UltraLowLiquorDyeing ofCottonHanks

By: SmritiYadav,M.S.Parmar, VikasSharma,Maheshwar Singh,MonaSuri,and J.V.Rao

Ultra Low Liquor Dyeing of Cotton Hanks By: Smriti Yadav, M.S.Parmar, Vikas Sharma, Maheshwar Singh, Mona Suri, and J.V.Rao
Abstract Cabinet dyeing machine is popular for reactive dyeing of cotton hanks. The main drawback of this technique is high material to liquor ratio (1:15).Due to high material liquor ratio, it requires high amount of salt to transfer the dye from liquor to the yarn. The current study aims at reduction of material to liquor ratio to as low as 1:1 and eliminate salt during dyeing of cotton hanks using ultra low liquor dyeing machine developed by NITRA. A comparison is also made between conventional and newly developed technique. Dyed hanks were also evaluated for colour fastness properties. The dyed samples were found to have high fixation percentage and excellent color fastness properties. The technology thus developed will not only conserve the resources, but also make the process eco friendly fulfilling the needs of small and medium scale dyeing units. Introduction Cotton yarns are traditionally dyed either in the form of packages or hanks by batch process using exhaust method. The biggest drawback of hank dyeing is generation of total dissolved solids (TDS) due to addition of huge amount of salt at rate of 30-80gpl. For this reason the Australian dyeing company (ADC) adopted cleaner production method for yarn dyeing i.e. cold-pad-batch dyeing of reactive dyes (CPB)1. The process has been proven to be more ecologically sound, more cost efficient, and produces better quality product than conventional method. ADC installed the latest developed continuous yarn dyeing equipment for fine counts. This dyeing system works at 1: 0.3 to 0.45 MLR. 100% cotton yarns were dyed without addition of salt using cold pad batch method. Using the cold pad batch dyeing process for yarn and fabric, ADC was able to achieve 45% reduction in water consumption, 48% reduction in steam comparison, 33% saving in electricity and 100% reduction in salt consumption, totally removing salt from the effluent 2. On similar line in the present study a new technique based on semi-continuous principle is developed, which not only eliminates use of salt but also reduces material to liquor ratio from 1:15 (Cabinet dyeing) to 1:1. The present study was carried out in two parts, improvisation of commercial recipe making suitable for the semi-continuous process and consumption of ultra low liquor dyeing processes with that of conventional exhaust dyeing of cotton hank yarn. Materials and Methods Scoured 30s cotton hanks and reactive dyes (cold brand) supplied by M/s Clariant were used in the study. Cotton hanks were dyed to four self shades using Drimarene F2RI Orange, Drimarene SNN Black, Drimarene Yellow and Drimarene SBS Red. Table 1 shows the dye bath recipe. The line diagram of ultra low liquor dyeing machine developed at NITRA is shown in Fig.1. The following machine parameters were optimized to achieve uniform application of dye and alkali solutions on hank yarns: nip pressure, number of nips, time required to spray dye and alkali solutions. Cotton hanks were mounted onto rollers of the machine. The dye liquor was sprayed through the nozzles on continuously rotating hanks. The excess liquor squeezed by the nip rollers was circulated back to the liquor tank and reused for further trials. After achieving uniform dye application on the hank yarns (which takes about 6

completes rotations of the hank) alkali was sprayed on the hanks; excess alkali was squeezed and collected for reuse. Then the hanks were removed from the machine and stored (10 hours) for dye fixation to take place. The hanks were then hot soap washed and cold washed to remove unfixed dye from the hanks. As recommended by dye manufacturer, cotton hanks were also dyed to 0.4%, 0.6%, 0.8% and 1% shades with the above dyes by exhaust method. All dyed yarns were evaluated for fastness properties. Cotton hanks were dyed to four self shades viz., Drimarene F2RI Orange, Drimarene SNN Black, Drimarene SBS Red, Drimarene Yellow. Table 1 shows the dye bath recipe. Table 1 Recipe for Pad- Batch Cotton Hank Dyeing Chemicals Dye Pad Dye Wetting agent Sequestering agent Hygroscopic agent Chemical Pad Sodium silicate Sodium Hydroxide Amount X gpl 2 gpl 2 gpl 50-100 gpl 95 gpl 5 gpl

Nozzel Apron Squeezing Roller Roller Assembly Hanks

3 Pumps
Liquor Tanks

FIG.1- Cross Sectional View of the Ultra Low Liquor Dyeing Machine

Results and Discussion The dye fixation percentage, K/S, L, a, b values and wash fastness properties of yarns dyed by exhaust and ultra low liquor dyeing methods are given in Table 2. It can be seen from the Table that for a given shade (0.6%) the color yield is higher in ultra low liquor dyeing method than in exhaust dyeing method as indicated by percentage dye fixation, K/S and L a b values. The increase in color yield may be due to two factors: less chance for the dye to hydrolyze in ultra low liquor dyeing method because dye solution does not come in contact with the alkali till it is applied on the material (hanks) the second factor may be because of high liquor ratio in exhaust dyeing which is responsible for low dye exhaustion.

Dyes

Dyeing method

Fixatio Shade n Percen K/S percen tage tage 0.4% 31.6 40 56.6 73.3 55 62.8 70 75 76 72 73 80 3.97 5.54 7.49 7.84 6.96 5.20 6.08 6.33 6.63 5.10 4.03 5.55

L* 68.7 9 69.8 5 70.3 7 70.2 3 66.3 65 37.9 09 37.6 75 38.0 23 37.9 32 39.4 61 54.1 5 54.4 7

a* 38.1 2 39.5 2 40.2 8 40.3 9 43.2 77 1.80 8 1.32 2 1.77 2 1.57 8 2.10 1 46.9 3 47.6 5

b* 42.0 9 43.3 4 44.2 1 43.5 9 50.0 86 4.71 8 4.63 1 5.23 6 5.05 6 6.40 6 0.0 03 0.41 9

Washing fastness propertie s 3-4 3 4 3-4 4 3-4 3-4 4 3-4 3-4 3-4 3-4 3-4 3-4 2-3 2-3 4 4 4 3-4 3-4 4 4 4

DRIMAR Exhaust ENE Method F2RI ORANG E ULLD METHOD

0.6% 0.8% 1% 0.6% 0.6% 0.8%

Exhaust DRIMAR Method ENE SNN BLACK

0.9% 1%

ULLD METHOD DRIMAR Exhaust ENE SBS Method Red

0.6% 0.6% 0.7%

0.8% 1% ULLD METHOD 0.6 0.6% 0.8% Exhaust DRIMAR Method ENE YELLOW 0.9% 1% ULLD METHOD 0.6

85 84 86.4 30 20 20 20 45

6.3 8.12 5.52 1.95 2.04 2.17 2.22 2.15

54.8 8 55.2 7 51.77 85.0 98 84.5 09 84.9 06 85.8 61 85.6 6

48.4 8 49.3 4 49.6 8 5.48 3 5.18 1 5.18 0 5.30 2 5.54 8

0.41 4 2 0.69 3-4 9 1.33 47.5 85 49.3 50 49.8 41 4 3-4 3-4 4

3-4 3-4 4 4 4 3-4 3-4 4

50.0 3-4 7 5.65 4

2 Exhaust Method Vs Ultra Low Liquor Method

Ta ble

Exhaust vs ULLD method

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Ex 0.4 Ex 0.6 Ex 0.8 Shade percentage Ex 1

f2ri orange snn black sbs red yellow

Fixation percentage

ulld 0.6

Fig 2 Shade %age Vs Fixation %age Conclusion The ultra low liquor dyeing machine developed at NITRA needs to be fine tuned to make it commercially acceptable. The machine has clearly demonstrated that it is possible to dye cotton hanks by semi-continuous method (pad-store-wash) using conventional cold brand reactive dyes. The use of such machine not only reduces water consumption and eliminates use of salt but also helps to achieve high color yield. References 1. Sule, A.D. and Sawant, J.S., Reducing Pollution from Exhaust Dye Liquor of Reactive Dyes-I, Colourage, July, 2003, Pg.45-55.

2. Sud, A., 23rd june 2005, Cleaner Production-Reduction of chemicals and Salt in dyeing Processes-Australian Dyeing Company, www.deh.gov.au/settlement/industry/corporate/eecp/case-studies/aucdye.html . The authors are associated with Northern India Textile Research Association, Ghaziabad and Ms. Mona Suri is from the Department of FAS, Lady Irwin College, Delhi University Image Courtesy: http://lh5.ggpht.com