Wet processing

engineering
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Wet Processing Engineering is one of the

major streams in textile engineering refers
to textile chemicals process engineering
and applied science. The other three
streams in textile engineering are yarn
engineering, fabric engineering and
apparel engineering.
Wet process is usually done on the
manufactured assembly of interlacing
fibers, filaments, and/or yarns having
substantial surface (planar) area in
relation to its thickness, and adequate
mechanical strength to give it a cohesive
structure. In other words, wet process is
done on manufactured fabric. The
processes of this stream is involved or
carried out in aqueous stage and thus it is
called wet process which usually covers
pretreatment, dyeing, printing and
finishing.

All of these stages are required aqueous

medium which is created by water. A
massive amount of water is required in
these processes per day. It is estimated
that, on an average, almost 100 liter of
water is used to process only 1 kg of
textile goods. Water can be of various
quality and attributes. Not all water can be
used in the textile process, it must have
some certain properties, quality, color &
attributes for being used in textile
processes. This is why water is a prime
concern in wet process engineering.

Water
Most water used in the textile industry is
from deep well water which is found 800 ft
below the surface level. The main problem
which is concerned in using water in
textile processes is water hardness
caused by the presence of soluble salts of
metals including calcium and magnesium.
Iron, aluminum and copper salts may also
contribute to the hardness, but their
effects are much less. Using hard water in
wet process can cause problems such as
the formation of scale in boilers, reactions
with soap and detergents, reaction with
dyes and problems due to Iron.

Water hardness can be removed by boiling

process, liming process, sodalime
process, base exchange process or
synthetic ion exchange process. Recently
some companies have started harvesting
rain water for use in wet processes as it is
less likely to cause the problems
associated with water hardness.

Pretreatment
Wet Process Engineering (WPE) is the
most significant division in the textile
preparation and processing. It is a major
stream in textile engineering which is
under the section of textile chemical
processing engineering and applied
science. Textile manufacturing covers
everything from fiber to apparel; covering
with yarn, fabric, fabric dyeing, printing,
finishing, garments or apparel
manufacturing. There are many variable
processes available at the spinning and
fabric-forming stages coupled with the
complexities of the finishing and
coloration processes to the production of
a wide ranges of products.

In Bangladesh, textile manufacturing is a

major industry. In this industry, wet
processing plays a vital role in the area of
pre-treatment, dyeing, printing and
finishing of both fabrics and apparels. But
coloration in fiber stage or yarn stage is
also included in the wet processing
division.

All the processes of this stream are

carried out in an aqueous state or aqueous
medium. The main processes of this
section include;

Singeing
Desizing
Scouring
Bleaching
Mercerizing
Dyeing
Printing
 Finishing

Singeing

The process of singeing is carried out for

the purpose of removing the loose hairy
fibers protruding from the surface of the
cloth, thereby giving it a smooth, even and
clean looking face. Singeing is an
essential process for the goods or textile
material which will be subjected to
mercerizing, dyeing and printing to obtain
best results from these processes.

The fabric passes over brushes to raise

the fibers, then passes over a plate heated
by gas flames. When done to fabrics
containing cotton, this results in increased
wetability, better dyeing characteristics,
improved reflection, no "frosty"
appearance, a smoother surface, better
clarity in printing, improved visibility of the
fabric structure, less pilling and decreased
contamination through removal of fluff
and lint.

Singeing machines can be of three types:

plate singeing, roller singeing, or gas
singeing. Gas singeing is widely used in
the textile industry. In gas singeing, a
flame comes into direct contact to the
fabric and burn the protruding fiber. Here,
flame height and fabric speed is the main
concern to minimize the fabric damage.

Singeing is performed only in the woven

fabric. But in case of knit fabric, similar
process of singeing is known as
biopolishing where enzyme is used to
remove the protruding fibres.

Singeing is a mechanical process by which

hairy, loose fibers are removed from the
surface of the textile material either by
heating or burning to make the material
smoother and lustrous.

Importance: same to bio-polishing without

point 5
Desizing

Desizing is the process of removing sizing

materials from the fabric, which is applied
in order to increase the strength of the
yarn which can withstand with the friction
of loom. Fabric which has not been
desized is very stiff and causes difficulty
in its treatment with different solution in
subsequent processes.

After singeing operation the sizing

material is removed by making it water-
soluble and washing it with warm water.
Desizing can be done by either the
hydrolytic method (rot steep, acid steep,
enzymatic steep) or the oxidative method
(chlorine, chloride, bromite, hydrogen
peroxide)

Depending on the sizing materials that has

been used, the cloth may be steeped in a
dilute acid and then rinsed, or enzymes
may be used to break down the sizing
material. Enzymes are applied in the
desizing process if starch is used as sizing
materials. Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)
and Poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) are often
used as sizing materials.

Scouring
Scouring is a chemical washing process
carried out on cotton fabric to remove
natural wax and non-fibrous impurities
(e.g. the remains of seed fragments) from
the fibers and any added soiling or dirt.
Scouring is usually carried in iron vessels
called kiers. The fabric is boiled in an
alkali, which forms a soap with free fatty
acids (saponification). A kier is usually
enclosed, so the solution of sodium
hydroxide can be boiled under pressure,
excluding oxygen which would degrade the
cellulose in the fiber. If the appropriate
reagents are used, scouring will also
remove size from the fabric although
desizing often precedes scouring and is
considered to be a separate process
known as fabric preparation. Preparation
and scouring are prerequisites to most of
the other finishing processes. At this stage
even the most naturally white cotton fibers
are yellowish, and bleaching, the next
process, is required.

The three main processes involved in the

scouring are saponification, emulsification
and detergency.

The main chemical reagent used in the

cotton scouring is sodium hydroxide which
converts saponifiable fats and oils into
soaps, dissolves mineral matter and
converts pectose and pectin into their
soluble salts.

Another scouring chemical is detergent

which is an emulsifying agent and
removes dust and dirt particles from the
fabric.

Since damage can be caused to the cotton

substrate by sodium hydroxide. Due to
this, and in order to reduce alkali content
in the effluent, Bio-scouring is introduced
in the scouring process in which biological
agent is used, such as an enzyme.

Bleaching
Bleaching improves whiteness by
removing natural coloration and remaining
trace impurities from the cotton; the
degree of bleaching necessary is
determined by the required whiteness and
absorbency. Cotton being a vegetable fiber
will be bleached using an oxidizing agent,
such as dilute sodium hypochlorite or
dilute hydrogen peroxide. If the fabric is to
be dyed a deep shade, then lower levels of
bleaching are acceptable. However, for
white bed sheets and medical
applications, the highest levels of
whiteness and absorbency are essential.
Reductive bleaching is also carried out,
using sodium hydrosulphite. Fibers like
polyamide, polyacrylics and polyacetates
can be bleached using reductive bleaching
technology.

After scouring and bleaching, optical

brightening agents (OBA), are applied to
make the textile material appear more
white. These OBAs are available in
different tints such as blue, violet and red.

Mercerizing

Mercerization is a treatment for cotton

fabric and thread that gives fabric or yarns
a lustrous appearance and strengthens
them. The process is applied to cellulosic
materials like cotton or hemp. A further
possibility is mercerizing during which the
fabric is treated with sodium hydroxide
solution to cause swelling of the fibres.
This results in improved lustre, strength
and dye affinity. Cotton is mercerized
under tension, and all alkali must be
washed out before the tension is released
or shrinkage will take place. Mercerizing
can take place directly on greige cloth, or
after bleaching.

Dyeing
Dyeing is the process of adding color to
textile products like fibers, yarns, and
fabrics. Dyeing is normally done in a
special solution containing dyes and
particular chemical material. After dyeing,
dye molecules have uncut chemical bond
with fiber molecules. The temperature and
time controlling are two key factors in
dyeing. There are mainly two classes of
dye, natural and man-made.

Solution dyeing

Solution dyeing, also known as dope or

spun dyeing, is the process of adding
pigments or insoluble dyes to the spinning
solution before the solution is extruded
through the spinneret. Only manufactured
fibers can be solution-dyed. It is used for
difficult-to-dye fibers, such as olefin fibers,
and for dyeing fibers for end uses that
require excellent colorfastness properties.
Because the color pigments become a
part of the fiber, solution-dyed materials
have excellent colorfastness to light,
washing, crocking (rubbing), perspiration,
and bleach. Dyeing at the solution stage is
more expensive, since the equipment has
to be cleaned thoroughly each time a
different color is produced. Thus, the
variety of colors and shades produced is
limited. In addition, it is difficult to stock
the inventory for each color. Decisions
regarding color have to be made very early
in the manufacturing process. Thus, this
stage of dyeing is usually not used for
apparel fabrics.

Filament fibers that are produced using

the wet spinning method can be dyed
while the fibers are still in the coagulating
bath. The dye penetration at this stage is
high, as the fibers are still soft. This
method is known as gel dyeing.

Fiber dyeing
Stock dyeing, top dyeing, and tow dyeing
are used to dye fibers at various stages of
the manufacturing process prior to the
fibers being spun into yarns. The names
refer to the stage at which the fiber is
when it is dyed. All three are included
under the broad category of fiber dyeing.

Stock dyeing is dyeing raw fibers, also

called stock, before they are aligned,
blended, and spun into yarns.

Top dyeing is dyeing worsted wool fibers

after they have been combed to straighten
and remove the short fibers. The wool
fiber at this stage is known as top. Top
dyeing is preferred for worsted wools as
the dye does not have to be wasted on the
short fibers that are removed during the
combing process.

Tow dyeing is dyeing filament fibers before

they are cut into short staple fibers. The
filament fibers at this stage are known as
tow.

The dye penetration is excellent in fiber

dyeing, therefore the amount of dye used
to dye at this stage is also higher. Fiber
dyeing is comparatively more costly than
yarn, fabric, and product dyeing. The
decision regarding the selection of colors
has to be made early in the manufacturing
process. Fiber dyeing is typically used to
dye wool and other fibers that are used to
produce yarns with two or more colors.
Fibers for tweeds and fabrics with a
“heather” look are often fiber dyed.

Yarn dyeing

Yarn dyeing adds color at the yarn stage.

Skein, package, beam, and space dyeing
methods are used to dye yarns.

In skein dyeing the yarns are loosely

wound into hanks or skein and then dyed.
The yarns have good dye penetration, but
the process is slow and comparatively
more expensive.

In package dyeing yarns that have been

wound on perforated spools are dyed in a
pressurized tank. The process is
comparatively faster, but the dye
uniformity may not be as good as that of
skein dyed yarn.

In beam dyeing a perforated warp beam is

used instead of the spools used in
package dyeing.

Space dyeing is used to produce yarns

with multiple colors.
In general, yarn dyeing provides adequate
color absorption and penetration for most
materials. Thick and highly twisted yarns
may not have good dye penetration. This
process is typically used when different
colored yarns are used in the construction
of fabrics (e.g. plaids, checks, iridescent
fabrics).

Fabric dyeing

Fabric dyeing, also known as piece dyeing,

is dyeing fabric after it has been
constructed. It is economical and the most
common method of dyeing solid colored
fabrics. The decision regarding color can
be made after the fabric has been
manufactured. Thus, it is suitable for quick
response orders. Dye penetration may not
be good in thicker fabrics, so yarn dyeing
is sometimes used to dye thick fabrics in
solid colors. Various types of dyeing
machines are used for piece dyeing. The
selection of the equipment is based on
factors such as dye and fabric
characteristics, cost, and the intended end
use.

Union dyeing

Union dyeing is “a method of dyeing a

fabric containing two or more types of
fibers or yarns to the same shade so as to
achieve the appearance of a solid colored
fabric”.[1] Fabrics can be dyed using a
single or multiple step process. Union
dyeing is used to dye solid colored blends
and combination fabrics commonly used
for apparel and home furnishings.

Cross dyeing

Cross dyeing is “a method of dyeing

blender or combination fabrics to two or
more shades by the use of dyes with
different affinities for the different
fibers”.[1] The cross dyeing process can be
used to create heather effects, and plaid,
check, or striped fabrics. Cross dyed
fabrics may be mistaken for fiber or yarn
dyed materials as the fabric is not a solid
color, a characteristic considered typical of
piece dyed fabrics. It is not possible to
visually differentiate between cross dyed
fabrics and those dyed at the fiber or yarn
stage. An example is cross dyeing blue
worsted wool fabric with polyester pin
stripes. When dyed, the wool yarns are
dyed blue, whereas the polyester yarns
remain white.

Cross dyeing is commonly used with piece

or fabric dyed materials. However, the
same concept is applicable to yarn and
product dyeing. For example, silk fabric
embroidered with white yarn can be
embroidered prior to dyeing and product
dyed when an order is placed.

Product dyeing

Product dyeing, also known as garment

dyeing, is the process of dyeing products
such as hosiery, sweaters, and carpet after
they have been produced. This stage of
dyeing is suitable when all components
dye the same shade (including threads).
This method is used to dye sheer hosiery
since it is knitted using tubular knitting
machines and then stitched prior to
dyeing. Tufted carpets, with the exception
of carpets produced using solution dyed
fibers, are often dyed after they have been
tufted. This method is not suitable for
apparel with many components such as
lining, zippers, and sewing thread, as each
component may dye differently. The
exception is tinting jeans with pigments
for a “vintage” look. In tinting, color is
used, whereas in other treatments such as
acid-wash and stone-wash, chemical or
mechanical processes are used. After
garment construction, these products are
given the "faded" or "used" look by
finishing methods as opposed to dyeing.
Dyeing at this stage is ideal for quick
response. Many T-shirts, sweaters, and
other types of casual clothing are product
dyed for maximum response to fashion’s
demand for certain popular colors.
Thousands of garments are constructed
from prepared-for-dye (PFD) fabric, and
then dyed to colors that sell best.

Dye types
Acid dyes are water-soluble anionic dyes
that are applied to fibers such as silk,
wool, nylon and modified acrylic fibers
using neutral to acid dye baths.
Attachment to the fiber is attributed, at
least partly, to salt formation between
anionic groups in the dyes and cationic
groups in the fiber. Acid dyes are not
substantive to cellulosic fibers.

Basic dyes are water-soluble cationic dyes

that are mainly applied to acrylic fibers, but
find some use for wool and silk. Usually
acetic acid is added to the dyebath to help
the uptake of the dye onto the fiber.

Direct or substantive dyeing is normally

carried out in a neutral or slightly alkaline
dyebath, at or near boiling point, with the
addition of either sodium chloride, sodium
sulfate or sodium carbonate. Direct dyes
are used on cotton, paper, leather, wool,
silk and nylon.

Mordant dyes require a mordant, which

improves the fastness of the dye against
water, light and perspiration. The choice of
mordant is very important as different
mordants can change the final color
significantly. Most natural dyes are
mordant dyes and there is therefore a
large literature base describing dyeing
techniques. The most important mordant
dyes are the synthetic mordant dyes, or
chrome dyes, used for wool; these
comprise some 30% of dyes used for wool,
and are especially useful for black and
navy shades. The mordant, potassium
dichromate, is applied as an after-
treatment. Many mordants, particularly
those in the heavy metal category, can be
hazardous to health and extreme care
must be taken in using them.

Vat dyes are essentially insoluble in water

and incapable of dyeing fibers directly.
However, reduction in alkaline liquor
produces the water-soluble alkali metal
salt of the dye, which, in this leuco form,
has an affinity for the textile fiber.
Subsequent oxidation reforms the original
insoluble dye. The color of denim is due to
indigo, the original vat dye.
Reactive dyes utilize a chromophore
attached to a substituent that is capable
of directly reacting with the fiber substrate.
The covalent bonds that attach reactive
dye to natural fibers make them among
the most permanent of dyes. "Cold"
reactive dyes, such as Procion MX,
Cibacron F, and Drimarene K, are very easy
to use because the dye can be applied at
room temperature. Reactive dyes are by
far the best choice for dyeing cotton and
other cellulose fibers at home or in the art
studio.

Disperse dyes were originally developed

for the dyeing of cellulose acetate, and are
water-insoluble. The dyes are finely ground
in the presence of a dispersing agent and
sold as a paste, or spray-dried and sold as
a powder. Their main use is to dye
polyester but they can also be used to dye
nylon, cellulose triacetate, and acrylic
fibers. In some cases, a dyeing
temperature of 130 °C is required, and a
pressurised dyebath is used. The very fine
particle size gives a large surface area that
aids dissolution to allow uptake by the
fiber. The dyeing rate can be significantly
influenced by the choice of dispersing
agent used during the grinding.
Azoic dyeing is a technique in which an
insoluble azo dye is produced directly onto
or within the fiber. This is achieved by
treating a fiber with both diazoic and
coupling components. With suitable
adjustment of dyebath conditions the two
components react to produce the required
insoluble azo dye. This technique of
dyeing is unique, in that the final color is
controlled by the choice of the diazoic and
coupling components. This method of
dyeing cotton is declining in importance
due to the toxic nature of the chemicals
used.
Sulfur dyes are two part "developed" dyes
used to dye cotton with dark colors. The
initial bath imparts a yellow or pale
chartreuse color, This is after–treated with
a sulfur compound in place to produce the
dark black we are familiar with in socks for
instance. Sulfur Black 1 is the largest
selling dye by volume.

Printing
Textile printing is referred as localized
dyeing. It is the application of color in the
form of a paste or ink to the surface of a
fabric, in a predetermined pattern. Printing
designs onto already dyed fabric is also
possible. In properly printed fabrics the
color is bonded with the fiber, so as to
resist washing and friction. Textile printing
is related to dyeing but, whereas in dyeing
proper the whole fabric is uniformly
covered with one color, in printing one or
more colors are applied to it in certain
parts only, and in sharply defined patterns.
In printing, wooden blocks, stencils,
engraved plates, rollers, or silkscreens can
be used to place colors on the fabric.
Colorants used in printing contain dyes
thickened to prevent the color from
spreading by capillary attraction beyond
the limits of the pattern or design.
Finishing
Textile finishing is the term used for a
series of processes to which all bleached,
dyed, printed and certain greige fabrics are
subjected before they are put on the
market. The object of textile finishing is to
render textile goods fit for their purpose or
end-use and/or improve serviceability of
the fabric.

Finishing on fabric is carried out for both

aesthetic and functional purposes to
improve the quality and look of a fabric.
Fabric may receive considerable added
value by applying one or more finishing
processes. Finishing processes include
 Raising
Calendering
Crease resistance
Filling
Softening
Stiffening
Water repellency
Moth proofing
Mildew-proofing
Flame retardant
Anti-static
soil resistance

Calendering
Calendering is an operation carried out on
a fabric to improve its aesthetics. The
fabric passes through a series of calender
rollers by wrapping; the face in contact
with a roller alternates from one roller to
the next. An ordinary calender consists of
a series of hard and soft (resilient) bowls
(rollers) placed in a definite order. The soft
roller may be compressed with either
cotton or wool-paper, linen paper or flax
paper. The hard metal bowl is either of
chilled iron or cast iron or steel. The
calender may consist of 3, 5, 6, 7 and 10
rollers. The sequence of the rollers is that
no two hard rollers are in contact with
each other. Pressure may be applied by
compound levers and weights, or hydraulic
pressure may be used as an alternative.
The pressure and heat applied in
calendering depend on the type of the
finish required.

The purposes of calendering are to

upgrade the fabric hand and to impart a
smooth, silky touch to the fabric, to
compress the fabric and reduce its
thickness, to improve the opacity of the
fabric, to reduce the air permeability of the
fabric by changing its porosity, to impart
different degree of luster of the fabric, and
to reduce the yarn slippage.
Raising

An important and oldest textile finishing is

brushing or raising. Using this process a
wide variety of fabrics including blankets,
flannelettes and industrial fabrics can be
produced. The process of raising consists
of lifting from the body of the fabric a layer
of fibers which stands out from the
surface which is termed as "pile". The
formation of pile on a fabric results in a
"lofty" handle and may also subdue the
weave or pattern and color of the cloth.

There are to types of raising machine;

Teasel machine and Card-wire machine.
The speed of the card-wire raising
machine varies from 12-15 yards per
minute, which is 20-30% higher than that
of teasel-raising. That is why the card-wire
raising machine is widely used.

Crease resistance

Crease formation in woven or knitted

fabric composed of cellulose during
washing or folding is the main drawback
of cotton fabrics. The molecular chains of
the cotton fibers are attached with each
other by weak hydrogen bonds. During
washing or folding, the hydrogen bonds
break easily and after drying new hydrogen
bonds form with the chains in their new
position and the creases are stabilized. If
crosslinking between the polymer chains
can be introduced by crosslinking
chemicals, then it reinforces the cotton
fibers and prevents the permanent
displacement of the polymer chains when
the fibers are stressed. It is therefore
much more difficult for creases to form or
for the fabric to shrink on washing.

In crease-resist finishing of cotton, the

following steps are followed

1. Padding the material with a solution

containing a condensation polymer
precursor and a suitable polymerization
catalyst.
2. Drying and curing in a stenter frame to
form crosslink between the polymer chain
and adjacent polymer chain.

The catalyst allows the reaction to be

carried out 130-180 degree temperature
range usually employed in the textile
industry and within the usual curing
time(within 3 minutes, maximum).

Mainly three classes of catalysts are

commonly used now a day.

Ammonium salts, e.g. Ammonium

chloride, sulphate and nitrate.
 Metal salts e.g. Magnesium chloride,
Zinc nitrate, Zinc chloride.
Catalyst mixture e.g. magnesium
chloride with added organic and
inorganic acids or acid donors.

The purpose of the additives is to offset or

counterbalance partly or completely the
adverse effect of the crosslinking agent.
Thus softening and smoothing agents are
applied not only to improve the handle, but
also to compensate as much as possible
for losses in tear strength and abrasion
resistance. Every resin finish recipe
contains surfactants as emulsifiers,
wetting agents and stabilizers. these
surface-active substances are necessary
to ensure that the fabric is wet rapidly and
thoroughly during padding and the
components are stable in the liquor.

References
1. Dictionary of Fiber & Textile Technology.
KoSa. 1999. ISBN 9780967007106.

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