Treatment of textiles

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR THE CONDITIONING OF UNSPUN TEXTILE FIBERS TO IMPROVE THEIR INTERFIBRE FRICTION WHICH COMPRISES APPLYING TO SAID FIBERS, AT SOME STAGE OF THEIR PROCESSING PRIOR TO SPINNING, A FLUID COMPOSITION CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF A COLLOIDAL DISPERSION OF FROM 5 TO 20% BY WEIGHT OF SILICA HAVING AN ULTIMATE PARTICLE SIZE OF 10 TO 100 MILLIMCRONS IN A TEXTILE LUBRICATING OIL AS THE DISPERSION MEDIUM HAVING DISSOLVED THEREIN FROM 1.5 TO 10% BY WEIGHT OF A DISPERSING AGENT WHICH IS SOLUBLE IN SAID OIL AND IS SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF (1) LANOLIN, (2) DIETHYLENE GLYCOL MONO-ESTERS OF LONG-CHAIN ALKYL CARBOXYLIC ACIDS, (3) DIETHYLENE GLYCOL DI-ESTERS OF LONGCHAIN ALKYL CARBOXYLIC ACIDS, (4) POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL MONO-ESTERS OF LONG-CHAIN ALKYL CARBOXYLIC ACIDS, (5) POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL DI-ESTERS OF LONG-CHAIN ALKYL CARBOXYLIC ACIDS, (6) PROPYLENE GLYCOL ESTERS OF LONG-CHAIN ALKYL CARBOXYLIC ACIDS, (7) GLYCERYL ESTERS OF LONG-CHAIN ALKYL CARBOXYLIC ACIDS, (8) SORBITAN-FATTY ACID CONDENSATES, AND (9) ETHYLENE OXIDE-FATTY ALCOHOL CONDENSATES, SAID DISPERSING AGENT HAVING THE ADDITIONAL PROPERTIES AND FAVORING THE FORMATION OF WATER-IN-OIL DISPERSIONS AND OF REDUCING THE VISCOSITY OF SAID COMPOSITION, SAID COMPOSITION BEING APPLIED IN AN AMOUNT SUFFICIENT TO DEPOSIT FROM 0.1 TO 0.5% OF SILICA ON THE WEIGHT OF THE FIBERS.