The Application for Silicone softener

Preface

Silicone softeners can give fabrics a soft, smooth, plump and elastic hand feel, as well as features such as wrinkle resistance, abrasion resistance, washing resistance and good sewing properties, which greatly increase the added value of the product and are favored by customers. ; But in the soft finishing process, defects such as silicone oil spots are often produced, which brings great trouble to the dyeing and finishing process.

Classification of softeners

 Softeners can be roughly divided into two categories: fatty acid derivatives and silicones.

 Fatty acid derivatives are traditionally widely used softeners, and silicones are new varieties that come from behind. The development of silicone softeners is fast, and new products with various properties and functions are constantly being developed and marketed.

 Since silicone softeners are not only more effective than fatty acid derivative softeners, but also have good durability, they have occupied a dominant position in the use of textiles after softening. However, it is precisely because of its good durability that it also brings a certain degree of difficulty to the removal, making it difficult to repair or repair the dyeing process. If you have silicone oil spots, you will have more headaches and it will be difficult to repair them.

Silicone softeners are mostly cationic, weakly cationic or non-ionic in terms of ionicity. Therefore, it is often treated in the same bath with the fixing agent during production and processing, and the temperature of the treatment bath is generally 30-45°C. Do not wash it after softening. After baking, the fastness of the reaction film is higher. If handled improperly, silicone softeners are prone to demulsification and bleaching problems. Some need to be processed on the dyeing machine, such as garments, yarns, loose fibers, softeners in the dyeing vat after dyeing, etc. After a long time, residues of organic silicon substances in the equipment are prone to occur. It is more difficult to remove and repair than fatty acid derivative softeners.

 Silicone has poor water solubility and must be emulsified before it can be used in dyeing and finishing. In order to increase the water solubility of silicone oil, some silicone oils are added with some self-emulsifying agents to make them have self-emulsifying function in water. Therefore, if the nature and characteristics of silicone oil are not grasped during use, and the process conditions required by the regulations are seriously violated, problems such as silicone oil spots caused by demulsification and floating oil will occur.