Improvements in the Production of Fast Colours upon Vegetable Fibre.
Year: 1896

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Production of Fast Colours upon Vegetable Fibre.
We, HENRY WARD KEARNS of Baxenden, near Accrington, Turkey Red Dyer,
and JOSEPH BARNES of Accrington, Public. Analyst, both in the County of
Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention consists in producing fast colours on all kinds of vegetable fibre
such as cotton, linen, hemp, jute, &c., whether in the raw or loose condition, or
after its manufacture such as (for example) into threads, yarn, fabrics, tissue,
paper, &c., by the combined agencies of:-
1. A salt or oxide of titanium or of both.
2. Tannin or other astringent of a similar nature.
3. One or more of those colouring matters generally known as basic or tannin
colours.
When vegetable fibre is treated with Tannin or other astringent of a similar
nature and with a salt or oxide of titanium and with one or more of those colouring
matters known as the basic or tannin colours, such as Magenta, Methyl Violet,
Methylene Blue, Malachite Green, Safranine, and the like, there can be produced
by operating in a proper manner an insoluble colour-lake within or upon the fibre
which colour-lake consists mainly of a triple combination of Tannín, Titanium
Oxide, and Basic Colour. The colours thus produced are of a different hue and
generally are fuller and faster than those produced in a similar manner on
vegetable fibre when the colour-lake consists on tannin, Basic colour and an oxide
of those metals which have hitherto been used for this purpose, such as aluminium,
Antimony, Iron, Tin, Zinc, and the like.
Dated this 4th day of December 1896
GEO. DAVIES & SON,
4, St. Ann's Square, Manchester, Agents for the Applicants.
Improvements in the Production of Fast Colours upon Vegetable Fibre.
We, HENRY WARD KEARNS, of Baxenden, near Accrington, Turkey Red Dyer,
and JOSEPH BARNES, of Accrington, Public Analyst, both in the County of
Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement:-
The usual and well known process of fixing the basic or tannin colours on vege-
table fibre consists in producing an insoluble triple combination upon or within the
fibre which triple combination consists of basic colour, tannin, and a metallic oxide.

page_text: The metallic oxides which have hitherto been used for this purpose are prin-
cipally oxides of antimony, tin, aluminium, and iron. We have discovered from
experiments that oxide of titanium, which has to the best of our knowledge never
been made use of for this purpose, is a very suitable material and produces in the
case of certain colours more advantageous results than are obtained by the aid of
oxide of antimony or other metallic oxides which have hitherto been used for this
purpose.
The compound of tannin with oxide of titanium is not only a mordant for
basic colours but is itself a very stable and strongly coloured body imparting to
vegetable fibre a colour varying from a pale "cream" to a deep "orange yellow"
according to the quantity of the compound which may be fixed upon or within
the fibre.
The final shade resulting from the introduction of a basic colour is often advan-
tageously influenced by the yellow or orange colour of the tannin-titanium mor-
dant, e.g., in the production of scarlet shades from Saffranine, deep blues from
methyl violet and indoine, deep yellow from nuramine &c., &c. Moreover the
shades so produced are in no cases,. so far as we are aware, of less permanency
than those obtained in the usual way by the aid of oxide of antimony, and indeed
appear in some instances to surpass them in this respect.
The method we adopt in dyeing cotton or linen yarn or cloth according to our
invention is as follows:-
The yarn (or cloth) is first prepared in a bath of tannin such as solution of
tannic acid, decoction of sumac or other bodies containing tannin, in the manner
well known to every dyer. After squeezing the excess of liquor from the yarn
(or cloth) it is then passed into a bath containing a soluble salt of titanium, such
as the acid oxalate, acid chloride, or the double oxalate of titanium and potassium,
or a soluble fluoride of titanium, &c.
This titanium bath is used just in the same manner as the antimony bath is
used in the dyeing with basic colours, and should contain enough titanium salt,
corresponding to 1% or 2% of oxide of titanium (TiO2) calculated on the weight
of cotton or linen treated.
The bath which we usually employ consists of a solution of the acid oxalate,
which acid oxalate is prepared by dissolving freshly precipitated hydrated oxide
of titanium in a hot solution of oxalic acid, using three parts of crystallised oxalic
acid for each part of anhydrous oxide (TiO) which is contained in the quantity
of hydrated oxide taken."
If an acid chloride or an acid sulphate of titanium is made use of, it is advisable
to add a little ammonium oxalate so as to prevent the deposition of dark coloured
tannate of iron on the goods to be dyed. This might occur to the detriment of the
shade if the material were not quite free from salts of iron and this addition of a
soluble oxalate were not made.
After the goods have been mordanted in the above manner with tannate of
titanium, they are rinsed in water and dyed up in the usual manner with one or
more of the basic dyes.
In the process of printing according to our invention, the goods may be printed
with the usual mixture of basic colour acetic neid, tannin, and thickening material,
and after drying passed through a titanium bath which has been prepared in a
manner as above described for the purpose of fixing the colours; or the goods may
first be prepared with the tannin-titanium, mordant, dried, and then printed with
basic colours.
In this latter process the result will be a coloured pattern on a yellow ground.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:
The production of fast colours on all kinds of vegetable fibre such as cotton,

page_text: linen, hemp, jute &c., whether in the raw or loose condition or after its manu-
facture such as into threads, yarm fabrics or tissue, by the combined agencies of
1. Oxide of titanium.
2. Tannin
GEO. DAVIES & SON,
4, St. Ann's Square, Manchester, Agents for the Applicants.