 2 compartments
b. Neutralization with Acetic Acid in the soaped at cold with 2 ~3 g/l Acetic acid.
c. Hot wash in one compartment (soaper) @ 80 , 4 dip 1 nip in
d. Soaping with 2 g/l of soaping agent (Sandopur RSK) at 90C
e. 2nd soaping with 1 g/l soaping agent (Sandopur RSK) at 90C
f. Hot Wash
g. Hot Wash
h. Cold Wash
i. Acetic Acid Treatment 1 g/l or Formic Acid treatment 0.5 g/l
j. Squeezed on the last mangle and either plaited or wound on a batcher and taken
for drying.

Possible Faults that may occur during the above process and check points/rectification:

1. Tailing: The Alkalinity in the mercerized fabric would be un-uniform ranging from 0.25 to 1
and above gram/liter due to inefficient recuperation. That means more and more alkalinity would
be carried over on the mercerized cloth and that can be checked in lab by titration. Any variation
in the alkalinity of the mercerized fabric can show up through the length by the dye affinity
difference and that is tailing.

a. Check Point:
i.
Alkalinity of the mercerized cloth has to be quantitatively checked in the lab at intervals
of 500 meters. It must be uniform.
2. C/S Variation may arise due to
a.
intervals.

Desizing Expression of the squeezing mangle is to be checked at frequent

b.
Caustic Impregnation - Expression of the squeezing mangle is to be checked at
frequent intervals.
c. Peroxide Bleaching:
i.

Steam Pressure

ii.

Steam Temperature

iii.

Time duration of the steaming are to be controlled.

ii.

Mercerising Impregnation Mangle expression has to be checked.

1.

Recuperator Efficiency has to be checked at every 1000 meters.

2.

Final Alkalinity of the mercerized fabric should be less than 0.25 g/l of caustic.

3.
Soaper washing Acid for neutralization should be prepared in volume and should be fed
in to the neutralization tank continuously.
4.
To counter check, the fabric absorbency may be checked in the center and the two
selvedges at regular intervals.

3.

Face to back variation

a.
Mangle Expression in the dye padding should be 70% and chemical padding should be
80%.
b.

Thermosol temperature difference between faces may result in migration of dyestuff.

c.
In a 2 dip 2 nip mangles, if the expression of both the mangle are not identical, then back
to face variation is possible at any stage, dyeing, finishing etc.

d.

In stenters, if the hot air blowers are not functioning, there may be face to back variation.

e.
In jigger dyeing machine, out of the two bottom rollers, one is not rotating properly then
back to face variation is possible.

4.

Specky Dyeing:

a.

Improper dissolution of dyestuff:

i.
The quantity of the dyestuff is to be pasted, say for 1 kg of dyestuff, 5 liters of soft water
should be used for pasting. Then 1 kg of urea is dissolved in 5 liters of water and this solution is
added in the paste and stirred well to make a uniform lump less slurry. About 40 liters of hot
water at 85C is added to the slurry which is kept under a high speed stirrer. The hot water
should be added slowly to the rotating vertex of the dye slurry. The filter this dissolved dyestuff
through a fine gauze.
ii.

Temperature of dissolution:

1.

M-Brand

= 50C

2.

V.S

= 80C

3.

ME, XL, HE = 80C.

iii.
The dissolved dyestuff may be spotted on a filter paper - a uniform circle shows proper
dissolution.