Water-soluble, ultra-filtrable polyurethane anionomers and the use thereof as sizes in the textile industry

Claim 2

A water-soluble, ultra-filtrable polyurethane anionomer comprising the reaction product of (a) organic diisocyanates having molecular weights of from about 160 to 300; with (b) tri- and/or tetra-ethylene glycol; (c) (i) optionally other aliphatic glycols having molecular weights from about 62 to 200; (ii) optionally other alcohols with a functionality other than 2; and (d) a glycol containing carboxyl, carboxylate, sulphonic acid or sulphonate groups and having a molecular weight below about 500; in an NCO/OH equivalent ratio of less than about 1:1, any carboxyl or sulphonic acid groups present having been at least partly converted into carboxylate or sulphonate groups after the reaction, characterized by a content of: (e) urethane groups, --NH--CO--O--, of from about 25 to 40% by weight; (f) hydroxyl groups of from about 0.03 to 1.5% by weight; (g) carboxylate groups, --COO--, and/or sulphonate groups, --SO 3 --, of from about 10 to 80 milliequvalents per 100 g; (h) tri- and/or tetra-ethylene glycol units, --(O--CH 2 CH 2 -- 3-4 , chemically incorporated into said polyurethane anionomer, of from about 10 to 40% by weight; and, if component (c) (u) is present, (i) up to about 5 mole % of component (c) (ii) based on the total quantity of components (b), (c) (i) and (d).

Claim 3

A process for sizing a textile fabric or fiber comprising treating it with an aqueous solution of a polyurethane anionomer which is the reaction product of (a) organic diisocyanates having molecular weights of from about 160 to 300; with (b) tri- and/or tetra-ethylene glycol; (c) (i) optionally other aliphatic glycols having molecular weights from about 62 to 200; (ii) optionally other alochols with a functionality other than 2; and (d) a glycol containing carboxyl, carboxylate, sulphonic acid or sulphonate groups and having a molecular weight below about 500; in an NCO/OH equivalent ratio of less than about 1:1, any carboxyl or sulphonic acid groups present having been at least partly converted into carboxylate or sulphonate groups after the reaction, characterised by a content of: (e) urethane groups, --NH--CO-O--, of from about 25 to 40% by weight; (f) hydroxyl groups of from about 0.03 to 1.5% by weight; (g) carboxylate groups, --COO--, and/or sulphonate groups, --SO 3 --, of from about 10 to 80 milliequivalents per 100 g; (h) tri- and/or tetra-ethylene glycol units, --(O--CH 2 CH 2 -- 3-4 , chemically incorporated into said polyurethane anionomer, of from about 10 to 40% by weight; and (i) up to about 5 mole % of component (c) (ii) based on the total quantity of components (b), (c), (i) and (d).

Claim 4

A process for sizing a textile fabric or fiber comprising treating it with an aqueous solution of a polyurethane anionomer which is the reaction product of (a) organic diisocyanates having molecular weights of from about 160 to 300; with (b) tri- and/or tetra-ethylene glycol; (c) (i) optionally other aliphatic glycols having molecular weights from about 62 to 200; (ii) optionally other alochols with a functionality other than 2; and (d) a glycol containing carboxyl, carboxylate, sulphonic acid or sulphonate groups and having a molecular weight below about 500; in an NCO/OH equivalent ratio of less than about 1:1, any carboxyl or sulphonic acid groups present having been at least partly converted into carboxylate or sulphonate groups after the reaction, characterised by a content of: (e) urethane groups, --NH--CO-O--, of from about 25 to 40% by weight; (f) hydroxyl groups of from about 0.03 to 1.5% by weight; (g) carboxylate groups, --COO--, and/or sulphonate groups, --SO 3 --, of from about 10 to 80 milliequivalents per 100 g; (h) tri- and/or tetra-ethylene glycol units, --(O--CH 2 CH 2 -- 3-4 , chemically incorporated into said polyurethane anionomer, of from about 10 to 40% by weight; and (i) up to about 5 mole % of component (c) (ii) based on the total quantity of components (b), (c), (i) and (d).

Claim 5

The process of claim 2 including the further step of desizing said textile fabric or fiber and subsequently recovering said polyurethane anionomer by ultra-filtration.

Claim 6

The polyurethane anionomer of claim 1 wherein: (a) the organic diisocyanate is diisocyanatotoluene; (b) the urethane group content is between about 30 and 34 wt.%; (c) the hydroxyl group content is between about 0.03 and 0.6 wt.%; (d) the ionic group content from carboxylate and/or sulphonate groups is between about 10 and 60 milliequivalents per 100 grams of anionomer; and (e) the tri- and tetra-ethylene glycol unit content is between about 10 and 35 wt.%.

Claim 7

The polyurethane anionomer of claim 1 wherein: (a) the organic diisocyanate is 2,4'- or 4,4'- diisocyanatodiphenyl methane; (b) the urethane group content is between about 25 and 30 wt.%; (c) the hydroxyl group content is between about 0.1 and 1.5 wt.%; (d) the ionic group content from the carboxylate and sulphonate groups is between about 20 and 80 milliequivalents per 100 grams of anionomer; and (e) the tri- and tetra-ethylene glycol unit content is between about 20 and 40 wt.%.

Claim 8

An aqueous solution of between 10 and 20 wt.% of a polyurethane anionomer which is the reaction product of (a) organic diisocyanates having molecular weights of from about 160 to 300; with (b) tri- and/or tetra-ethylene glycol; (c) (i) optionally other aliphatic glycols having molecular weights from about 62 to 200; (ii) optionally other alcohols with a functionality other than 2; and (d) a glycol containing carboxyl, carboxylate, sulphonic acid or sulphonate groups and having a molecular weight below about 500; in an NCO/OH equivalent ratio of less than about 1:1, any carboxyl or sulphonic acid groups present having been at least partly converted into carboxylate or sulphonate groups after the reaction, characterized by a content of: (e) urethane groups, --NH--CO--O--, of from about 25 to 40% by weight; (f) hydroxyl groups of from about 0.03 to 1.5% by weight; (g) carboxylate groups --COO--, and/or sulphonate groups, --SO 3 --, of from about 10 to 80 milliequivalents per 100 g; and (h) tri- and/or tetra-ethylene glycol units, --(O--CH 2 CH 2 -- 3-4 , chemically incorporated into said polyurethane anionomer, of from about 10 to 40% by weight; and (i) up to about 5 mole % of component (c) (ii) based on the total quantity of components (b), (c) (i) and (d).

Claim 9

An aqueous solution of between 10 and 20 wt.% of a polyurethane anionomer which is the reaction product of (a) organic diisocyanates having molecular weights of from about 160 to 300; with (b) tri- and/or tetra-ethylene glycol; (c) (i) optionally other aliphatic glycols having molecular weights from about 62 to 200; (ii) optionally other alcohols with a functionality other than 2; and (d) a glycol containing carboxyl, carboxylate, sulphonic acid or sulphonate groups and having a molecular weight below about 500; in an NCO/OH equivalent ratio of less than about 1:1, any carboxyl or sulphonic acid groups present having been at least partly converted into carboxylate or sulphonate groups after the reaction, characterized by a content of: (e) urethane groups, --NH--CO--O--, of from about 25 to 40% by weight; (f) hydroxyl groups of from about 0.03 to 1.5% by weight; (g) carboxylate groups --COO--, and/or sulphonate groups, --SO 3 --, of from about 10 to 80 milliequivalents per 100 g; and (h) tri- and/or tetra-ethylene glycol units, --(O--CH 2 CH 2 -- 3-4 , chemically incorporated into said polyurethane anionomer, of from about 10 to 40% by weight; and (i) up to about 5 mole % of component (c) (ii) based on the total quantity of components (b), (c) (i) and (d).

Claim 10

A process for the production of a water-soluble polyurethane anionomer comprising: (a) (i) mixing tri- and tetra-ethylene glycol, (ii) with glycols containing carboxyl, carboxylate, sulphonic acid or sulphonate groups and having molecular weights below about 500; (iii) optionally with aliphatic glycols having molecular weights between about 62 and 200; and (iv) optionally with other alcohols with a functionality other than 2; (b) adding an organic diisocyanate to this mixture at an NCO to OH ratio of between about 0.9 :1 and 0.995:1 and at a temperature of between about 10 and 130° C.; (c) maintaining the reaction temperature below about 210° C., and (d) allowing said reaction product to solidify, wherein the reactants are used in such ratios as to provide: (e) a urethane group content of between about 25 and 40 wt. %; (f) a hydroxyl group content of between about 0.03 and 1.5 wt. %; (g) a tri- and tetra-ethylene glycol unit content of between about 10 and 40 wt. %; and (h) a content of said alcohols with functionality other than 2 of up to about 5 mole % based on the total quantity of components (a) (i), (a) (ii) and (a) (iii).

Claim 11

A process for the production of a water-soluble polyurethane anionomer comprising: (a) (i) mixing tri- and tetra-ethylene glycol, (ii) with glycols containing carboxyl, carboxylate, sulphonic acid or sulphonate groups and having molecular weights below about 500; (iii) optionally with aliphatic glycols having molecular weights between about 62 and 200; and (iv) optionally with other alcohols with a functionality other than 2; (b) adding an organic diisocyanate to this mixture at an NCO to OH ratio of between about 0.9 :1 and 0.995:1 and at a temperature of between about 10 and 130° C.; (c) maintaining the reaction temperature below about 210° C., and (d) allowing said reaction product to solidify, wherein the reactants are used in such ratios as to provide: (e) a urethane group content of between about 25 and 40 wt. %; (f) a hydroxyl group content of between about 0.03 and 1.5 wt. %; (g) a tri- and tetra-ethylene glycol unit content of between about 10 and 40 wt. %; and (h) a content of said alcohols with functionality other than 2 of up to about 5 mole % based on the total quantity of components (a) (i), (a) (ii) and (a) (iii).

Claim 12

A process for the production of an aqueous textile sizing solution comprising dissolving between 10 and 20 wt.% of the polyurethane anionomer of claim 1 in water.