News

High value-added
finishing auxiliaries

Car seat finishing
auxiliaries

Textile finishing
auxiliaries

Associated factory
in Thailand

Contact us

High value-added finishing auxiliaries

1. Emulsifying/dispersing technology and our engagement in
development of finishing auxiliaries

Since our production base is located within the polyester manufacturing region, finishing auxiliaries for polyester are naturally the kind of product in demand. Polyester-based auxiliaries are our main sellers, and polyester resin emulsifying/dispersing technologies our pillar (see Table 1).

Classification	Substrate	Raw material	Product	Application
Resin	Polyester	Engineered plastic resin	EX-200A, S Comsdry 500	Softener
		Polyester silicone copolymer resin	Colomodel T-105	Softening/ smoothing agent
		Polyester polyalkylene glycol copolymer resin	Dcom35-6 Dcom Soft 35	Softener
			SR-1000 SR-1800 SR-1720 SR-6200 SR-5000	Hydrophilic SR softener Hydrophilic SR finishing agent
	Ester		Acriner W-310	Softener for cotton
	Polyamide		Lanotex ES, Lanotex TKM	Softener for cotton
	Polyethylene		Neoluster U-3, U-7	Softening/ smoothing agent
Oil	Silicone	Dimethyl, amino, epoxy, carboxy	KSE-30 TK-Silicone AS-65 TK-Silicone EP-01 KT-850	Softening/ smoothing agent
	Halogen-containing ester		NA-690L	Flame retardant
Natural component	Wax	Paraffin, carnauba, beeswax	Yellow Wax 3 TK-Cleaner SW	Cleaning agent for automobile
	Animal-origin	Lanolin, beef tallow, squalane	Finish Agent C3 Mild Finish 20P, AY	Natural type finishing agent
		Fibroin, bovine hide	Naturals SP-5	Natural type finishing agent
		Chitosan, albumen	SA-50, 610 OST-702	Antibacterial agent, lustering agent
	Plant-origin	Glucomannan	Hi-Resin CON	Natural type finishing agent
	Zirconium	Zirconium stearate	Neolax SALK	Water repellent
	Powder type	Silicate rock	TS-1972	Deodorant

The EX and SR-series are our main polyester finishing auxiliaries.

EX and SR-series imparts flexibility/recovering properties to polyester jersey and knits. (See Fig. 1 and 2)

Fig. 1 Structure of polyester-based softener

Fig. 2 Recovering properties
Measurement of elongation and recovery Substrate: polyester jersey Length after more than 1 minute with a 530g load (L1) Length 3 minutes after unloading (L2) Elongation=(L1/15-1)×100 Rate of recovery=(L1-L2)/(L1-15)×100

SR-1000 series produces hydrophilic soil/stain-release (SR) properties in naturally hydrophobic polyester (see Images 'Byreck method', 'Roll-up' and 'SR properties').

Image 1 Byrek method	Image 2 'Rolling-up' from SR-finished fabric
	Image 3 SR properties of treated fabric

These auxiliaries have an affinity to polyester fiber since they themselves bear the structure of polyester being made of polyester copolymer resin dispersed in water, and an advantage is found in their compatibility with in-bath treatment, among other unique functionalities.

Polyester is normally dyed at a high temperature of 130°C under high pressure, followed by reduction clearing (RC) with the use of alkali and hydrosulfite when producing deep to medium shades. Aftertreatment is carried out using the padding method with the substrate dipped in a bath containing finishing auxiliaries before mangle extraction and drying.

EX-200A and the SR-1000 series are distinctive in that they can be added during the dyeing of polyester for simultaneous use with dyestuff, leveling agent, dyeing auxiliary or reduction clearing agent. This in-dyebath or RC bath allows the exclusive adsorption and absorption of function-adding components into fiber, and has advantages of inhibiting deterioration in dyeing fastness to a minimum and obviating the need for a separate treatment (see Fig. 3).

Fig. 3 Exhaust treatment with polyester finishing agent

Liquor ratio:	1:10~20		Liquor ratio:	1:10~20
Dyestuff:	X%owf.		Caustic soda or soda ash:	1~2g/L
Leveling agent:	0.3~1g/L		Hydrosulfite:	1~2g/L
Acetic acid:	pH=4~7		Surfactant:	1~2g/L
SR agent:	2~6%owf.		EX-200A:	2~3%owf.
*New LevelinRD-10E (Takamatsu O&F)

The SR-1000 series has been put onto the market as water-absorbent SR agents for polyester, and the Lanogen and Acriner NA series for nylon or acrylics. These are all compatible with treatment not only by the padding method but also by addition to the dyebath.

Being capable of finishing fiber with high performances such as water/perspiration absorbency and recovering properties, they enjoy a high market share for a broad range of applications, from sportswear, innerwear, curtains, nonwovens to industrial materials (see Table 2).

Table 2 Areas of application for polyester-based finishing auxiliaries

Reduction in energy used in textile finishing is also taken into account in the development of auxiliaries, other than the performance of finished fabrics. Disperon G-55K, a soaping agent for polyester oligomers, and the machine cleaner Neopolan RC-500 are some examples.

Polyester fiber has approximately a 1.5-3.0% low molecular weight content, generally known as oligomers. Soiling trouble is often caused in the dyeing of weaves or knits made of polyester or its blends by the increase of this oligomer content resulting from high-speed spinning or due to terephthalic acid produced during weight-reducing treatment using caustic soda, carried out for improved fabric hand.

Oligomers are the cause of various problems in the high-temperature/pressure dyeing of polyester, emerging from inside the fiber into the dyebath. Consisting of approximately 95% circular trimmers, they are not soluble in water at room temperature, but dissolve to a certain extent when put under a high temperature of 130°C and separate when cooled.

Oligomers can also be a trigger for clogging or tarring, their affinity to dyestuff causing secondary aggregation around themselves and acting as a core. They precipitate easily during the cooling of a dyebath especially when it contains metallic ions such as calcium and magnesium, and even more conspicuously when it is on the acid side.

This is seen as particularly problematic in the cheese or beam dyeing of filament yarns, knits and weaves, where clogging and tarring frequently occur due to the use of low liquor ratios and the filtration effect with the substrate. Moreover, oligomers precipitating on the fiber surface impair smoothness, causing degradation in the results of weaving/knitting, or trouble with white patches. Precipitation on the inner surface of dyeing machines can also result in low heat efficiency and more machine cleaning.

All such trouble can be alleviated with the use of Disperon G-55K for the removal of oligomer during dyeing or as a soaping agent for weight-reduced polyester before dyeing, and the machine cleaner Neopolan RC-500. (see Image 4 'Polyester oligomer dispersion test' and 5 'Machine cleaning test').

Image 4 Polyester oligomer dispersion test (black filter paper)
DISPERON G-55K In acid pH=5 0 g/L 0.5 g/L	DISPERON G-55K In alkali pH=10 pH=12 0 g/L 0.25 g/L 0.5 g/L

Picture 5 Machine cleaning test

Before	After
Soiled pot	NEOPOLAN KC-10 0g/L	NEOPOLAN KC-10 5g/L

Takamatsu Oil & Fat produces functional finishing auxiliaries based on our technologies for resin emulsification, polymerization, chemical compounding or function multiplying (see Fig. 4).

Fig. 4 Where/What/How

Despite our main engagement in the development of functional finishing auxiliaries for textiles, we have recently been focusing on chemicals for the non-textile field, having put onto the market chemicals for the ink receiver of inkjet film printers to meet the rapid progress of the IC field with various new printing devices coming along.