Natural fibers contain wax substances that protect them against the weather inclemency and biological attacks. Removal of these substances during the fabrication processes of textile products alters the fiber characteristics of friction and absorbency, leading to losses in smoothness, flexibility and elasticity. Due to this situation, the external application of wax materials is needed to obtain adequate finishing properties in the textile products.

The use of synthetic fibers in the Textile Industry has brought serious problems, mainly associated to the friction generated between fibers and machinery parts or between the fibers themselves. High friction levels may cause the thread breakage during the process, leading to costly plant shutdowns. Therefore, the friction elimination, in practically all the textile processing steps, is considered one of the greatest challenges in the fabrication of cellulose, rayon, nylon and blends of synthetic fibers with silk, cotton and wool.

Besides reducing friction and static electricity generation, waxes provide a lubrication effect to the textile materials, leading to a uniform and pleasant to the touch texture.

Waxes most frequently utilized for this application are: Synthetic waxes, beeswax, paraffin waxes and fatty acids; In general, waxes that are easily eliminated, like natural waxes and synthetic waxes prepared with low acid numbers.

Waxes can be utilized in different forms and presentations, including ionic and non-ionic emulsions, based mainly on polyethylene waxes or synthetic Fischer Tropsch waxes. Depending on the process conditions and on the final product specifications, the textile product manufacturers select wax products and define their intensity of application.

The application of wax-water emulsions is one of most frequently utilized methods in the Textile Industry. This method has the following advantages:

• Water is the cheapest solvent.
• The application of wax emulsions is a safe and reliable technique, for both the wax application and elimination. Wax is simply eliminated by drying the fibers.
• Wax emulsions fulfill the environment protection standards.

Products developed by Multiceras for the Textile Industry are used mainly to improve the material processing and the final product performance, in aspects such as sewing and weaving easiness, abrasion strength and cutting strength.

Application Table for the Textile Industry

Notes:
Melting point is determined in all cases by the USP 741 Class II method, with the exception of 2022 wax, where the ASTM D938 method is used. Penetration (dmm) is determined in all cases by the ASTM D1321 method.