North Carolina State University

Walter A Hendrix

Donald L Butcher

Gerardo A Montero

Carl Brent Smith

C Brent Smith

A process for treating a textile substrate, the process including the steps of providing a textile substrate; providing a treatment bath; entraining a transport material in the treatment bath wherein the transport material further comprises a treatment material dissolved or suspended therein and wherein the transport material is substantially immiscible with the treatment bath; and contacting the textile substrate with the transport material in the treatment bath to thereby treat the textile substrate with the treatment material in the transport material.

Process for treating textile substrates

A process for introducing a textile treatment material into a textile treatment system, particularly a supercritical fluid carbon dioxide (SCF&mdash;CO ) treatment system. The process includes the steps of providing a preparation vessel in fluid communication with a textile treatment system; loading a textile treatment material into the preparation vessel; dissolving or suspending the textile treatment material in near-critical liquid carbon dioxide or supercritical fluid carbon dioxide in the preparation vessel; and introducing the dissolved or suspended textile treatment material into the textile treatment system. The textile treatment material can be selected from a group including a brightening agent, a whitening agent and a dye. A system suitable for use in carrying out the process is also disclosed.

Method for introducing dyes and other chemicals into a textile treatment system

A process for introducing a textile treatment material into a textile treatment system, particularly a supercritical fluid carbon dioxide (SCF-CO,) treatment system. The process includes the steps of providing a preparation vessel in fluid communication with a textile treatment system; loading a textile treatment material into the preparation vessel; dissolving or suspending the textile treatment material in near-critical liquid carbon dioxide or supercritical fluid carbon dioxide in the preparation vessel; and introducing the dissolved or suspended textile treatment material into the textile treatment system. The textile treatment material can be selected from a group including a brightening agent, a whitening agent and a dye. A system suitable for use in carrying out the process is also disclosed.

Processes for dyeing a hydrophobic textile fiber with a colorant material using a SCF--CO.sub.2 dyebath are described. One process employs cooling, without venting or removing CO.sub.2 from the system, to a target CO.sub.2 temperature at or below the glass transition temperature of the hydrophobic fiber, followed by the venting of the dyeing system to atmospheric pressure. The other process employs venting, without cooling, to a target CO.sub.2 density where dye is no longer soluble in the SCF--CO.sub.2, followed by cooling to a target temperature and then venting to atmospheric pressure. Optionally, the temperature of the dyeing process is established by heating the process according to a selected temperature profile.

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Raleigh, NC, United States of America

Walter A Hendrix