An Improved Process for Treating Textile Materials, in order to Render them Less Liable to be Spotted or Soiled.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd Apr., 1895
N
Complete Specification Left, 13th Jan., 1896-Accepted, 15th Feb., 1896
i
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Process for Treating Textile Materials, in order to
Render them Less Liable to be Spotted or Soiled.
I, JEAN BAPTISTE RAPETOUT of No. 36, Rue Bapst, Asnieres (Seine) in the
Republic of France, Chemist do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
The present invention has for its object a method of preparing textile materials
by impregnation in all forms whether in the skein or in the piece, which process
renders them resistant to the penetration and fixation upon the fibres or filaments
of all materials coming in contact with them after the said treatment, and so that
the entire removal of these materials, such as fatty bodies, wine, inks, &c. no longer
occasions any difficulty.
It is well known that spots or splashes made by fatty bodies which have been
subjected to heat such as oils, sauces, soups, and also inks, wines &c. are liable to
be fixed upon animal fibres especially, so firmly, that it is absolutely impossible to
completely remove them, and this results in the persistent re-appearing of these
spots after the most careful cleansing. On the other hand, it is well known that
vegetable fibres are less resistaut to the action of cleansing agents, leading to the
conclusion that the penetration or fixation is less tenacious in consequence of
their chemical composition (resinous) which hinders absorption of the fatty
material &c.
These observations lead naturally to the conclusion that the solution of the
problem is to be found in the treatment of all textile fibres in such a manner as to
endow them with analogous properties, that is to say to render them less penetrable
by spots or splashes and to enable these to be removed without the employment of
any special re-agent by means of a simple washing with white soap and water or
similar means.
These results are obtainable by saturating the fibres with a
solution which renders them impenetrable by reason of an insoluble precipitate
upon the filaments thus causing them to become incapable of absorbing fatty bodies
or other impurities, and which has the effect of rendering woven stuffs of animal
origin equally as amenable to the action of purifying materials as vegetable textile
stuffs, and also of increasing the efficacy of the cleansing materials upon the said
vegetable fabrics.
The treatment of the materials is preferably carried out in the following
manner:-
The materials whether in the piece or in skeins are subjected to a preliminary
washing to cleanse them of all foreign materials which may have been brought into
contact with them by previous manipulations, and they are then subjected to the
action of the following baths whilst still in the damp state for the purpose of
rendering them resistant to spots.
The first bath is composed as follows:--
Water 100 litres, alum 3 kilogrammes, carbonate of soda 800 grammes.
The precipitate which is formed is allowed to settle, then the clear
quid is decanted and warmed, and into this the goods are plunged for the
mordanting. After the goods are well soaked they are passed through a wringer
and then plunged in a solution of acetate of alumina of 5 degrees.
This re-agent

page_text: is designed to set the alumina free and fix it upon the fibres. The fixation is
immediate in this second bath from which the precipitate which accumulates after
several operations must be removed. The material is then wrung out, rinsed,
and dried.
In operating upon silk and cotton by means of the process described there should
be added to the solution of acetate of alumina 30 grammes of Marseilles soap per
litre, and with respect to silk more particularly it must be treated in a bath of
acetic acid of 7 degrees diluted in the proportion of 10 grammes per litre of water
and then finished as above described.
The treatment above described has various other advantageous effects upon the
materials besides that of rendering them refractory to spots, and far from removing
from them their qualities it renders cotton softer to the touch, and it preserves to the
silk its rustling effect. This process also gives a greater stability to the colours,
rendering less dangerous, subsequent soaping and cleaning of the goods, such as
clothing, hangings, carpets, &c. without risk of damage to the colours, so that this
treatment can with advantage be employed to replace other expensive baths now in
use to secure similar advantages. The new process has moreover, the result
of rendering the materials incapable of shrinking, so that, especially in the case of
light materials these retain their original dimensions during the operation of
cleaning and the mechanical drying, instead of shrinking as is often the case at
present.
Finally, it has been proved that by treating the materials with the solution
above described, they are rendered antiseptic, and hinder or resist microbian
infection.
Dated the 23rd day of April 1895.
An Improved Process for Treating Textile Materials, in order to
Render them Less Liable to be Spotted or Soiled.
I, JEAN BAPTISTE RAPETOUT, of No. 36, Rue Bapst, Asnières (Seine) in the
Republic of France, Chemist do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement :-
The present invention has for its object a method of preparing textile materials
by impregnation in all forms whether in the skein or in the piece, which process
renders them resistant to the penetration and fixation upon the fibres or filaments
of all materials coming in contact with them after the said treatment, and so that
the entire removal of these materials, such as fatty bodies, wine, inks, &c. no longer
occasions any difficulty.
It is well known that spots or splashes made by fatty bodies which have been
subjected to heat such as oils, sauces, soups, and also inks, wines &c. are liable to be
fixed upon animal fibres especially, so firmly, that it is absolutely impossible to
completely remove them, and this results in the persistent re-appearing of these
spots after the most careful cleansing. On the other hand, it is well known that
vegetable fibres are less resistant to the action of cleansing agents, leading to the
conclusion that the penetration or fixation is less tenacious in consequence of
their chemical composition (resinous) which hinders absorption of the fatty
material &c.
These observations lead naturally to the conclusion that the solution of the
problem is to be found in the treatment of all textile fibres in such a manner as to
endow them with analogous properties, that is to say render them less penetrable

page_text: by spots or splashes and to enable these to be removed without the employment of
any special re-agent by means of a simple washing with white soap and water or
similar means. These results are obtainable by saturating the fibres with a
solution which renders them impenetrable by reason of an insoluble precipitate
upon the filaments thus causing them to become incapable of absorbing fatty bodies
or other impurities, and which has the effect of rendering woven stuffs of animal
origin equally as amenable to the action of purifying materials as vegetable textile
stuffs, and also of increasing the efficacy of the cleansing materials upon the said
vegetable fabrics.
The treatment of the materials is preferably carried out in the following
manner-
The materials whether in the piece or in skeins are subjected to a preliminary
washing to cleanse them of all foreign materials which may have been brought
into contact with them by previous manipulations, and they are then subjected to
the action of the following baths whilst still in the damp state for the purpose of
rendering them resistant to spots.
The first bath is composed as follows:-
Water 100 litres, alum 3 kilogrammes, carbonate of soda 800 grammes.
The precipitate which is formed is allowed to settle then the clear liquid is
decanted and warmed, and into this the goods are plunged for the mordanting.
After the goods are well soaked they are passed through a wringer and then
plunged in a solution of acetate of alumina of 5 degrees. This re-agent is
designed to set the alumina free and fix it upon the fibres. The fixation is
immediate in this second bath from which the precipitate which accumulates after
several operations must be removed. The material is then wrung out, rinsed,
and dried.
In operating upon silk and cotton by means of the process described there
should be added to the solution of acetate of alumina 30 grammes of Marseilles soap
per litre, and with respect to silk more particularly it must be treated in a bath of
acetic acid of 7 degrees diluted in the proportion of 10 grammes per litre of water
and then finished as above described.
The treatment above described has various other advantageous effects upon the
materials besides that of rendering them refractory to spots, and far from removing
from them their qualities it renders cotton softer to the touch, and it preserves to
the silk its rustling effect. This process also gives a greater stability to the colours,
rendering less dangerous, subsequent soaping and cleaning of the goods, such as
clothing, hangings, carpets, &c. without risk of damage to the colours, so that this
treatment can with advantage be employed to replace other expensive baths now
in use to secure similar advantages. The new process has moreover, the result
of rendering the materials incapable of shrinking, so that, especially in the case of
light materials these retain their original dimensions during the operation of
cleaning and the mechanical drying, instead of shrinking as is often the case at
present.
Finally, it has been proved that by treating the materials with the solution
above described, they are rendered antiseptic, and hinder or resist microbian
infection.
The degrees stated throughout this Specification refer to the Beaumé hydrometer
of French pattern.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
The process for the treatment of textile materials characterized by the saturation of
the materials in a first bath composed of a solution of 3 kilos. of alum and 800 grammes
of carbonate of soda in 100 litres of water, and after wringing, the treat-
ment in a solution of acetate of alumina of 5 degrees Beaumé, causing the alumina
to become insoluble upon the fibres, this latter solution being compounded with

page_text: 30 grammes of Marseilles soap per litre for cotton and silk, and the latter being further
treated in a bath of 10 grammes of acetic acid of 7 degrees Beaumé per litre of
water, substantially as above described, and' for the purposes indicated.
Dated this 13th day of January 1896.
W. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
31, High Holborn, London, W.C., Patent Agents for the Applicant.