What Is Levelling and Dispersing Agents?

Technical Tuesday

REF:TT/ May 2013/ WK 1

Test the Quality and consistency of Levelling agents

What is levelling and dispersing agents?

·  Auxiliaries with sequestering and dispersing properties for dyeing cotton and cotton blends and synthetics with reactive dyes and disperse dyes etc…by controlled coloration process are marketed as levelling and dispersing agents

·  Efficient nitrogen free, non-foaming sequestering agent with excellent sequestering action against calcium, magnesium and heavy metals are selectively used for the purpose of levelling in reactive dyeing.

These leveling agents are stable to high temperatures and effective over a wide pH range

Nowadays it becomes a practice to use these leveling agents in all regular and complicated shades of reactive dyeing. The ionic nature of this type of levelling agents is either non-ionic or anionic.

Benefits of levelling agents:

1. Eliminates calcium and magnesium precipitation or lime soap deposits on textile goods and prevents scale formation on machinery.

2. Improves brightness of dyeing.

3. Improves level dyeing performance of dyes.

4. Improves reproducibility of dyeing.

5. Prevents precipitation of dyestuff.

6. Prevents shade changes caused by traces amounts of heavy metal ions.

7. Reduces possibilities of spots on dyed fabric.

Test Methods for Quality and consistency:

Specific gravity:

·  Accurately weigh 10 ml of the levelling agent.

Specific gravity = Volume/Mass

Note down the value and do this test whenever your receive a new consignment and compare against the first supply.

Solid content:

·  Solid Content: Weigh accurately 10 grams of the material to be tested in a pre-

Weighed porcelain crucible; let the weight be "A" grams. Dry the crucible in a

high temperature electrical over at 95°C for 2 hours. Take out the crucible and

re-weigh it; let the weight after drying be "B" grams. Then the solid content of

the material = 100 x (B-Empty Crucible wt)/ (A-Empty Crucible weight).

pH of 1% solution:

·  Dissolve 1 gram of the levelling agent in 100 ml of distilled water and check the ph.

Ionic Nature:

·  Check the stability of this product against the addition of acid and alkali under processing temperature of 70°C.

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