Process for the production of formaldehyde-free finishing agents for cellulosic textiles and the use of such agents

Claim 1

A process for the production of formaldehyde-free, easy-care finishing agents with a long shelf life for textiles containing or consisting of cellulose on the basis of urea or N,N'-disubstituted ureas and glyoxal, comprising in the first stage of the process, reacting 1 to 1.1 mole of urea or symmetrically disubstituted urea of the general formula I R.sup.1 --HNCONH--R.sup.2 I where R 1 and R 2 are [(CH 2 ) n O] m R 3 or hydrogen, R 3 is C 1-4 alkyl or, if m>O, hydrogen, n is 2 to 4 m is 0 to 10, for three hours in aqueous solution with 1 mole of glyoxal, in the presence of buffer mixtures sufficient to maintain the pH of the solution between 4 and 6.8, at a temperature of from 20° to 60° C., and, in the second stage, reacting the solution resulting from the first stage, after admixing, with at least 0.5 mole of an alcohol R 4 OH, where R 4 is [(CH 2 ) n O] m R 3 , where R 3 , except for hydrogen; m and n are defined above, and an acid, for one to three hours at a pH of between 2 and 4.5 and a temperature of from 30° to 65° C., and finally adjusting the pH of the solution to 4 to 7.