GB815830A - Sizing nylon yarns - Google Patents

Abstract

Water-soluble sizes for application to nylon fibres are produced by interpolymerizing ethylene and maleic anhydride and hydrolysing the polymer to a free acid form or reacting it with an alcohol to form an acid ester, or by interpolymerizing ethylene with a maleic acid half ester, to which polymerization mix may be added maleic anhydride. The ester groups may be obtained from aliphatic saturated monohydric alcohols having up to 20 carbon atoms which may be primary, secondary or tertiary, straight or branched chain, chloro- or nitro-substituted or unsaturated alcohols or ether alcohols produced from ethylene oxide and low M.W. aliphatic alcohols. The polymerization may be effected at raised temperatures and under high pressures. An excess of ethylene above equimolecular proportions may be present in the reaction mixture and may be removed subsequently. The polymerization may be effected according to a batch process in which the ethylene is continuously or intermittently admitted to maintain the pressure in the vessel containing the maleic anhydride until the latter is all used up. The reaction components may be dissolved in benzene, toluene, xylene, n-hexane, mixed hexanes, octane or ethylene dichloride or mixtures thereof. The catalyst may be benzoyl peroxide, lauroyl peroxide, 2,4-dichloro-benzoyl peroxide, tertiary butyl peroxide, tertiary butyl hydroperoxide, diacetyl peroxide, diethyl peroxy-carbonate, dimethyl phenylhydroperoxy-methane, hydrogen peroxide, potassium persulphate, a ,a 1-azo diisobutyro-nitrile, azomethane and diazoamino benzene. The polymer is used in aqueous solution which may also contain glycerine, ethylene glycol, sorbitol, propylene glycol, a polyethylene glycol, polyglycerol or polypropylene oxide; a sulphonated animal, mineral or vegetable oil or mixture thereof; an emulsion of such sulphonated oils with animal, mineral or vegetable oils or Twitchell oil; an alkylbenzene sodium sulphonate in which the alkyl group contains from 10 to 20 carbon atoms, an alkali metal or ammonium mono-alkyl sulphosuccinate in which the alkyl group contains from 10 to 20 carbon atoms or a surface-active condensation product of ethylene oxide with an alkylated phenol having from 8 to 20 carbon atoms in the alkyl group or alkyl mercaptan having from 8 to 20 carbon atoms. Specifications 461,236 and 461,237, [both in Group IV], are referred to.ALSO:Nylon yarns are sized with an aqueous solution of an interpolymer of ethylene and maleic anhydride which has been converted to the free acid form or to an acid ester, and which, in the free acid form, has a specific viscosity of at least 0.1 when determined in a 1 per cent by weight solution in dimethyl formamide at 25 DEG C. The acid ester may be obtained by reacting the polymer with methanol, ethanol, iso-propanol, n-propanol, n-butanol, sec.-butanol, tert.-butanol, isobutanol, the various amyl alcohols, chloro- or nitro-substituted or unsaturated alcohols, alcohols having from 8 to 20 carbon atoms per molecule or ether-alcohols produced from ethylene oxide and low M.W. aliphatic alcohols, e.g. the compound <FORM:0815830/IV (c)/1> where n is from 2 to 10. Alternatively, the water-soluble interpolymer may be produced by interpolymerizing ethylene with a maleic acid half ester or mixture thereof with maleic anhydride. The size may also contain glycerine, ethylene glycol, sorbitol, propylene glycol, a polyethylene glycol, polyglycerol or polypropylene oxide; a sulphonated animal, mineral or vegetable oil or mixture thereof; an emulsion of such sulphonated oils with animal, mineral or vegetable oils or Twitchell oil; an alkylbenzene sodium sulphonate in which the alkyl group contains from 10 to 20 carbon atoms, an alkali metal or ammonium mono-alkyl sulpho-succinate in which the alkyl group contains from 10 to 20 carbon atoms or a surface-active condensation product of ethylene oxide with an alkylated phenol having from 8 to 20 carbon atoms in the alkyl group or alkyl mercaptan having from 8 to 20 carbon atoms. The sized yarns may be air-dried at 65 DEG to 85 DEG F. or oven-dried at 140 DEG to 250 DEG F. The sized yarn may be after-waxed. Specifications 461,236 and 461,237, [both in Group IV], are referred to.