Indian Journal of Fibre & Textile Resea rch

Vol. 21, March 1996, pp. 41-49. .

New developments in dyeing process control

M DTeli
Department of C hemical Techn9logy, University of Bombay, Matunga . Bombay 400 019, India

Present textile market is buyers' market. The consumer dictates the term as far as the quality, quantity and
delivery schedule are concerned. To withstand such competition . the manufacturers/processo rs have to
adopt total quality management approach so th at not only they ge t the ~ond~ processed ri ght at the first time,
but quality is ensured. I ncreasing environmental polluti on a\l4areness has thrown new challenges before the
textile technocrats. The present paper reviews the new developments in the field of d yes manufactured,
methods of application and machinery used . It also takes into account the impact of advent of micro fibres and
specihc developments in processing of terry-towels, garments. etc. The future trend is also predicted based on
all the above factors.
Keywords: Dyei ng. Disperse dyes. Reacti ve dyes. Polyester fibre. Cellulosic fibre. Wool fibre , Silk fibre .

Dyeing machinery

1 Introduction
The globalization has widen the scope of the textile
business with the inevitable entry of international competition. The challenges and opportunities are increasing and the appropriate response has to be evoked.
in terms of technological advancement and on-time
delivery . Such "quality and quantity" supply has to
be done on the basis of right-first-time , right-everytime, quick response approach. While this is being
attempted, it is also incumbent to consider reduction
in energy and production cost. The challenges posed
by this decade revolve around the conservation of
environment, an issue which has aroused the attention at global level and will direct th!! future chemical
technological adva ncements predominantly.
The emergence of new materials such as polyester
microfibres, increasing applications of computer technology for recipe prediction as well as for expert
systems of dyeing and fini shing, and the increasing
use of microprocessor-based process monitoring
and control equipment will stimulate the fin e tuning
of our production efficiency and effectiveness as well
,\seconomy. The opportunities placed before us, of
course with a package of challenges, in post-GATT
period need to be exploited and it is the technological
advances which will be playing major role in shapin g
the destiny of thi s industry.
When one talks about technological advancements in dyeing process control it is natural tha t the
majority of these advances are concentrated on dyeing of woven fabric . However, d yeing of garment,
terry-towel, microfibre and hosiery or knit goods

also account for a sizable production and some deve~

lopments in this respect need to be also summarized.
The advancements in dyeing processes have bea rin g
on the developments In dyes and newer
applications.
The colouration and finishing are the key stages in
imparting fa shion a ppeal to the textile apparels. The
timing and positioning of colouration in the handlin g
of textile are essential factors in ensuring that a chosen
ma rket is supplied with the right product at the right
time and in ri ght quantities as well as at the right
pnce.
The first aspect of Quick Response (QR) to consider is the shortening of the traditional pipeline l by
eliminating unnecessary inventories and optimization of process times. Learning to operate with significantly lower stocks of raw materi a ls and finished goods is no simple ma tter because so many new disciplines must permeate the organization. One such new
discipline is the Right-First-Time concept in wet
processing. The objective is to avoid unnecessa ry activity and complexity- wasted time , wasted energy,
wasted material and correction of errors. This in positive terms means quality managementz (QM).
As far as the recent trends in dyeing process controls a re concerned, they are the result of developments
in d yes, fibres, application conditions and machinery3.

2 Developments in Dyes
The technological developments in the dyestuff indu st ry are taking place from the point of view of:

42

INDIAN 1. FIBRE TEXT. RES., MARCH 1996

(i) High-performance products

Concentrated brands: To minimize neutral cutt

ing agents and to incorporate useful additives.
Non-dusting brands: Granulated and liquid
brands.
The use of non-dusting grains or powders and liquid brands of dyes help in minimizing air/water pollution and in application of automated dye dispensing
systems .

(ii) Cost effectiveness

Increased automation, advanced instrumentation
and controls, and computerization for the manufacturing operations with the objectives of high quality
standards help in cost reduction and increasing profitability with Quality production.
(iii) Health , safety and ecology
Selection of dyes is necessary from the points of
view of:
Avoiding the use of dyes which can fonn on reduction carcinogenic amines, and
Selection of high exhaustion/fixation dyes, particularly among reactives.
Most of the product development has been concentrated in the field of disperse and reactive dyes. Some
of the new dyes of these classes introduced in the market in recent years are briefly reviewed here .

It has good fastness to heat-setting/wet treatments

too.
Navy Blue CF: It is an extension to the Palanil CF
(Controlled Fastness) series and is suitable for all dyeing processes.
Brilliant Blue BGM-CF: It can be readily thermofixed and has good light fastness even at hi~hte'mpera
ture. It is particularly suitable for automotive
textiles.

2.1 Disperse Dyes

Disperse dyes are used to colour polyester. Anthraquinone dyes have much lower colour values and are
more expensive although they give valuable bright
red, blue and turquoise shades whereas azo dyes offer
a full shade range and high colour values. With the
advent of jet dyeing and tHermosol application , the
search for new chromophores has led to the development ofbenzodifuranone dyes of high colour value,
brightness of shade, good substantivity and low thermomigration. Some of the new disperse dyes available are:
Resoline Brilliant Red F 3GS (Bayer) has good
fastness to dry heat fixation and high brilliance
which is required for fashion polyester and poly.ester/cotton sports and leisure wear.
'
BASF has introduced a new series of Pal ani! dyes
in its Palanil disperse range- Palanil Black G,
Red FFB, Navy Blue GN, Navy Blue-CF, Brilliant Blue BGFN and Brilliant Blue BGM-CF.
These dyes are available as low-dusting powders/
liquids .
Palanil Bue BGFN : Suitable for polyester blend
dyeing, it is insensitive to dyebath pH and reduct ion.

Dispersol SF (Super Fast), a new range from ICI

which inCludes black, navy, rubine, yellow, blue
and brown dyes specifically targeted for dull ternary shades, a very difficult area fo r most dyers.
They are alkali clearable dyes and exhibit extremely low cross-staining.
The Dispersol XF range complements the ICI Dispersol SF (Super Fast) dyes which are benzodifuranone ba6ed 4 .
A fascinating area of disperse dye chemistry has
been the development of high-value speciality colours giving brilliant fluorescent dyes. These are
complicated, expensive structures involving sophisticatd organic chemistry yielding brilliant shades with acceptable fastness properties s .
Zeneca (previously ICI) has introduced diester,
thiophene and benzod'ifuranone based high fastness Dispersol dyes. They obviate the need for
reduction clearing and are used in both exhaust
and continuous dyeing.
Marlow-Van Loan Corp. offers a new disperse
bfack which claims excellent colour yield and exhaustion properties in dyeing of polyester 6 .
Black ASB Extra exhibits superior sublimation,
light, wash and perspiration fastness properties
and high alkaline stability, thus enabling to accomplish single bath dyeing of polyester/cellulosics
with minimum staining.

2.2 Reactive

O V,,'S

Of all the classes of dyes used for cellulose, reactive

dyes account for 21 % of total consumption of dyes in
the world and show upward trend in their application
for obvious reasons.
Recently, a new generation of bi- and polyfunctional dyes have been introduced which consist
of homo or hetero reactive systems. As a result, exhaustion , fixa tion and migration can be controlled, leading to much improved dye fixation and better reproducibility. Some of the recent additions are reviewed
here .
Sumifix Supra range (bifunctional) has a high degree of exhaustion and fixation, resulting in less
wl:lshi ng-off (hence less dye in the effluent), high

TELl: DEVELOPMENTS IN DYEING PROCESS CONTROL

fa stness to li ght , perspiration , peroxide washing

and chlorinated water, and high stability to acid
hydrol ysis?
Kayacelon reactive dyes are high-temperature
neutral -d yein g dyes which a re especially suitable
for fast processing o f cotton and o ne- bath dyeing
of cotton/ nylon , cotton / ~crylic and co tton/polyester blends.
Cibacron C rangedyes (Ciba-Geigy) are bifunctional reactive dyes which have an aliphatic vinyl
sulphone gro up combined with eithe r a monofluorotriazine group o r an aromatic vinyl s ulph o ne
group with following features:
Suitable for pad application and exhaust d ye in g
at low liquor ra tios,
Very good solubility a nd hi gh to ve ry high degrees
of fixation ,
- Excellent wash-off, and
High fastness leve ls 8
The environmental benefits include :
No urea needed fo r di sso lvin g the d ye,
- Le ss d ye in effluent due to hi gh fixati o n, a nd
- Wate r and energy savings due to easy \vash-ofT.

Zencca's Proc io n H-EXLexh a ust d yes (hifunctio na l) ha ve been engineered to produce hi gh performance le vel d ye in g, mi gration , diffu sio n a'nd
exceptional build-up pro perties.
Of the reactive d yes available toda y, new Rema zo l
EF d yes significantl y reduce waste in e fflu ent , cl a im s
Hoechst. These dyes
Require 33-70% less salt than conventional reactive d yes,
Prov ide higher fix a tion under low salt conditions
as compared to conventional reac ti ve dyes, and
Arc available in environrnental safe pack agin g
(low-du st powd ers or liquid s).
Rite Indu stri es Inc. ha s launch ed the Rite Reactive B se ries of d yes whi ch a llow to reduee the
amount of salt to be used in the d yein g with similar
advantages .

BASF hil S introduced five new reac tive d yes into

the . Basil en range. These are Basilen Blue
E-FRN . Blue E- BGF,.Red F-RM, Red F-3BM
and Ye ll ow f~3RM . Ba silen Blue E-FRN is a
double anchor type m o nQc hl o ro tri zine dye free
of heavy metal which produ ces a unique royal
blue shade and ca n be used o n polyester/cellul osic
blends by the BASF reco mmended process. Basilen Blue E- BGF is a brilliant blue d ye free of heavy met a ls and sta ble under hi gh-temperature
dyeing conditions (e.g. pol yes ter/cellul ose blend
d ye ing) . Th e o th er three Ha si len FM dyes ha ve
hi gh exhaustion and easy was h o ut propertics to
decrea se water usag.e and wate r contamination.

43

In Indian mark et too, a number of companies have

co me out with high-exhaustion a nd med ium-exhau stion bireact ive d yes which a re finding increasi ng applica tions.

3 Developments in Application Methods

3.1 Pol)"ester Fibres

Durin g the d yeing of po lyester fibre. the conventional dyein g liquor contain s la rge a1Tlounts of di spersing agents a nd s urfactants which are used to ge t rea so na ble ra tes of d ye ing, ensuri ng levelness. Thi s leads
to an effluent loaded with dye and dis persing agent s
which is to be treated with an ever increasing cost. One
radically new a pproach is to use supe rcritical CO 2
med ium for dyeing P ET with disperse d yes 9 . Afte r the
dyeing o perati o n is conwlete, dry d ye powder, which
has no t been used up. deposits at the bottom . There is
no necessit y of dispersing agent or carrier. H oweve r.
thi s dyein g requires di sperse dyes of special structural
features. free from dispersing agents. Also. the cost of
eq uipmcnt an d pipings is hi gh. Bl~t the operational
costs are very low as compared to that in conventional
dyeing meth od (requires only 1/ 5th of the e ne rgy) .
There is also no requirement fo r red uction clearing
trea tment s, washings, dryin gs, etc., thereby saving
time a nd energy and providing protecti o n to environment. Thi s meth od loo ks to se t further the cause of
QR and hence QM .
Rece ntl y, H oec hst Mit s ubi shi Kase i (HMK) ha s
made poss ible the d ye ing of pol yes ter in an alkalinc
medium . thereby makin g the e ntire wet processi ng
simple and reproducible. The quality of dyed materials is also improved. In addition , the problems due to
the presence of pol yes ter oligomers in acidic d yei ng
conditions are also minimized 10.
The HMK system involves both alkali-resistant
d yes and a newl y developed stabilizer JPH95 for dyes
fo r alkaline conditions. The stabilizer has many functi o ns s uch as buffering the dyebath pH to around
9.0-9.5 during d yeing, stabilizing dyes. chelating metal io ns and dissolving oligomers. The small variation
in pH during the dyeing cycle promotes excell ent reproducibility.
3.2 Cellulosic Fibres

Man y ideas surround the concept of blind coloratio n, ranging from a simple no addition dyeing to the
management of all those factors that affect the coloration o fa textile, resulting in a right-first-time dyeing.
The latter definiti o n implies the total control of all
factors (including the human ones) that can influence
coloration and ca use a shade to deviate fro III the standa rd .

44

INDIAN J. FIBRE TEXT. RES .. MA RCH 1996

The beneflts of blind dyein g can be summarized as

follows: cost savin g, improved planning, better qua li ty. increased productivity, customer sa tisfaction .
etc . I I.
D ye ing with monofunctional reactive dyes is
known to be rather sensitive to changes in dyei ng conditions such as temperature, liquor ratio, addition of
salt and a lkal i. A low se nsitivity to dyeing parameters
using dyes with two different reactive groups is particu larly advantageous in continuous dyeing operations as it helps to achieve reproducibility of shades, i.e.
right-first-time and eve ry time.
The key factors influencing th e rates of ri ght-firsttime production are dye selection, control of raw materia ls and on- line process control. In itself, improving th e rate of right-first-time production can improve productivity by 20% and the ret urn on sa les to
a round 13 % (ref. 12).
Right-first-time production will be maximized if
these fundamental measures of performance within
the reactive dye compatibi lity matrix RCM are set
a t:
Substantivity
Migration Index
LDF
Tso, a minimum of 10 min

70-80%
> 90%
> 70 %

A comparison ofRCM of individual dyes will provide a measure of the compatibility of dyes when they
are used in combination. Dyes with simi lar performance and with substantivity, migration index, LDF,
and Tso values within the target specification will offer
robustness to small variations in processing condition s, shade reproducibility and level dyeing performance l2 .
Newer developments controlling add iti ona l paramete rs relati ng to the physical characteristics of the
substrate take into acco unt the influence of me chan ical and hydraulic forces exercised by the machine during the process l3 . The control eq uipment a ll ow the
hydraulic and mechanical action of the dyeing machine to be adjusted, not only for the entire process but
also for each period in the dyeing pcocess. This principle is utilized in the sync hron dyeing control system,
whic h sy nchronizes liquor circulation, fabric speed
and process cycle l 4 .
The a lk a li dosing process is becoming popular as a
rationalized dyeing method for reacti ve dyes 6 - s .
Many types of reactive dye can be used , but the optimum pH range will depend on the nature of the dye
employed . To control the rate of exhaustion, it is desirable to use a dye that reacts over a wide pH range so
that the conditions can easily be controlled during
dyeing. The Sumifix Supra range of dyes contain both

a vinyl su lphone group a nd a monochl o rotriazi ne react ive group. The y react with ce llul ose ove r a wide pH
range and are, therefore , suitab le for use in such opti mized dyeing processes I 5 .
Thesc d yes ha ve bee n ada p ted both fo r exhaust
d yeing and semi -continuous operations. Hi gh fixation, low substanti vity and good diffu sio n, effect ing
rapid and efTicient rcmoval of sma ll amounts of unfixcd dye, are the sa lient fea tures o f these dyes. To increase the fixation of d ye, the one of the most popular
alternat ive ene rgy sources which could he used is radio-frequency (RF) energy.
Heatin g of the batch with radio-frequency energy
during the batching stage grea!ly acce lerated the rate
of fixa ti on. Fixa tion leve ls ac hie ved usi ng opti mi zed
R F-assisted methods were approximately equival ent to those achieved in co nventional pad-batch dyeing l6 .
Dawson International , in 1978, patented a process
and the equipmen t design used for fixing dyes or chemicals with RF energyl6. The process involved continuous conveying of treated fibres through closely confin ed tube located between flat parallel e lectrodes.
By generating RF energy field within the tube, a se lf-seali ng pressure chamber was created by the formation of steam from the wetted fibres. The advantage
claimed was an increase in the reaction rate ofthe dye
on the fi bre.
The semi-continuo us pad-batch process using RF
energy has also been recognized as one o f the most
efficient methods ofapplying reactive dyes to cellulosics with exce ll ent reproducibility , leading to ri ghtfirst-time every time concept.
Laser fixation is a feasible low-heat trea tment method for fine-line dye fixation . A comparison of wash
fastness of ha nd-ironed and laser-treated specimens
showed that the specime ns treated with a n argon -i on
laser at 129C and 23YC maintained color significan tly bcttcr than thc specimens trcatcd with a lowcr lascr
heat (94C) and hand iron ( 190C). This was true for
10, 20 and 30 washes. A laser tempera! ure of 129C
was as effective in setting fibre reactive d ye in cotton as
was a laser temperature of 23C, ind ica ting that a
lower energy laser would be as useful in settin g dye as
higher power models 17 .
Electromagnetic hea ti ng produces d yei ngs of si milar shades to those obtained by conventional heating
when pressure and temperature conditions are kept
the sa me for both treatme nts. However, e lectrom agnetic heating allows smoother and more homogeneous boiling tha n docs conventional heating and can
be useful industria ll y 18 .
Lewis and eoworkers l 9 ca rri ed out fibre pretreatments a imed a t dyeing with reactive dyes under neut-

TEll : DEVELOPM ENTS IN DYEING PROCESS CONTROL

ral to sli ght Iy acid ic co nditi ons in the absence of elec trolytes. All of th ese' treatment s introduce cationic
(basic) resid ues in the form of quarternary, terti ary
and seco nd ary am ines.
One of the most co nveni ent pretreatments wa s to
apply polyamide epic hl o rohyd rin resin to the cellul osic fab ric usin g pad-dry syste m. Selection of highl y
reac tive d yes gave good co lo ur yield o n thi s type or
fabr ic a nd the fixation of dyes proceeded si mpl y by
ap pl ying them from a dyebath se t a t pH 5 a nd raising
the temperature to boil. Unfortunately. rin g dye ing
of tb e fibre a nd ya rn s was clearly evident and as a
result, li ght fas tness red uced by 1-2 points. These drawbac ks, howeve r, have bee n overco me by th e use or
low molecular we ight species a nd pretrea tin g the co tton fabric using a pad-th ermollxa ti on tec hnique .
Anot her adva nt age is th e need fo r sho rt er was hin golfp rocess to remove the unfi xed dye because of hi gh
level or dye -libre fixation ac hi eved.
In eo lo ura ti on of cellul osic fibres. vat dyes (including Indi go) and sulphur dyes ho ld a la rge part of th e
dyestuO' mark et. Vat dyes give exce ll ent fa stness,
whereas sulphur dyes a rc economical with good degree of fastness properties. The red uction process employed here req uires reducing age i1t s and it has ye t not
been possible to regenera te th ese co nven ti ona I agents, except in th e sta ndin g dyeba th procedure .
In recent inves tigations, an elec tro lytic process was
used to <lchi eve dye reel uction ~O. In eli rect electrolysis,
the dye itself has to be rcduced at the surface of th e
ca th ode, whil e in indirect elec tro lys is the reducing
power of the cat hode is transferred to the solution by a
soluble redo x sys tem (mediator) . This reversible redox system is continuously rege nera ted at th e cathode so th a t a renewal of th e reducing agent is achieved. Thi s tec hnique offers th e possibility of full dyebath recyeling, including the reuse o f reducin g agents.
Co tt on may readil y be modified by pret rea tment
with N-methylolacryla mide to introd uce penda ntacti va ted double bonds. These have been ex ploited in
two ways to imp rove the reacti ve dyeing o f co tton.
Firstly, by introducing a min o residues at these new
sites, excellent dyeings with reactive dyes can be achieved a t pH 5-7 in absence of an electro lyte, coupled
with a ve ry hi gh degree of fixation. Secondl y, it is
possi ble to dye th e cellul ose, modified o nl y with
N-meth ylo lac ryla mide, with dyes co nt aining pend ant aliphatic amino residues. In thi s case, it is necessary to dye in the presence oran elec trol yte under alkaline condi ti ons but ve ry hi gh colour yields are obtained, thank s to th e elimin a tion of th e hyd rolytic side
reactions nOrill all y associa ted wit h n:acti vc d yeing.

45

Such a min o-co ntaining dye s can be readily prepared

rro m all eO lllme r~ ial ra nges of reactive dyes 2 1 .
Prdrea tm en t or co tt on wi th pol yepichlorohydrin
dilllethylamine prod uces a modi lied cotto n th at can
he dyed un der neutral co nditi ons with selected lowreactivit y dyes wi th ou t sa lt. The dyei ngs of trea ted
colton ex hibit improved colour yield and hi gh was h
r;'lstness .. Bot h ex ha ust dye ing and co ntinu ous dye ing
l)f trea ted cotton give hi gh co lou r yield 2 2 .
Pretreatment of co tt on with hi gher mo lecu lar mass
pol ye pichl o roh ydrin dim eth ylamine co uld introduce more cationic sites onto the modified cotton .
Thi s would increase the ex tent of complexing with the
dye a nd thu s improve th e dyeabilit y with direct a nd
reactive dye s~3.
Eth ylened iami ne tetra(meth ylene ph osph onic)
acid when adso rbed by cotton fibres prior to the applica ti on of the direc t dye Solamine I- ast Red 4BL causes
a marked increase in rate of dyeing. It also impro ves
the wet fastne ss properties of the dyed eotton 24 .
3.3 Wool Fibres

. Due to th e increasing enviro nmenta l problems of

dyeing with heavy metal containing dyes as well as
wi th reac ti ve dyes, the dyeing beha viour of plasmatrea ted wool towa rd s these dyes was recently in vestiga ted by Hocker a nd eoworkers2s. Plasma trea tmen t
o n wool have shown th at it leads to, a pa rt from a n
improvement in the mec ha nical properties of the
fibre , improved dyeab ility with acid dyes, rea ctive
dyes a nd metal-co ntaining dyes, a nd reduced feltin g
tendency. Low- tel)1perature glow discharge trea tment of woo l opens up the follo wing possibilities to the
wool dyer:
IInproved utili za tion of the existin g plant due to
reduced dyeing times,
Savings in cost a nd maintenance of intensive wa ter purifica tion plants as well as possibilities for
recycling the dye effl uents due to reduced di scharge of toxic components,
Cos t savings by reducti o n in the amounts of dyes
a nd a uxilia ri es, and
I mproveel market prospects due to environmentfriendly process manage ment.
It has also been obse rved by Fib re Resea rch Institute, Israel, th~t wool on treatme nt with enzymes looses its felting prope rty. At the sa me time, libre seems
to acquire much enh a nced acid d yea bilit y.
3.4 Silk Fibres

As fa r as th e dyeing of silk fibre is co ncerned, th e

low-temperature dye ing has been attempted using
va ri ous redo x sys tems. These systems ca use an increase in the number o f dye ing si tes on the silk, through

46

INDIAN J. FIBRE TEXT. RE S. , M ARC H 19<.)6

the ac ti on offree radicals whic h might be assisting in

covalent fi xa ti on of the dye in ad diti on to us ua l ion ic
links, hydrogen bonds a nd va n d er Waals' fo rces. The
use of bufTers lik e sod ium ace tate-acet ic acid has a lso
bee n fo und to be quite pro mi sin g as far as the fi xati o n
an d the fastness properties of th e acid d ye on silk a re
concerned 26.27 .
4 Developments in Machinery
As the tex tile wet processo rs rea li ze that they must
adapt to the cha nging needs of the ma rket , the machinery manufacturers mu st tak e ap pro priat e actions
through extensive research and develo pment to d evelop a new ge nera tion of dyein ,!! mac hineri es that are
able to meet the changing market co nditi o ns.
The mac hine ry deve lo pment s are towards achi eving o ne o r more of the following o bjec tives :
Reducing th e labo ur complement,
Increas ing the prod uctivit y,
Minimi zing the req uireme nt s of Iltiliti es,
Simplifying the machin e operations,
Savin g in mac hine space,
Reducin g th e efflu en ts, thus minimi zin g possibl e
po lluti o n,
Recove ry of heat energy a nd water, and
Eco nomizing th e cost s tructure.
In batch piece a nd ya rn d yeing, it is essential that
the fi ni s her ha s machin es at hi s di sposa l that operate
cos t efTectively. At the sa me time, the finished prod uct
mu st meet the quality d emand s of the consumer. The
introducti o n of new technology and the modifi ca tion
of design that entails are the moves in the right direction . M o re eco nomica l d yein g processes can be achi eved in the piece and yarn dye ho use applying the short
and ultni-short liqu o r techn o logy, liquor fl ow control and finishing by the Sync hron D yeing Sys te m.
Of co urse, an increase in producti vity a nd qua lity is
today in co nceiva ble without a n elec tronica ll y-cont rol led process seq uence.
It is, the refo re, important for the fini sher when in ves tin g in new equipment or impro ving old machine
plant to ge t familiar with the la test advancement in
dyeing machi ne ma l1Lifacture a nd the lates t process
tech no logy 28 .
T he adve nt of meterin g tec hn o logy has made th e
short liqu o r dyeing a re liabl e process. Th e mode rn
meteri ng
sys tem- M ulti-pro d uct
II1J ection
(M PI)- permits co ntro lled di spensin g of so lid s o r liquids such as d yes, sal ts, alkalies, acids o r o ther tex tile
a uxili a ri es.
M lIlti-product injection (MPI) meterin g sys te m in
conjunction with the application of sho rt and ultrasho rt liqu o r technology has th e foll ow in g ad va nt ages:

A ut o ma tion or the d yei ng process avoiding inco rrect a ddi ti o ns of dye so luti o n, auxiliaries a nd
che mical s: mo reove r, the re are no idl e times.
Reliabilit y of the process, because th e re is a lwa ys
an o ptimum reac ti o n medium a vailable for th e
d ye in g process.
- Increased repro duc ibilit y b y ex act rcpetiti on of
the d ye in g process.
Optimi za tion of the leve ln ess .
Cost sa vings by using caustic a s fixation alkali
in s tead of soda (e.g. in reac ti ve dyeing).
Cost sav in gs by usin g acid (acetic o r fo rmic ) in
woo l/ po lya mid e d ye in g.
- Simplilica tion of the rinsing a nd washing processes in reac ti ve d ye in g, owing to less h ydrol yzate
fo rmati o n during the d yei.ng process.
Ort e n it is possible to reduce th e d ye in g time.
M o re re li a bl e sho rt liquo r d yei ng, especially wit h
dark colours. By met erin g-in the d ye, the co nce ntra ti o n of d ye in the d ye bath is reduced so th a t no
agglo meration can occur.
Increasin g automation in application o f dyes to the
fibre substrate ha s been o ne mo re guid in g principle in
th e d eve lo pment of the machin e ry as d esc ribed ahove. One of th e typi ca l examples in exhaust d yein g is
ADC-200, a me tering device de ve lo ped by Hoec hs t
a nd ADCON. The process, mo re known a s Ra maza lautomat, me ters the supply o f a lkal i for the li xat io n
o f th e reac tive d yes a ut o ma ticall y and prog ressively
in order to o btain the hi ghest leve ln ess in sho rt es t
d ye in g time.
The eme rge nce or short liq uo r je ts fo r d ye ing cotto n and it s bl end s has bee n mark ed over recent yea rs.
Not only d ocs thi s process offe r the po ss ibilit y of
more eco no lllical d ye ing but it also reduces the load
inflect ed o n the en vironment to the tun e or 30% (rd.
29).
On-line con trol s in continuous d ye in g are ro und to
be elTective in improvin g th e cost ellicie ncy and rep roducibi!ity. Forexample, on- lin e liqu o r pi c k-up meas urement wit h level co rrecti o n and co ntro l e n:lblcs
precise calculation of the vo lume o f li qu o r Ileelled
and conseq ucntl y savin gs in the cost of dyes a nd auxi liaries. On-line colourimctry orthe p;ldJed rab ri c improves th e contro l over th e prod uc tio n process wit h
reliability and imp ro ved quality'o .
4, I J igg('r Dye ing

Jigge r is th e mos t stable mac hin e in dye ho use and

future d yeingjiggers will ha ve a very modern look and
will be chara c teri zed with use ful as pec ts vvhich a re
s Ulllmari zed und er " Future Trend<' in this JXlpc r.
4.2 J(" Dyeing

The utilit y, s pecific appli cati o n and pre ss ure con-

TEll: DEVELOPMENTS IN DYEING PROCESS.CONTROL

dition inside the vessel as well as the shape of the vessel

have been , for quite some time , under constant examination . Some manufacturers have finalized designs
for all types of ma terial s and dyes, which claim all the
important features such as:
Dyeing.temperatures up to 140C when desired,
Soft flow or ove rflow ,
Low liquor ra tio up to 1:5,
Automatic co ntrol s by microprocessors,
Suitability for light weight as well as heavy fabrics, say 50-500 g/ m 2 ,
High fabric speeds at the lowest possible
pressure,
Tangle-free operation,
High quality d yeing results with reduced tension
and surface abrasion,
Minimum operator involvement, and
Economy of energy, water and chemical auxiliary
ingredients 3 1 .
In other words, more air, less liquor and gentle handling have been the key factors behind the development of jet dyeing machines.
Then's Air-Flow ASF machine uses the liquor ratio about 1:2 and it is found to give high productivity
and low consumption of water and chemica1. The dye
solution is automatized with the air stream which is produced by the blower for application on the fa bric. The
Italian machinery maker 'Laip' has brought out airwater-flow Mod 800, a latest rope dyeing machine,
for both knitted a nd woven fabrics . The air-injection
is not simply used to accelerate the fabric to high speed
but in some cases to open the fabric. " Apollon Twin
Soft Flow" machine manufactured by a Greek machinery manufacturer makes use of micro wash system,
using clean hot water which is introduced through the
double-overflow of the machine to achieve very high
cleani ng efficiency 32.

47

The FD 45 pad-stream machine from Rami sch

Kleinewefers for the continuous dyeing of cotton a nd
its blends with viscose rayon or polyester has been
reported. In addition to a Bicoflex padding arrangement, the machine has system for feeding in single
doses of chemicals and storage programmable control. This control system has a modem whidi permits
continuous dialogue between the supplier and the customer. It could be prefera bly used for vat and sulphur dyes 33 .

5 Garment Dyeing
. Whil st garment dyeing has an in-built lead time
advantage for producing comparatively sm'all tots,
the com bined effect of customers wanting larger lo t
sizes quicker and more reprod~cibility and the advances in response time made by the colouration routes
has driven development in gannent dyeing technology.

5. 1 Dyes

Proper selection of dyes a nd finishing chemicals is

quite important for dyeing of gaments made of cotton, wool, nylon, polyester, acrylic and .t heir blends.
The range of articles include socks, sportswear,
shirts, T-shirts, etc. Of the dyes available in the mark
et, reactive dyes are the most popular dyes used in
garment d yeing. Newly introduced bireactive dyes
are finding increasing application and are preferred
to direct dyes 3 ,,". Subsequent trea tment with dye fixing
agent is also recommended to improve fastness properties. Other dyes used for garment include acid and
reactive dyes for woollen gannents, cationic dyes for
acrylic, and sulphur and vat dyes for cellulosic garmen ts. The chlorine fastness of sulphur and reactive
dyes is poor whereas vat dyes have the best perfonnance properties although they a re quite expensive.

4.3 Continuous Dyeing

The component units of the contin.uous dyeing ranges are being modified from time to time to minimize
the possible imperfections in the final dyed product.
Development work regarding these component units
is still .in progress. The points which have been a nd
which will still be considered during such work include:
Co mposition and formation of pad rollers,
Pre-drying by infra -red radiation to avoid possible mi gration , with vertical fa bric passage , a nd
Well-designed and evenly impinging hot flue or
high-temperature dryers for thermoso l dyeing.
With the advent of synthetics and blends, the thermosol system is bound to achieve a very promising
position .

5.2 Dyeing Methods

Exhaust d yeing is carried out using special dyeing

111achines for garments.
5.3 Machinery

The most recent development from Gilwood (Fabrica tors) Co. Ltd, a British machine maker, is an oval,
double side-paddle machine for dyeing readymade
knitwear. Machine capacity ranges frum 150 to 6800
litres. Positive dye penetra tion is achieved by speci ally designed paddles fitted with synchronised dri ve
for enhanced liquor circulation . An innovati ve recirc ulation system delivers heated liquor simultane~u
sly to the two-paddle a rea, significantly improving
the overall temperature controp5.

48

INDIAN 1. FIBRE TEXT RES .. MARCf-1 1996

The recent inn ova ti o n in convcntional drum dyeing machine is the one with liquor circu lation through
the drum centre. Thi s helps impart ing an extremel y
gentle treatment to the goods even at low liquor ratios. i.e. I :6. Thi s kind of machinery has the advantage
of dyeing all kind s of hosiery. The goods dyed can al so
be cent,:ifuged in the same machi ne which means in vestment costs ["or centrifugers a re a voided. The technica l advanta ges include:
Level dyei ng due to rapid liqu or interchange.
Reduced wate r eilluent and less steam and chemical co nsumption because of operations at low liqlI or rati os. and
- In-built hydroex traction " .
The newer machinery for garment dyeing are based
on the foll owin g feature s: (i) Low liq uor rati o, (ii)
Microprocessors- for improved lot-t o-I ot reprod ucibilit y, (iii) Hea t exc ha nge rs - for rapid heatin g
uJ1dcoo ling. (iv) !....int filte rs) (v) Ce ntrifugal hydroextrac tion , (vi) Ea sy sa mplin g with out droping dye
liq uor. (vii) Tilting- for ease of loading /unl oa din g,
(vi ii ) C ushi o ned suspension, (ix) Variable drum
speed, and (x) Automatic balancin g drum .
What is importa nt in garment dyeing is to achieve
level dyeing, with excellen t penetration in short dyeing cycle. The de ve lopments a rc thus directed towards these aspects .
6 M icrofibre Dyeing
The microfibres are the lates t entrant in textile marke t a nd ha ve inherent adva ntages for which their co nsumpti on is increasing day by da y. Howeve r, because
the microlibre has inc reased su rface a rea , th e rate of
dyeing is tremendo usly enhanced and it becomes essen ti al to co ntrol the dyeing of microfibres to avoid
uneven dyeing. The dyeings obtained a re also apparently lighter as compared to the ones with the norma l
denier pol yester yarn and it is difficult to ge t th e dee p
shades in microdenier varieties. The fast ness to washing. rubbing and li ght is inferior to th at of norm al
denier pol yes ter. This necessita tes the selection of
proper range of disperse dyes specially suited for microfi bres.
The Fo ron RD dyes of Sandoz seem to be perfo rming favo ura bl y. To improve th e li gh t fa stness of the
dyed microllbres, use ofFadex R F liquid is recommcnded since thi s acts as a kind of UV -abso rber. A number of dyes manufacturers are making the selection of
dyes from the pont of view o f their a ppl ica tion on
micro Ii bre fa bric .
7 D)leing of Hosiery/Knits
In dyeing of kn ilted fabri cs. co ld bran d as well as
hot brand reacti ve dyes and also the direc t dyes are

used I'or 100% cellulosic fabrics. The dyeing is carried

o ut in tensionl ess form in winch a nd since th e wi nch
dyeing machine doesn' t allow uniform temperature
Illaintelwnce. the reactive d yes of H E and M E cl ass
arc increasingly being preferred.
8 D)'eing of Terry-Towels
The dye ing o f terry-t owel is more conlined to dyeing of ya rn s which a re then subsequen tly used fo r
producing jacqua rd designs. The as r ects of dye in g
and the se lec tion o f dyes rema in sa me as in the case of
hosiery. Howeve r, when no tinting of th e' gro und is
e.\ pec ted , th e va t dyed ya rn s a re used in manufact ure
of terry-towel s rather than azo, sulphur, reactive and
direct dyes.
A two-s tep dyeing tec hnique is avail a ble by which
cross-dyeing o f 100% colto n te rry cloth can be ach ieved with fibre reactive dyes. The fir st step in volves
co ntinu o usly dyeing of the fa bric, usi ng a n a uxil iary
that promotes colora ti on of the tips of th e terry cloth .
Subsequent dyeing is carried out in a beck with contrasting co lour fibre-reactive dye. An a tt rac ti ve towtoned appea rance result sJ o.
9 Future Trends
The ~ ye manufacturers wou.ld co nce ntrate on resea rch acti viti es to deve lop new chrolllophores and
dyes offe rin g wider shade gamuts, hi gher colo ur fa stness, improved environme ntal impac t and higher overall cos t elTiciency in the col o ura ti on process.
I n future , the di sp erse dyes based on benzodifura nones wilLencourage m<1re resea rch to dea l with structural and ph ysical fOnll modificati ons designed to improve build -u p, and also encourage resea rch for new
ehromogens th a t are particularl y suit ab le for pol yesl er in ge nera l and micro fibres in part icular.
The future developments in reac ti ve d yes are likel y
to be co nce ntra ted on:
High a pplication flexibilit y: A broad spectrum of
~hades ,h t) uld be dyea ble by widel y dilkringapplica tion !/.,'l hods with a small number o f dyes.
Gooel reproducibility and good le ve lling properti es.
Outstanding protecti on to environment.
Maximum productivity.
Apart from these, the dyeing process with dyes containing no reactive group (in the usual sense) but capab le of being crosslinked to cellulose via a suitable
reagent will find its pl ace in industrial applicatiun .
For dyei ng cellulosic fibres, high-fastness direct
dyes will be selected ( 0 avoid usc of corper or chromium sa lts. In reac ti ve dyeing, use of urea will be minimi zed . For dyeing with sulphur dyes, the hi ghl y pollutin g sod iulll sulphide will be replaced by o ther ag-

TELl: DEVELOPMENTS IN DYEING PROCESS CONTROL

ents such as reducing byproduct from mai ze sta rch

industry or hydroxy acetone 37 38 For oxidation of
vat and sulphur dyes, hydrogen peroxide, sodium perborate and 1, 3-dinitrobenzene sulphonic acid wi ll
be used in place of dichroma te.
During po lyester dyeing, chlorinated or phenolic
carriers will be avoided. Acetic acid used for pH adjustment having hi gh BOD will be replaced by other
agents .
In case of d yeing machineries, the jiggers oftomorrow will be characterized by the following useful aspects:
Excellent closin g and opening.
Heated hook for drip-proof working.
One way flap- o pening chimney for releasing unwanted hot a nd wet flue .
Intern a l machine li ghting to offe r a good view of
the fabric under process.
Pump for recirculating the dye liquo r.
Safety devices and emergency switches for avoiding da mage owing to sudden brea kd own.
Automatically controlled drain va lve.
Autom a tic reve rsal, delay-relay fabric direction
indicator as well as speed indicato rs.
Effective crease removing expa nders a nd mo torized selvedge aligning and continuous ce ntering
system.
Development s in winch d ye ing machinery with
better tempera ture. di stributi o n a nd liqu o r movement are ex pected , mainly fo r d yei ng knitted fabrics.
References
I Pa rt o r R. J Soc DI'ers Colour . 11 0 ( 1994) 4.
2 Allan H N. Quick re.ljJOI1Se ill apparel mWIl!/,acllIring (The Textile In stitute. Manchester). 1990. 42.
3 Teli M D & Ve nu G R Gudigantla. Proceedings Guldel; Tex lile
Con/'erence [Textile Association (India)]. 1994, 6 1-67.
4 Ho lme I, /nl Dyer . 178( 10) ( 1993) 13.
5 Sheshadri S, Book a/papers , Scminar Oil stat e-of~ thc-a,.t alld
.Iii/ ure trellds in chem ical processing o/, I!!x liles (BTRA. Bo mb ay). 1994.

6
7
8
9
10
II
12
13
14
IS
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38

49

Anon. Am Dyes t Rep. 83(4) ( 1994) 19.

And req Lee, Inl Dyer. 179 (Apri l 1994) 29-30.
Lultdiuzer J P, Texl Chem Color. 25(5) ( 1993) 25 .
Saur W. Krittel D & Schollmeyer E, Inl Tex t Bull. Dyeing /
Prinling/ Finishing, ( I) ( 1993) 20.
Ima fuku H, J Soc Dyers Colour . 109 ( 1993) 350,
Go rd o n M Fa nnie, J Soc Dyers Colour, 107 (1991) 197.
Bradb ury M J , Coll ishaw P S & Moorhouse S, Inl Dy er , 179
(A pril 1994) 12- 18.
Ca rbonell J , Am Dyest Rep. 76(3) ( 1987) 34 ,
Collishaw P S. G lover B& Bradbury M J , J Soc Dyers Colour.
108 ( 1992) 13-1 7.
Kunih iko Imada & Naoki Harada, J Soc Dyers C% ur , 108
(1 992) 2 10-2 14.
Carlo ugh Mark S & Perkin s Warren S. J Soc Dyers Colour.
109 (1993) 65-7 1.
Ka thlee Kearney & Alice Ma ki, Texl Chern Colour , 26( I)
( 1994) 24-28.
Jean-Pierre Dueaz, Jean-M arie Thiebaut & Daniel Wattiez. J
.'Inc Dyer lolnur. lOR ( 1992) 2R4-287.
Lewis D M, J Soc Dyers Colour , 109 ( 1993) 357.
Bachtole T , Burtscher E, Turcauu A & Bobleter 0, J Soc Dyers
Colour, 110 ( 1994) 14.
Lewis D M & Lei X P, J Soc Dyers Colollr . 107 ( 1991 )
102- 109.
Wu T S & Chen K M , J Soc Dyers Colour . 109 ( 1993)
153- 158.
Wu T S & C hen K M, J Soc Dyers Colour, 109 ( 1993)
365-368.
Ri ad Y. EI-Nahas H M & Harnza H M. J Soc Dyers Colollr, IOT~
( 199 1) 144-147.
Hocker H. Tho mas H, Kusters A & Herrhing J , Melliand Textilh!!,., 75(6) (1994) 13 1.
Jutao Luo. J Soc Drws Colollr, 107 ( 199 1) 11 7- 120.
Juta o Lu o. J S oc Dyers C% llr. 107 ( 1991) 14 1- 143.
Bo hrer E. Jan ,- Handrik Heetjans & Caesfeld . Me/liand TextiIber. 12 ( 1990) E44 1.
Kurt Bacher. J Soc Dyers Coluur , 108 ( 1992) 479-480.
Kurt Van Wersch. Monchngladbach . M ellialld Tex lilber. ( I)
(1993) E23 .
Bhagw1it R S. Cololl/'age, (May 1994) 53.
Ano n. flit Dyer, (A ugust 1994) 29.
Hul sewig H. Tex tilveredlung . 29(7/8) ( 1994) 196-198.
Gore C D & Settle H J. Am Dyw Rep . 83(5) ( 1994) 24.
Anon. /111 Dyer. 179(3) (1994) 22 .
Elle rs J N. Am Drest Rep , 82 (Se ptember 1993) 70-73 .
Dalmia R K & Sha rma M . J TeXI Assoc, 54 ( 1993) 32 .
Ballmga rt e U. Prog Colour. 17 (1987) 32.