Statistical Optimization and Bulk Scale Validation of the Effects of Cationic Pre-treatment of Cotton Fabric for Digital Printing with Reactive Dyes

ABSTRACT

Digital printing has the potential of enabling cleaner printing or even dyeing of cotton fabrics. However, whilst effluent-free digital printing and dyeing of synthetic textile fabrics have seen some success, the same remain elusive for cotton fabrics. The study reported in this paper aimed to optimize the process parameters of cationic pre-treatment with a view to creating a cleaner cotton fabric digital printing process that could be sustainably implemented at bulk-scale production. Thus, process variables were screened using the one-factor-at-a-time approach to select optimum experimental regions. A Box–Behnken design was used to investigate the combined effect of selected factors namely amount of thickener (150–200 g/L), urea (75–125 g/L) and alkali (10–20 g/L) on the color strength, dye fixation and ink penetration of cationized and digital-printed cotton fabrics. The significant models showed excellent fitting of the data. The optimum levels of the factors, namely, amount of thickener, urea and alkali were found 200 g/L, 125 g/L and 10 g/L, respectively. The bulk-scale experiments carried out at optimum levels have shown that an average of ca. 52% of reactive ink, 37.5% of urea and 50% of alkali can be saved by digital printing of cationized cotton along with generation of nearly colorless effluent.

摘要

数码印花有可能实现棉织物的清洁印花甚至染色（Lin和He，2018）. 然而，虽然合成纺织面料的无废水数字印染已经取得了一些成功（Alchemie Technology 2020），但棉织物的无废水数字印染仍然很难实现. 本文旨在优化阳离子预处理的工艺参数，以期创造一种清洁的棉织物数码印花工艺，并在批量生产中持续实施. 因此，采用一次一因素的方法筛选过程变量，以选择最佳实验区域. 采用Box-Behnken设计考察了增稠剂用量（150%）等因素的综合影响m200 g/L），尿素（75m125 g/L）和碱（10–20 g/L）对阳离子化和数码印花棉织物的颜色强度、固色性和油墨渗透性的影响. 显著性模型显示数据拟合良好. 增稠剂用量、尿素用量和碱用量分别为200g/L、125g/L和10g/L. 在最佳浓度下进行的批量试验表明，阳离子棉数码印花可平均节省活性油墨52%、尿素37.5%、碱50%左右，并产生几乎无色的废水.

Keywords:

• 关键词:Cotton
• 棉花:Cationization
• 阳离子化:Digital Printing
• 数字印刷:One-factor-at-a-time
• 一次一个因素:Box–Behnken design
• Box–Behnken:设计
• Optimization:优化
• KEYWORDS
• Cotton
• cationization
• digital printing
• one-factor-at-a-time
• box–behnken design
• optimization

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Gulahmed Textile Mills for their technical support. In addition, we would like to acknowledge moral support provided by NED University of Engineering and Technology.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website

Additional information

Funding

No funding received for this study.