A PROCESS FOR THE TREATMENT OF WOOL TO PREVENT OR REDUCE FELTING SHRINKAGE OF WOOL OR WOOLLEN ARTICLES

摘要

1359733 Reducing felting shrinkage of wool COMMONWEALTH SCIENTIFIC & INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH ORGANIZATION 21 June 1971 [19 June 1970] 29030/71 Heading D1P Felting shrinkage of wool is reduced by treatment of the scoured wool at 10-20%, preferably 15-20% moisture content with a gaseous atmosphere containing chlorine gas for 2-15 seconds and thereafter with a synthetic polymer. The gaseous atmosphere may be chlorine gas alone or mixed with air. The polymer may be an aqueous solution or dispersion of a polyethylene imine, polyamideepichlorohydrin, or a polyacrylic. The contact time of the chlorine is adjusted so that the amount of chlorine reacted with the wool is from 0.3 to 1.5%, preferably 0.5 to 1.0% based on the weight of wool. The wool is preferably in the form of loose wool or card sliver, but may alternatively be in woven or knitted fabric form. The wool is preferably passed through a chamber containing the gas. In a preferred embodiment, wool sliver, after scouring with a built, non-ionic detergent, rinsing and drying to 15% moisture content, and before or after top dyeing, is passed into a chamber containing chlorine at atmospheric pressure (residence time 2-15 sec; chlorine pick-up 0.3-1.5%) and then into an aqueous solution or dispersion of a synthetic polymer (pH 4-10) which also contains sodium sulphite or bisulphite to neutralise unreacted chlorine, and sodium carbonate or bicarbonate to adjust the pH of the wool to 3-4 and to deposit 0.5-10% by weight of the polymer on the wool. The treated wool is cured by drying and heating at 100‹C for 5 min., or by passing it through metal rollers heated to 150‹-400‹C. The polymer may be applied by spraying. The cured product may be semidecatized. The chlorination stage and the polymer applying stage may be separated by a manufacturing operation.