APPLICATION METHODS

Dr. Neha Mehra

DIP AND NIP PADDING – THE PAD
MANGLE
 Used either for removal of water after washing,
or for removal of excess liquor in dyeing or
chemical finishing operations
 Usually of a two- or three-bowl design
 4 bowl designs used only for dyestuff
application
 Two main aims of mangling are:
(1) uniformity of nip
(2) efficient water removal.
 Factors affecting pick-up
 More the load, lesser the pick-up
 Higher the temp., lower the pick-up (as temp.
affects viscosity)
 Bowls of smaller dia., give lesser pick-up
 Cloth speed has little effect
 % expression (Pick-up) = (B – A) x 100
A
where B is weight of fabric after padding
A is dry weight of fabric
 UNIFORMITY OF DISTRIBUTION

When high wet pick-up levels -> high rate of

evaporation of moisture -> thermal migration of
the liquor -> concentrating the chemical finish at
the fabric surfaces
 Why Low wet pick-up?
• Efficient and homogeneous distribution of the
finishes
• Savings in chemicals
• Migration of chemicals is almost avoided
• Lesser amount of water is to be evaporated
• Energy savings of 30–40% in subsequent thermal
drying

Too low wet up results in uneven distribution of

chemical
 Critical Application Value (CAV)
• Defined as the lowest amount of finish liquor that
can be applied to a given fabric without producing
a non-uniform distribution
• Varies according to fibre type, fabric construction &
level of chemical pretreatment
 Low Wet Pick-up Application
Methods

Fabric is fully saturated with liquor & Exact quantity of the finish liquor is
excess liquor of fabric is removed uniformly applied to the fabric

Dewatering (mechanical drying) Loop transfer

Porous bowl Lick-roller (kiss-roll),
Vacuum extraction Spray technique
Blowing compressed air Foam application technique
 Saturation removal methods
• Porous bowl technique
• Vacuum extraction
• Air jet extractor
• Transfer padding technique
 Saturation Removal Methods
Porous bowl technique
 Porous bowl technique
• Constructed from a mass of fibres with each fibre
being coated with a thin film of rubber of
microscopic thickness & processed under heat and
pressure
• WPU decreased to 50% for cotton
• Liquor from the fabric is sucked within the
capillaries of the microporous bowl
• Capillaries have been previously compressed in
their passage through the nip under pressure, to
remove entrained air and liquid
 Saturation removal techniques
Vacuum Extraction
 Vacuum extraction method
• Wet padded fabric is fed in between an endless
impermeable blanket (A) and a perforated drum
(B), which is covered with an absorbent non-
woven wrapper fabric.
• The extracted liquor is recirculated back to the
pad bath
• Factors such as slot width, slot configuration,
vacuum applied, fabric speed, fabric thickness
and air permeability, and fibre type are of
importance
 Saturation removal techniques
Air Jet ejectors

Work on a broadly similar principle to vacuum

extraction, using compressed air to remove the
excess liquor from the fabric
 Air jet ejectors
• Advantage is that pressure differential can be
appreciably higher (2-6 bar) than that operating
in vacuum extractors (max. 1bar)
• However, use of compressed air is more
expensive than vacuum extraction and energy
consumption for attaining higher pressure
differentials rises sharply with increased
operating pressure; noise levels are high
• Possible to recirculate the excess liquor
removed back to the application bath
 Saturation removal techniques
Transfer padding technique
 Transfer padding technique
• Conventionally impregnated fabric is passed
into a second nip in contact with the incoming
dry fabric, so that some of the padded-on liquor
is removed from the fabric before drying
• Latest development is loop transfer system
• Incoming dry fabric being first partly prewetted
by nipping in between A & B rollers & then
impregnated in liquor
• WPU can be reduced by 20 -25%
 Topical Application methods
• Loop transfer systems
• Engraved rollers
• Nip padding systems
• Lick roller (kiss roller)
• Spray systems
Loop transfer system
 Loop transfer system
• A continuous loop of material is padded
conventionally and squeezed in contact with the
fabric for processing
• Fabric used in loop should be dimensionally
stable & the finish chemicals must not build up
within it & the loop requires washing if the
composition of the finish bath is changed for the
next production run
Lick (Kiss) roller application
 Lick (kiss) roller application
• Fabric passes over the top surface of the roller,
so that the pick-up depends on the degree of
wetting of the roller surface and the absorbency
of the fabric
• A low wet pick-up of about 25% on woven
cotton fabric can be obtained
 Lick (kiss) roller application
• The moisture content in the fabric is monitored by two
β-gauges (C).
• These fire a constant stream of electrons, & the
intensity of the electron beam passing through the
fabric is decreased as the fabric mass per unit area
increases – as the wet pick-up value increases
• This helps in controlling speed of fabric
Engraved roller application
 Nip padding
Similar to lick roller.
Low volume trough, contoured to the dimensions
of the furnishing/lick roller
Low volume trough – less wastage of chemicals &
water
Curved blade applicator
 Spray application systems
 Liquor is sprayed through spray nozzles
 Conc. of liquor, diameter of nozzles & pressure inside
the manifold control the amount of chemical deposited

 Spray Application System
Bruckner Rotta-Jet spray application –
 Wet/dry fabric charged though action of high
electrostatic field
 Finish liquor is rapidly taken up by the charged fabric
on spraying

Burlington Spraymiser system

 Separate versions for open width & tubular fabrics
 Each pray nozzle is individually adjustable, mounted
on a frame with spray controlled to prevent overlapping
 Foam Application Method
 Low wet pick-up with considerable savings in water &
energy
 Upto 95% water for finishing can be replaced with air
 Foam is agglomeration of gas bubbles separated by
thin liquid films
 Important to lower the surface tension of water for
foam generation
 Is foam stable?
Static Foam generator

Dynamic Foam generator