Hoechst Aktiengesellschaft

Gerhard Hitschfel

Peter Jurges

Rudolf Munk

A composition containing a sparingly soluble or insoluble dyestuff which comprises, as a processing agent, from 0.5 to 50 percent by weight of the composition of at least one water-soluble non-ionic compound of the formula Y--O--Z--H wherein Y represents a hydrogen atom or a group of the formula ##STR1## (in which X is a carbon atom or an aromatic ring system having from 6 to 10 carbon atoms, and R.sup.1, R.sup.2 and R.sup.3, which may be the same or different, represent hydrogen atoms, or alkyl or alkenyl groups, with the proviso that at least one of R.sup.1, R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 is other than a hydrogen atom and the total number of carbon atoms in R.sup.1, R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 is not more than 36); and Z represents a (C.sub.2 H.sub.4 O).sub.m or (C.sub.3 H.sub.6 O).sub.n group or a combination thereof (in which m and n, which may be the same or different, each represents an integer from 2 to 15), and which may additionally contain water, at least one water-soluble anionic compound of formula R.sup.4 --SO.sub.4 --A in which A represents an alkali-metal or ammonium cation and R.sup.4 --SO.sub.3 represents a group obtained by reacting a polyvinyl alcohol (having an average molecular weight of at least 10,000) with an aliphatic or aromatic aldehyde (containing at least one sulphonic acid group), or R.sup.4 represents (a) an alkoxy group having 10 to 18 carbon atoms in the alkyl moiety; (b) an alkoxy-ether group of the formula Alk--O--(Z).sub.p having 12 to 18 carbon atoms in the alkyl radical (in which Z is as previously defined and p is an integer of from 2 to 5), (c) an aralkyl group having from 6 to 15 carbon atoms in the alkyl moiety or (d) an alkyl group having 10 to 18 carbon atoms and substituted with a sulphonic acid group on a secondary carbon atom and/or a dispersing agent.

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Niedernhausen, Germany

Gerhard Hitschfel