STUDY ON VARIOUS KINDS OF

SOFTENER (CHARACTER, PH,

APPLICATION PROCESS) IN FINISHING

ON TEXTILE GOODS

MD. AZMERI LATIF BEG

MSC IN TE

INTRODUCTION• Fabric softener (also called fabric conditioner) is used to prevent

static cling and make fabric softer i.e. Softening agents are appliedto textiles to improve their hand, drape, cutting and sewingqualities.

• It is available as a liquid or as dryer sheets.

• Fabric softeners work by coating the surface of the cloth fibers witha thin layer of chemicals; these chemicals have lubricant propertiesand are electrically conductive, thus making the fibers feelsmoother and preventing buildup of static electricity.

• The disadvantage of coating fibers by hydrophobic layer is indecreasing the water absorption properties of the fabric

• Based on the ionic natures softener can be classified into six categories:

– Cationic softeners

– Anionic softeners

– Non ionic softeners

– Amphoteric softeners

– Reactive softeners

– Silicone softeners

Reasons for using softener:

• As the textile material goes under various mechanical and

chemical processes that make the surface of the material harsh.

For example, Removal of natural oil and waxes by scouring and

bleaching.

• Resin finishing of textile material also imparts some degree of

harshness. soaping of textile material also add harsh feeling to

the material.

• As consumers are much more caring about the touch of textile

material. This is also reason for using softener.

Desirable properties of textile softener:

• It should be easy to handle.

• It should have good compatibility to other chemicals.

• It should not affect the shade of the material.

• It should not affect the fastness of dyed material.

• It should not cause any yellowing effect on dyed and finished material.

• It should be stable to high temperature.

• It should be non volatile by water vapour.

• It should be non toxic and non caustic.

• It should be easily bio degradable.

Popular brand names include Downy (Lenor), Snuggle, Bounce, Comfort and

The Past

• The first fabric softeners were developed by the textile industry during the early twentieth century. At that time the process that was used to dye cotton fibers left them feeling harsh.

• In the early 1900s, preparations known as cotton softeners were developed to improve the feel of these fibers after dyeing. A typical cotton softener consisted of seven parts water, three parts soap, and one part olive, corn, or tallow oil.

• By the 1960s several major marketers, including Procter and Gamble, had begun selling liquid fabric softener compositions for home use.

• In the late 1970s manufacturers found a way to deliver fabric softening benefits in a dryer sheet format.

• In the 1990s, environmentally minded manufacturers began test marketing ultra-concentrated formulations.

• By the end of the 1990s, annual sales of liquid fabric softeners in the United States reached approximately $700 million (in supermarkets, drug stores, and mass merchandisers). For the sake of comparison, about $400 million worth of dryer sheets are sold each year.

The Future

There are two formula related areas

that will affect the future of fabric

softeners.

The first is the impact the ultra-

concentrates will have on the

market

The second area is related to the

role that multi-functionality will play

in the future.

Raw Materials

• Conditioning agents

The most common ingredients used was dihydrogenated tallow dimethyl

ammonium chloride (DHTDMAC), which belongs to a class of materials

known as quaternary ammonium compounds, or quats. This kind of

ingredient is useful because part of the molecule has a positive charge that

attracts and binds it to negatively charged fabric fibers. One of the new

classes of materials employed in fabric softener formulations today is

polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS).

• Emulsifiers

The conditioning ingredients used in fabric softeners are not typically

soluble in water because of their oily nature. Therefore, another type of

chemical, known as an emulsifier. There are three types of emulsifiers used

in fabric softener formulations: micro-emulsions, macro-emulsions, and

emulsion polymers.

• Other ingredients

Fabric softeners contain other ingredients to improve their aesthetic appeal

and to ensure the product will be shelf stable. Fragrance and color are

added to make the product more pleasing to consumers. In addition,

emulsion stabilizers and preservatives are used to ensure the product

quality.

The Manufacturing ProcessThe preferred method for manufacturing liquid softeners involves heating

the ingredients together in one large mixing vessel. Mixing tanks shouldbe constructed from high grade stainless steel to prevent attack from thecorrosive agents in the formula. The tank is typically equipped with ajacketed shell that allows steam and cold water to be circulated, so thetemperature of the batch can be easily controlled. In addition the tank isfitted with a propeller type mixer that is driven by a large electric motor.This kind of mixing blade provides the high shear that is needed toproperly disperse the ingredients.

• Once the water has been added to the tank, heating and mixing isinitiated.

• The conditioning ingredients used in softeners are not typically watersoluble, so they are added to the water phase after the emulsifiers. For atypical strength formulation about 5% is used. For more concentratedformulations, levels of 10% are more common. When blends of quatsand silicones are used, the silicones are used at levels as low as 0.5-1.5%.

• Heating and mixing continues until the batch is homogeneous. At thispoint cool water is circulated around the tank to lower the temperature.As the batch cools, the remaining ingredients, such as preservatives,dyes, and fragrance, are added.

Quality Control

• Simple laboratory tests are used to determine basicproperties such as pH, viscosity, and percent solids.These tests can help confirm that the correct ingredientswere added at the appropriate levels.

• Other, more rigorous, tests are done to ensure theformulation is functioning correctly. One such evaluationis a water absorbency test, sometimes called the DrayesWetting Test. This procedure involves dropping smallpieces of treated fabric onto water and recording thelength of time required for the fabric to sink. Thismeasurement is taken 10 times to obtain an averageresult.

• Anti-wrinkle properties can be evaluated by askingpanelists to rate samples of fabric before they have beenironed. They are asked to numerically rate the amount ofwrinkling between the test sample and the fabric softenertreated sample.

Mechanisms of Softening Effect

• Depending on the ionic nature of the softener moleculeand the relative hydrophobicity of the fiber surface,cationic softeners orient themselves with their positivelycharged ends toward the partially negatively chargedfabrics (zeta potential), creating a new surface ofhydrophobic carbon chain that provide the characteristicexcellent softening and lubricity seen with cationicsofteners.

• Anionic softeners, on the other hand, orient themselveswith their negatively charged ends repelled away from thenegatively charged fiber surface. This leads to higherhydrophilicity, but less softening than with cationicsofteners

• The orientation of non-ionic softeners depends on thenature of the fiber surface, with the hydrophilic portion ofthe softener being attracted to hydrophilic surfaces andthe hydrophobic portion being attracted to hydrophobicsurface.

Cationic Softener

• The simplest cationic are the primary, secondary and tertiary mono-amines and their salts, formed by neutralization of the amines, usually with acetic acid.

• Reaction, with alkylating like methyl chloride, benzyl chloride, dimethyl sulphate, etc converts the insoluble amines into water soluble salts, which are more active than the original amines.

Mode of action:

• When a quaternary ammonium softener is dissolved in water, it ionizes into a hydrophilic head with a negative charge and a hydrophobic tail carrying a positive charge. On the other hand, when textile fibers are entered into water they acquire a negative charge. When a textile fiber is entered into an aqueous solution of a cationic softener.

• During the softening treatment the negative charge on the fiber surface attracts the positive tail of the cationic softener. This result in firmly anchoring of the softener residue on the fiber substance, somewhat similar to sheathing the fiber with an oily film. This is responsible for obtaining a soft handle and a pliable, well lubricated fiber surface.

Properties of cationic softener:

• They are compatible with most resin finishes.

• It has tendency to change the shade.

• It also affects the fastness of certain dyestuffs.

• It also causes discoloration on white fabrics.

MATERIALS & METHODS

• Properties:

• Appearance Milky liquid

• Composition Polyamide derivative

• Ionicity Weak cationic

• pH (1% solution) 5.0 ± 0.5

• Solubility Soluble in water in any

proportion

• Application pH range 4 – 7

• Application temperature range 45°-50C°

AN-IONIC SOFTENER

• Anionic softening agents are available in the form ofoff-white thick paste, creamish viscous paste, Beinganionic in character, they are compatible with directdyes, optical whitening agents, starches, glue,gelatine, gums, resins, polyvinyl alcohol, blueingagents, etc and are stable to hard water, dilutealkalies and dilute acids. They may be applied oncotton, viscose rayon, acetate rayon, silk and nylonyarns to produce soft and supple finishes. Solutionsof the anionic softening agents can be prepared bypouring 20 times its weight of boiling water withstirring and boiling for 5 to 10min

Silicone softeners:

Properties:

• A new class of anionic softeners.

• Expensive

• It gives improved wrinkle recovery also.

• Initially polydimethyl siloxane(PDMS) was used as softener.

• Later amino functional Silicone softener was developed which gives high lubricity with small proportions.

• It is more expensive.

• It gives an extremely soft hand.

Properties:

• Appearance Transparent liquid

• Composition Blend of amino silicones and urethane

• Ionicity Non-ionic

• pH (1% solution) 7.0 ± 1.0

• Solubility Soluble in water

• Application pH range 4.5-5.5

• Solid Content 42%

Non-ionic softeners:

Paraffin wax and fatty emulations are

included in non ionic softening agents, e.g.

silicon AFN. They are applied like anionic

emulsions.

This group also includes:

polyglycol ethers,

polyglycol esters and

other oxyethylation products.

Silky Top:

• Silky Top is a blend of cationic and silicone softener. It can be used for cotton, polyester and their blends. It imparts cotton garment excellent limpy, softening and brilliant look. It does not affect dye fastness. It increases depth of dyeing.

Amphoteric Softener:

• Typical properties are good softening effects, low permanence to washing and high antistatic effects. They have fewer ecological problems than similar cationic products

Hydrophilic Softeners:

• Hydrophilic Silicone is an epoxide modified hydrophilic silicone emulsion.

Urethane Softeners:

• Urethane Softeners is a blend of silicone softener and polymer resins

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

Cationic softener:

This kind of softener makes soft fabric deeply.

It changes fabrics shade.

It makes white spot on fabrics.

Anionic softener:

It makes fabric soft comparatively low then cationic softener.

It does not effect on shade.

It mainly use on white shade.

Non-ionic softener

It makes fabrics sleeper on surface.

It makes fabrics shade yellowish.

It affects on fabrics fastness properties.

It effect on fabrics water absorbency.

It makes permanent chemical spot on fabric.

Using of softener in textile sector:

Before unloading the fabrics, softener is used all types of fabrics in last process to soft the fabrics. Mainly cationic softener is used but some times another softener is used. When we need to change the shade then cationic softener is use and when it is no need to chance the shade only need to soft the fabrics then non-ionic softener is use.

If different types of softeners are used in color shade but only non-ionic softener is used for white shade.

some time white shade is bright then cationic softener are use.

for open fabric Softener is use in the chemicals tank of stenter machine In this process mixture is use of cationic softener and silicon softener. if we need yellowish shade then we more use silicon softener. But we need changing the shade then we use more cationic softener.

For collar, cuff and tube fabric, softener is use in the chemicals tank of squeezer machine

Amount of using chemicals:

Dyeing machine

Silicon softener 1gm/liter

Cationic softener (.5-1)gm/ liter

stenter machine

Silicon softener 50gm/liter

Cationic softener 15gm/liter

Squeezer machine

Silicon softener 40gm/liter

Cationic softener 20gm/liter

note: require amount of chemicals depend into sade.

Formula used for calculation of softener

For dyeing machine

Gm/liter *minimum liquor of m/c

Softener = kg

1000

For stenter &squeezer m/c

Total liquor = fabrics weight * take up %

Amount of softener = (gm/liter * total liquor) gm

Or

Softener = (fabrics weight * take up % *gm/liter) gm

Amount of take up%For stenter m/c

By the take up % we means that, it is the ability of fabrics to absorbed the

water/ chemicals from chemicals tank. After slitting of the fabrics (30-40) %

water are squeeze. For this reason take up % of stenter machine are let

40%. Mainly take up % depend on the padder passer of sitting machine. If

padder passer squeezes 30% of water from fabric then take up % should be

let 30%.

Amount o take up %:

For dry fabrics (30-40) %

For wet fabrics 100 %

For squeezer m/c

In the squeezer machine after first padder the 20 % water are squeeze

from fabrics and 30% water are squeeze from fabrics by the back padder.

For this reason take up % of squeezer machine are let (15-20)%. In this

machine mainly take up % depend on the front padder passer and back

padder passer of sitting machine.

Amount o take up %:

For wet fabrics (15-20) %

For dry fabrics 100 %

. Softener Mark

Causes:

- Improper mixing of the Softener.

- Improper running time of the fabric during

application of softener.

- Entanglement of the fabric during application

of softener: .5 gram/liter

CONCLUSION

To conclude the report about the application of

softener it is to be said that, the softener is one of

the most important chemical to be applied onto the

fabric. Softener makes a fabric capable of being

used with comfort. It also controls other vital

characteristics of a fabric. So, It is sure after all this

information that the knowledge about the softener

is very important to complete the process of textile

processing.

THANK YOU