Successful Problem Solving 4

"ESKUDO RC-010", an environmentally friendly liquid RC agent that is mainly composed of natural ingredients

Hydrosulfite and thiourea dioxide are used as reducing agents in the reduction clearing (RC) process after dyeing of polyesters. However, since both are powders, it has been pointed out that the work environment deteriorates due to powder scattering at the time of dosing, the work load at the time of dosing and dissolving the powders, and the production efficiency is poor due to the inability to use an agent auto-dosing machine.
With emphasis on the health and safety of workers and consideration for the natural environment, NICCA Chemical succeeded in developing "ESKUDO RC-010," a liquid reduction clearing agent that is both human and environmentally friendly.
Let us take a look at the benefit which brought by this product to our customers.

Long way to come across the solution

STEP 01 Back ground

Consideration for EHS required by companies

Consideration for EHS (Enironment, Health, Safety) is an indispensable issue for corporate activities. In particular, a variety of chemicals are used in textile processing mills and are ultimately discharged as wastewater. For this reason, in addition to the need for a processing agent with good biodegradability, the health and safety of workers must be considered by improving the working environments.
In this way, sustainable processing chemicals and processing prescriptions that are friendly to the environment and workers are required for the continued prosperity of companies.

STEP 02 Discovery of the factors

Conventional remedy and issues

In order to meet the requirements for various wet fastnesses in the conventional reduction clearing (RC) process, soaping with a reducing agent is carried out in the case of medium to dark shade processing.
Powder products such as hydrosulfite and thiourea dioxide were often used in soaping, and it was pointed out that there was a possibility of deterioration of working environments and health damage due to powder scattering and odor generation at the time of dosing. In addition, since the agent auto-dosing machine cannot be used at the time of powder dosing, workers have to manually dose and dissolve the powder, and the burden on the human body and the inefficiency of production have been regarded as problems.
In addition, hydrosulfite and thiourea dioxide have the potential to adversely affect the aquatic environment, and the risk of ignition during storage has been pointed out. Therefore, the development of RC agents that take EHS into consideration has become an issue.

STEP 03 Product Development

Liquid RC agent mainly made of natural raw materials

What are reduction clearing agents that are EHS-friendly, both human and environmentally friendly, while possessing the performance required for RC agents?
The answer reached at the product design stage was liquid reduction clearing agent mainly made of natural raw materials.
Identify natural raw materials with sufficient performance to meet the fastness specifications, and design products with liquids that improve production efficiency and save labor.
Realizes wet fastness and processed quality equivalent to or better than conventional powder products in yarn and fabric, batch and continuous processing. It is "ESKUDO RC-010", a liquid reduction clearing agent for polyesters.

STEP 04 Reaching to the Solution

Reduce the load of workers and environment!
Greatly contributes to improved production efficiency!

By simply replacing the conventional hydrosulfite and thiourea dioxide with “ESKUDO RC-010”, the wet fastness is equal to or higher than the conventional one without changing the processing conditions. In addition to reducing the labor required to dose and dissolve agent, which has hitherto been burdensome for workers, we will also realize safe and comfortable working environments.

Processing conditions

Tested fabric：100% Polyester woven
Machine: Liquid flow dyeing machine
Processing recipe: Reducing detergent ^※  3g/L      ※"ESKUDO RC-010" or Hydrosulfite
                               NaOH(48%)    2g/L
                               80℃ × 20 min.

Test Methods

The composite test piece (test piece + attached white cloth: 10×4 cm) is treated in the test solution according to the prescribed method using a washing tester, washed with water (100ml of water at 25±2° C. for 1 min.), dried at or below 60° C., and the degree of discoloration of the test piece and contamination of the attached white cloth are compared with the discoloration gray scale or the contamination gray scale, respectively, to determine its fastness.

Test result

R&D Person in Charge

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