Dyeing process

Claim 2

A one bath process for dyeing cellulosic containing textile materials with fiber-reactive dyestuffs comprising the steps of: (a) preparing a dye bath which comprises a dye assist system that is stable to high electrolyte and alkali; from about 110 to about 160 grams of electrolyte per liter of bath; and a predetermined amount of alkaline material that permits proper exhaustion of dyestuff therefrom and level dyeing, said dye bath having a pH of from about 8.5 to about 12.5; (b) adding a predetermined dyestuff formulation to the dye bath to achieve a predetermined shade, said dyestuff formula containing at least one fiber reactive dyestuff; (c) subjecting said material to said dye bath at a predetermined time-temperature relationship to dye said material to said shade; and (d) thereafter rinsing and scouring said material.

Claim 3

The process as defined in claim 1 wherein the cellulosic containing material is cotton.

Claim 4

The process as defined in claim 1 wherein the cellulosic containing material is a blend of polyester-cotton and wherein the dyestuff formulation also comprises at least one disperse dyestuff for dyeing the polyester component, said dyestuff being of a type that does not hydrolyze at high pH, and a carrier system is added to the dye bath for the disperse dyestuff, said carrier system being stable to high electrolyte content and high pH.

Claim 5

The process as defined in claim 3 wherein the fiber reactive dyestuff is a group A type fiber reactive and wherein the electrolyte content in the dye bath is from about 110 to about 140 grams of electrolyte per liter of bath and pH of the bath is in a range of from about 8.3 to about 9.5.

Claim 6

The process as defined in claim 3 wherein the fiber reactive dyestuff is a group B fiber reactive and wherein the electrolyte content in the dye bath is from about 140 to about 160 grams of electrolyte per liter of bath and pH of the bath is in a range of from about 8.3 to about 10.5.

Claim 7

The process as defined in claim 3 wherein the fiber reactive dyestuff is a group C dyestuff and wherein electrolyte content in the bath is from about 140 to about 160 grams of electrolyte per liter of bath and pH of the bath is in a range of from about 8.8 to about 11.2.

Claim 8

The process as defined in claim 3 wherein the fiber reactive dyestuff is a group E reactive dyestuff and the electrolyte content in the dye bath is in a range of from about 140 to about 160 grams of electrolyte per liter of bath and pH of the dye bath is in a range of from about 10.0 to about 11.2, and further, following a normal dyeing time, the temperature of the dye bath is reduced to about 160° F., additional alkali is added to the bath adequate to exhaust said reactive dyestuffs, whereby improved exhaustion is obtained.

Claim 9

The process as defined in claim 3 wherein the fiber reactive dyestuff is a group D reactive dyestuff and wherein the electrolyte content in the dye bath is in a range of from about 140 to about 160 grams of electrolyte per liter of bath and pH of the bath is in a range of from about 8.3 to about 10.5, and further, following a normal dyeing time, temperature of the dye bath is reduced to about 180° F., additional alkali is added to the bath and running is continued for a predetermined time, whereby the dyestuff is fixed to the cellulosic component of the material resulting in improved wet fastness.

Claim 10

The process as defined in claim 1 wherein the material is also bleached in the scour operation.

Claim 11

A one bath process for dyeing polyester-cotton textile materials comprising the steps of: (a) providing a dye bath; (b) adding from about 0.5 to about 3.5 weight percent of a dye assist to the dye bath, said dye assist being an anionic blend of low forming surface reactive agents, said dye assist blend being stable to high electrolyte and high bath pH; (c) adding from about 1.5 to about 12.0 weight percent of a disperse dye carrier to said dye bath, said carrier comprising from about 93 to about 70 weight percent solvent and fromabout 7 to about 30 weight percent emulsifier, said carrier being stable to high electrolyte content and high bath pH; (d) adding alkali to the dye bath to provide a bath pH of from about 8.0 to about 12.5 and a total alkalinity at which appreciable alkaline hydrolysis is avoided in the presence of from about 110 to about 160 grams of electrolyte per liter of bath; (e) adding to the dye bath from about 110 to about 160 grams of electrolyte per liter of bath; (f) adding a predetermined dyestuff formulation to the dye bath to dye said polyester-cotton material to said desired shade, said dyestuff formulation comprising at least one disperse dyestuff that is stable against hydrolysis at a pH in a range of from about 8.0 to about 12.5 and at least one fiber reactive dyestuff; (g) heating said dye bath to a temperature of from about 212° F. to about 250° F. and subjecting said material thereto for from about 30 to about 60 minutes until said desired shade is obtained; and (h) thereafter rinsing and scouring said material.

Claim 12

A one bath process for dyeing polyester-cotton textile materials comprising the steps of: (a) providing a dye bath; (b) adding from about 0.5 to about 3.5 weight percent of a dye assist to the dye bath, said dye assist being an anionic blend of low forming surface reactive agents, said dye assist blend being stable to high electrolyte and high bath pH; (c) adding from about 1.5 to about 12.0 weight percent of a disperse dye carrier to said dye bath, said carrier comprising from about 93 to about 70 weight percent solvent and fromabout 7 to about 30 weight percent emulsifier, said carrier being stable to high electrolyte content and high bath pH; (d) adding alkali to the dye bath to provide a bath pH of from about 8.0 to about 12.5 and a total alkalinity at which appreciable alkaline hydrolysis is avoided in the presence of from about 110 to about 160 grams of electrolyte per liter of bath; (e) adding to the dye bath from about 110 to about 160 grams of electrolyte per liter of bath; (f) adding a predetermined dyestuff formulation to the dye bath to dye said polyester-cotton material to said desired shade, said dyestuff formulation comprising at least one disperse dyestuff that is stable against hydrolysis at a pH in a range of from about 8.0 to about 12.5 and at least one fiber reactive dyestuff; (g) heating said dye bath to a temperature of from about 212° F. to about 250° F. and subjecting said material thereto for from about 30 to about 60 minutes until said desired shade is obtained; and (h) thereafter rinsing and scouring said material.

Claim 13

The process as defined in claim 10 wherein following the run time for initial dyeing, temperature of the dye bath is reduced to from about 160° to about 180° F., extra alkali is added thereto, and run time is continued for about 30 further minutes.

Claim 14

The process as defined in claim 10 wherein a bleaching agent is added during the first scour.

Claim 15

The process as defined in claim 10 wherein the dyestuff formulation contains a group A reactive dyestuff and wherein the dyeing is conducted at a batch pH of from about 8.0 to about 9.5, and electrolyte content in the bath is in a range of from about 110 to about 140 grams per liter.

Claim 16

The process as defined in claim 10 wherein the dyestuff formulation contains a group B reactive dyestuff and wherein dyeing is conducted at a bath pH of from about 8.3 to about 10.5 and electrolyte content in the bath is in a range of from about 140 to about 160 grams per liter.

Claim 17

The process as defined in claim 10 wherein the dyestuff formulation includes a group C reactive dyestuff and wherein dyeing is conducted at a bath pH in a range of from about 8.8 to about 11.2 and electrolyte content in the bath is in a range of from about 140 to about 160 grams per liter.

Claim 18

The process as defined in claim 11 wherein the dyestuff formulation includes a group D reactive dyestuff and wherein initial dyeing is conducted at a bath pH in a range of from about 8.3 to about 10.5 and electrolyte content in the bath is in a range of from about 140 to about 160 grams per liter, and wherein after initial dyeing, the temperature of the dye bath reduced to 180° F., from about 10.0 to about 15.0 grams per liter of soda ash and from about 0.5 to about 1.0 grams per liter of a 50 percent solution of caustic soda are added to the bath, and running is continued for a time adequate to provide improved dye wet fastness.

Claim 19

The process as defined in claim 11 wherein the dyestuff formulation includes a group E reactive dyestuff and wherein initial dyeing is conducted at a bath pH in a range of from about 10.0 to about 11.2 and electrolyte content in the bath is in a range of from about 140 to about 160 grams per liter, and wherein after initial dyeing, the temperature of the dye bath reduced to 160° F., and from about 7.5 to about 10.0 grams per liter of soda ash and from about 1.0 to about 1.5 grams per liter of a 50 percent solution of caustic soda are added to the bath, and running is continued for a time adequate to improve dye yield.

Claim 20

The process as defined in claim 10 wherein the dye carrier solvent component comprises a solvent blend of at least one solvent that swells the fiber, promoting good yield and at least one solvent that promotes leveling and migration.

Claim 21

The process as defined in claim 18 wherein the dye carrier emulsifier component comprises a blend of hydrophilic and lipophilic emulsifiers.

Claim 22

The process as defined in claim 10 wherein the electrolyte is a member selected from the group consisting of sodium chloride and sodium sulfate.

Claim 23

The process as defined in claim 10 wherein the alkali ingredient added to the dye bath is a mixture of ingredients selected from the group consisting of strong alkali, weak alkali and weak acids to achieve recited bath pH and total alkalinity.

Claim 24

The process as defined in claim 21 wherein bath pH and total alkalinity are maintained in the lower end of the recited ranges for same.

Claim 25

In a process for dyeing 100 percent cellulosic textile materials with fiber reactive dystuffs or polyester-cellulosic textile materials with pH stable disperse dyestuffs and fiber reactive dyestuffs, wherein the material to be dyed is prepared for dyeing and subjected to a dye bath containing a dyestuff formulation and auxiliaries therefor for a proper time-temperature arrangement, the improvement comprising selecting auxiliaries that are stable to high pH and high electrolyte content and maintaining pH of the dye bath in a range of from about 8.0 to about 12.5, total alkalinity of the bath in a range of from about 1 to about 8 grams of alkali per liter of bath, and providing an electrolyte content in a range of from about 110 to about 160 grams of electrolyte per liter of bath.

Claim 26

In a process for dyeing 100 percent cellulosic textile materials with fiber reactive dystuffs or polyester-cellulosic textile materials with pH stable disperse dyestuffs and fiber reactive dyestuffs, wherein the material to be dyed is prepared for dyeing and subjected to a dye bath containing a dyestuff formulation and auxiliaries therefor for a proper time-temperature arrangement, the improvement comprising selecting auxiliaries that are stable to high pH and high electrolyte content and maintaining pH of the dye bath in a range of from about 8.0 to about 12.5, total alkalinity of the bath in a range of from about 1 to about 8 grams of alkali per liter of bath, and providing an electrolyte content in a range of from about 110 to about 160 grams of electrolyte per liter of bath.

Claim 27

The process as defined in claim 23 wherein a group D or E fiber reactive dyestuff is employed and wherein after the normal dye cycle, bath temperature is reduced to a temperature in a range of from about 160° F. to about 180° F., further alkali is added thereto and the material is subjected to the high alkali bath for a further predetermined period of time whereby depending upon the group of fiber reactive dyestuff being used, improved yield or improved dye fastness results.

Claim 28

The process as defined in claim 23 wherein pH of the dye bath is maintained in a range of from about 8.3 to about 11.2.

Claim 29

A one bath process for dyeing cellulosic containing textile materials comprising the steps of: (a) preparing a dye bath which comprises a dye assist system that is stable to high electrolyte and alkali; from about 110 to about 160 grams of electrolyte per liter of bath; and an amount of alkaline material that provides a bath pH in a range of from about 8.0 to about 12.5 while avoiding appreciable alkaline hydrolysis of a dyestuff being employed; (b) adding a predetermined dyestuff formulation to the dye bath to achieve said shade, said dyestuff formulation containing at least one fiber reactive dyestuff; (c) subjecting said cellulosic containing material to said dye bath at a time-temperature relationship such that level dyeing of the material is achieved without appreciable alkaline hydrolysis of said dyestuff; (d) reducing bath temperature and adding further alkali to fix said dyestuff on said material and achieve improved wet fastness; and (e) thereafter rinsing and scouring said material.

Claim 30

A one bath process for dyeing cellulosic containing textile materials comprising the steps of: (a) preparing a dye bath which comprises a dye assist system that is stable to high electrolyte and alkali; from about 110 to about 160 grams of electrolyte per liter of bath; and an amount of alkaline material that provides a bath pH in a range of from about 8.0 to about 12.5 while avoiding appreciable alkaline hydrolysis of a dyestuff being employed; (b) adding a predetermined dyestuff formulation to the dye bath to achieve said shade, said dyestuff formulation containing at least one fiber reactive dyestuff; (c) subjecting said cellulosic containing material to said dye bath at a time-temperature relationship such that level dyeing of the material is achieved without appreciable alkaline hydrolysis of said dyestuff; (d) reducing bath temperature and adding further alkali to fix said dyestuff on said material and achieve improved wet fastness; and (e) thereafter rinsing and scouring said material.