IMPROVED PROCESSES FOR DYEING OR PRINTING WITH CERTAIN PRODUCTS OF ANILINE ON COTTON AND OTHER TEXTILE MATTERS OF VEGETABLE ORIGIN
Year: 1860

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Marc Antoine François Mennons
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th September 1860.-A communication from J. C. Guigon, residing
at Lyons, (Department du Rhône), in France.
I, MARC ANTOINE FRANÇOIS MENNONS, of the British and Foreign Patent
Offices, 39, Rue de l'Echiquier, Paris, in the Empire of France, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED PROCESSES FOR DYEING
OR PRINTING WITH CERTAIN PRODUCTS OF ANILINE ON COTTON AND OTHER TEXTILE
MATTERS OF VEGETABLE ORIGIN," to be as follows:-
The Invention consists in a series of processes for the application to cotton
and other vegetable textile matters of the two derivatives of aniline known as
"armaline" and "fuchsine," employed according to the tints required, either
conjointly, separately, or in combination with other dye stuffs.
1st Operation. The threads or tissues to be dyed are boiled for three
hours in a clear lye, and being then washed, are left to dry in a well-aired
chamber slightly heated in cold weather. To complete their desiccation they
should be spread for a short time in a chamber heated to about 40°
Centigrade.
2d Operation. The materials thus treated, when thoroughly dried, are
passed to a bath composed as follows:-To a quantity of clear soda lye (say,
about one pint per pound weight of material to be dyed) is added a quantity
(say, one ounce per pound) of olive oil known in the French dye trade as
"huile tournante," and the mixture is constantly beaten up till a clear milk-
white emulsion is obtained. To this emulsion is added a quantity of cow-

page_text: dung (taken partially from the intestines and stomach of the animal) say,
about three-quarters of an ounce per pound weight of tissue or thread.
The whole being thoroughly blended, a portion of the mixture is poured into
a convenient vessel, and the textile matter is passed through it in parcels of
about one pound weight at a time. When sufficiently saturated, the tissue or
thread is wrung and laid aside, a further quantity of mixture is poured into
the vessel to replace the amount absorbed, and so on till all is disposed of. The
tissues or threads thus treated are then left till the following day on a
table in white wood, care being taken not to superpose more than three parcels
or skeins. After this they are spread out in a well ventilated chamber slightly
heated, and lastly, to complete the desiccation in a chamber heated to about
40° Centigrade.
3rd Operation. Repetition of operation No. 2.
4th. Operation. A bath is prepared as in No. 2, but without the cow dung,
and the materials being passed through it are wrung and dried as above.
5th Operation. Repetition of operation No. 4.
6th Operation.-Repetition of the same.
7th Operation. The tissues or threads are passed in parcels of the same
weight (say, about one pound) through a soda lye, and being wrung, are left
on the table till the following day, when they are dried off as above.
8th Operation. The operation No. 7 is repeated, a more concentrated lye
being employed.
9th Operation. The tissues or threads on the completion of the preceding
operation are steeped for four hours in pure water slightly heated. They are
then wrung and immediately dried off as before.
The material thus prepared may be dyed with the fuchsine from the most
delicate rose tint to the richest purple, and with the armaline from the lightest
to the deepest violet. By mixing these two products (fuchsine and armaline)
in different proportions, a variety of richly toned lilac, dahlia, fuschia, and
other tints may be produced. In adding to these other dye stuffs, such as a
solution of Chinese green indigo, a decoction of fustet wood, or one of the
preparations of cochineal, a further variety of the richest shades may be
obtained.
For light tints, such as delicate rose, lilac, or violet colours, it is advan-
tageous to precede the first of the above processes by a bleaching with one
of the preparations of chlorine, and to dispense with the cow dung in the baths
employed in the second and third operations. By this means the limpidity of
the shades is much enhanced. In all cases the armalines and fuchsines
prepared with the protonitrate of mercury are found to give the best results.

page_text: Dyeing Bath. Into a vessel of white wood of the desired capacity is poured
a quantity of pure water, which is heated to from 40° to 50° Centigrade.
To this is added the fuchsine or armaline, or a mixture of both, with any
other dye stuffs which may be required for the tint to be produced. The
tissues or threads prepared as above described, are passed through this bath,
and when the proper tint is obtained, are wrung, washed, and left to dry in a
well-aired chamber slightly heated in cold weather. When the bath contains
a decoction of cochineal, a small quantity of tartaric or acetic acid should be
added, the former to be preferred.
For printing purposes, the tissues or threads should be first bleached by a
preparation of chlorine, and afterwards submitted to the series of preparatory
operations above enumerated, the cow dung being suppressed. The armaline
or fuchsine, with the supplementary colours, if any, should be thickened with
gum or starch, and a small quantity of acetic or tartaric acid should be added
to the mass. The material is then printed off and stored in a cool situation,
so as to prevent the too speedy drying of the colour. It is afterwards steamed
for twenty minutes, dried, washed, and finally dried.
By the processes above described we obtain from the armaline and fuchsine
applied to vegetable textile matters, a brilliancy and richness of tone which has
hitherto only been produced by these substances in their application to fibres
or tissues of animal origin, such as silk and wool. If so desired, the pre-
paratory operations may be reduced in number, in passing, for instance, the
material only three times through the bath No. 2, instead of five times as
described; but in this case these three baths should contain a quantity of oil
equal to that of the entire number. The colours will, however, be found to
have more body and uniformity when the complete series of processes is
carried out, as above laid down.