TEXTILE INDUSTRIES

CHE 432
INDUSTRIAL PROCESS

History
Fibers originally from wool, silk, cotton, flax and similar
materials
1883: 1st man-made fibers by Swan when he squirted
a solution of cellulose nitrate in acetic acid through
holes
1885: 1st commercial fibers from cellulose nitrate by
Chardonnet
1892: viscose production patented
1900: cuprammonium rayon fiber made
1921: cellulose acetate fiber
1940: 1st synthetic fiber nylon (polyamide)
discovered by Carothers, commercialised by DuPont
Mid 1950s: polyesters, acrylics, polyolefins produced
as well

Uses And Economics

Man-made fibers 45% of worlds fiber
production
Uses depends on nature of individual fiber
Clothing, carpets and upholstery made of
synthetic fibers
Shirt & garments blends of polyester and
cotton
Nylon in US for carpet production

Properties Of Fibers
General properties: length, crimp & denier
Either continuous filament or short fibers, uniform in length,
spun into thread
Short fibers cotton & wool called staple
Continuous filaments infinite length, most synthetic fibers &
natural silk
Synthetic staple fibers prepared by cutting continuous filaments
to short, uniform lengths usu. betw. 3.5-15 cm
Crimp curl or waviness placed in synthetic fibers by chemical
or mechanical action
Denier measure of weight of fibers per unit length & defined
as weight in grams of 9000 m, another unit is tex weight of
1000 m
1st synthetic fibers were circulate, but special characteristics
imparted by manufacturing fibers with non-round cross section
Most fiber in the market have filaments whose cross section are
not uniformly round

Synthetic Fibers
Classification:
- Manufacture begins with preparation of polymer
consisting of very long, chain-like molecules
- Polymer spun and results in weak useless fiber
until it is stretched to orient molecules and set up
crystalline lattices
- By controlling within limits degree of orientation,
crystallinity, and average chain length, single
polymer can be used to make a no. of fibers with
widely differing mechanical properties ranging
from weak and stretchy to strong and stiff
- 2 important factors to determine mechanical
properties of polymer: 1) attractive forces betw.
molecules and 2) flexibility & length of molecular
chains

Spinning procedures:

1) Melt spinning (nylon, polyester, polyvinyl,

polypropylene) involving pumping molten
polymer through capillaries or spinnerets, then
solidified by quenching in cool air
2) Dry spinning (acrylics, vinyl-acrylic) polymer
dissolved in suitable organic solvent. Solution
forced thru spinnerets, evaporation of solvent in
warm air, dry filaments formed
3) Wet spinning (acrilan, creslan) spinning of
solution of polymer and coagulation of fiber in
chemical bath
Table 35.1 Representative synthetic fibers and films

Polyamides
Nylon 6,6 : 1st synthetic fiber made
commercially
Used for home furnishing carpets
Polymerization reaction of adipic acid and
hexamethylene diamine
Fig 35.3 - flow chart for nylon yarn using
batch process

Polyesters
Polymers of ester formed from dimethyl
terephthalate and ethylene glycol
Polymerization is a two stage process:
- 1st stage : monomer prepared either by ester
interchange between dimethyl terepthalate and
EG or by direct esterificaiton of terepthalic acid
- 2nd stage : polymerization of monomer
Fig 35.5 flowchart for polyester fibers production

Acrylics And Modacylics

Major component of several industrial
textile fibers, DuPonts Orlon 1st attained
commercial scale operation
Orlan made by polymerizing acylonitrile
Resistance of chemical attack esp. to
weathering makes them useful in several
fields
End users sweaters, womens coats,
mens winter suiting, carpets and blankets.
Suitable for pile fabrics and filter cloth

Cellulosic Fibers
Rayon and acetate

Carbon fibers
High-modulus carbon fibers prepared from
rayon, polyacrylonitrile or pitch
Rayon fibers are charred at 200 350oC
& carbonized at 1000 2000oC

 Carbon fibers sold in three forms:

1) Low modulus used as electrically conducting
surface for electrostatic spraying and injection
molding to get electrical conductivity,
resistance to heat and improved wear
2) Medium modulus fiber can be formed into
fabrics
3) High modulus lowest priced high-modulus
yarn available and used when stiffness is
critical
Carbon fibers reinforcing plastics which can
be used for sporting goods (fishing rods) &
engineering plastics

Finishing and dyeing of textiles

Modification of fibers and fabrics by special treatment to
change their properties & to improve their usefulness is
increasing
Three important finishes: 1) flameproofing or fire
retarding 2) mildew or rotproofing and 3) water
repellency
Temporary flame proofing achieved by application of
ammonium salts or borax and boric acid
Ideal flame proofing allows cleaining or laundering and
but maintain desirable fabric characteristics is difficult
Mildew proofing obtained by use of organic and inorganic
compounds eg. Acrylonitrile, chlorinated phenols
To produce water repellent finishes durable to usual
cleaning processes, special quarternary ammonium
compounds are heat treated onto fiber