Soil-Release Finishing of Textiles: A Status Report

摘要

Recent developments in the soil-release finishing of 100% polyester, polyester-cotton blended, and all cotton durable press fabrics have been reviewed. A survey of various commercial soil-release finishes available in the world market is presented. The chemical nature of various soil-release agents and the mechanism by which they operate for soil-removal and preventing soil-redeposition during aqueous laundering conditions are discussed. A comparison of the soil-release effectiveness of different classes of soil-release finishes, e.g., those based on oxyethylated polymers, hydrophilic fluoropolymers and acrylic copolymers is also given and theoretical principles underlying their use are discussed. The possibility of the application of soil-release finishes from organic solvents is mentioned. Various approaches for imparting hydrophilicity and soil-release ability to polyester fabrics are reviewed. In order to better understand the role of soil-release chemicals, fundamental information regarding the soiling process and laundering is presented. The potential for the utilization of soil-release technology by the Indian textile industry is discussed.