JPH0441768A - Production of wool fiber having excellent dimensional stability - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To attain excellent dimensional stability by irradiating wool fiber with ultraviolet ray containing a specific wavelength component. CONSTITUTION:Animal hair fiber such as wool fiber, camel's hair, cashmere fiber and alpaca hair, its blend with synthetic fiber, semisynthetic fiber or other natural fiber, or textile product composed thereof such as woven or knit fabric and nonwoven fabric is irradiated with ultraviolet ray containing a component having wavelength of <=300nm using a high-pressure mercury lamp, metal halide lamp, xenon lamp, etc., (preferably low-pressure mercury lamp) at an intensity of >=3mw/cm<2> (preferably >=30mw/cm<2>) for several tens seconds to several tens minutes to impart the fiber with resistance to dimensional change such as washing shrinkage or to form-change caused by the change of atmospheric temperature and humidity in wearing without deteriorating the feeling of the original fiber.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Fields] The present invention addresses the disadvantages of wool, such as shrinkage during washing and during sewing.
The present invention relates to a method for producing wool fibers with excellent dimensional stability, which prevents dimensional changes caused by changes in ambient temperature and humidity during wear.

[Prior art] Wool fibers are prone to dimensional changes due to scale on the fiber surface and anisotropy in the coefficient of friction.
There are many proposals for improvement methods as described below.

■ A method of chemically treating with a strong acid such as hypochlorous acid to remove scale, or a method of covering the scale with resin, etc.

■ Method of grafting vinyl monomers.

■ In order to eliminate the anisotropy of the friction coefficient of the surface and further equalize the hydrophilicity of the scale part, JP-A-62-
No. 33869, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-289667,
A method of low-temperature plasma treatment, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 63-303177.

■ Method of corona discharge treatment in a normal pressure atmosphere.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] However, the above-mentioned conventional technology has the following drawbacks.

That is, method (2) impairs the original properties of wool, and has drawbacks such as a decrease in feel and insufficient shrink-proofing effect. In addition, method (2) has problems such as a decrease in fastness and a decrease in texture. Furthermore, method (2) requires a special vacuum container and discharge device, requiring a large investment in equipment, and since wool contains a large amount of water, it is difficult to maintain a reduced pressure atmosphere. In order to solve this problem, it is necessary to heat-treat the material to dissipate moisture before placing it in a vacuum container, which results in high processing costs and various problems in terms of processing stability and reproducibility. The last method (■) has a small improvement effect on wool fibers and is not practical.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the drawbacks of the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for producing wool fibers with excellent dimensional stability.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following configuration.

That is, the method for producing wool fibers with excellent dimensional stability according to the present invention is characterized by subjecting wool fibers to ultraviolet irradiation treatment.

[Function] The wool fiber of the present invention includes wool, camel hair, cashmere hair,
It refers to yarns made of albaca wool alone or in combination with other synthetic fibers, semi-synthetic fibers, and natural fibers, and textile products such as knitted fabrics and nonwoven fabrics made of these.

In the present invention, it is preferable to irradiate ultraviolet rays on fabrics made of such wool fibers that have been dyed in the usual way or that have been dyed and finished, but the method of the present invention may be carried out before dyeing. can also provide sufficient effects.

In the present invention, the processing step that incorporates ultraviolet irradiation is not particularly limited and may be appropriately set depending on the purpose. In some cases, irradiation may be performed while wet.

The ultraviolet irradiation of the present invention has the great advantage that known equipment can be used and excellent effects can be obtained in a normal pressure atmosphere, and the moisture contained in wool does not pose any problem during processing.

Light sources that emit ultraviolet rays include high-pressure mercury lamps, metal halide lamps, low-pressure mercury lamps, and xenon lamps, and are not limited to those that include wavelengths of 300 nm or less; however, ultraviolet rays that exceed wavelengths of 300 nm may cause fading of dyes. It has the disadvantage that it tends to cause UV rays, etc., so it is better to reduce the amount of UV rays it receives.

From this point of view, it is preferable to use a low-pressure mercury lamp having a wavelength peak at 184.90.253.7 mm.

Irradiation intensity is 3 mv/rd or more, preferably 10 mw/d
The irradiation treatment may be carried out at a rate of 30 mv/a1 or higher, more preferably within a period of several tens of seconds to several tens of minutes, by combining the irradiation illuminance and processing time depending on the purpose.

In the process before or after the ultraviolet irradiation of the wool fiber of the present invention, there is no problem in using a known finishing resin, mechanical texture adjustment, etc., and if the finishing resin processing is performed after the ultraviolet irradiation treatment of the present invention, The durability of the resin against washing may be improved, and more desirable wool fibers can be produced.

Further, in carrying out the present invention, if necessary, the present invention can be carried out in a reduced pressure atmosphere or a pressurized atmosphere.

In the present invention, we can overcome dimensional changes such as shrinkage during washing and poor shape retention due to ambient temperature and humidity, which are the essential drawbacks of wool fibers, without impairing the texture of the fibers.
Moreover, it is low cost and can be improved and prevented in a normal pressure atmosphere.

[Examples] Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to Examples, but the present invention is not limited to these Examples.

In addition, performance evaluation in Examples was performed by the following method.

(1) Washing shrinkage rate Measured using Jll-L-1,042 after washing 20 times in succession using JT 5-L-0217 (103 method).

(2) Texture Judgment was made by sensory evaluation based on no ultraviolet irradiation.

Examples 1 to 4, Comparative Example 1 100% wool dyed and finished by normal methods
A twill fabric (both warp and weft yarns were 2/60' S, warp density 63 threads/inch, weft density 51 threads/inch) was irradiated with ultraviolet rays under the following conditions.

For comparison, we prepared one that was not irradiated with ultraviolet light (
Comparative example 1).

(Ultraviolet irradiation conditions) Light source: Low pressure mercury lamp (manufactured by Toshiba Lightic Corporation) Illuminance:
30 to 50 mv/a/ Treatment time: 1 to 10 minutes The resulting fabric was evaluated for dimensional changes, and the results are shown in Table-1.

As is clear from Table 1, the products of Examples 1 to 4 have almost no shrinkage after washing, do not become felt, and have extremely superior dimensional stability and texture compared to the comparative examples. was also good.

Example 5, Comparative Example 2 The same dyed and finished fabric used in Example 1 was irradiated with ultraviolet rays for 4 minutes in the same manner as in Example 1.

For comparison, we prepared a sample that was not irradiated with ultraviolet rays.

These fabrics were squeezed with a mangle with a resin solution containing 15 g/l of NK Guard FG-270 (fluorinated water/oil repellent manufactured by NICCA CHEMICAL) so that the wet pickup was 70%, and dried at 120°C. , heat set at 160°C.

The performance of the obtained fabric was evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1, and the results are shown in Table 2.

The water repellency was evaluated according to the JIS-L-1018 spool method, and the water repellency was measured after washing and washing under the same conditions as the washing shrinkage measurement.

It was found that the material of Example 5 had shrink-proofing properties and durable water repellency.

Table 1 [Effects of the Invention] The present invention provides wool fibers with excellent dimensional stability without impairing the feel of wool.

Patent applicant Higashi Shikikai Co., Ltd. Table-2

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A method for producing wool fibers with excellent dimensional stability, which comprises subjecting wool fibers to ultraviolet irradiation treatment. (2) The method for producing wool fibers with excellent dimensional stability according to claim (1), wherein the ultraviolet rays include a wavelength of 300 nm or less.