Textile auxiliaries are chemicals that enable textile processing operations like preparation, dyeing, and printing to be carried out more effectively. They help stabilize dye baths, improve dye exhaustion and levelness, and enhance fastness properties. Common auxiliaries include wetting agents, detergents, emulsifiers, sizing components, de-sizing agents, and leveling agents. Pretreatment processes like desizing, scouring, and bleaching also rely on auxiliaries to improve fabric properties before dyeing. Reactive dyeing specifically uses reactive dyes along with dispersing agents, leveling agents, and anti-creasing agents.

1. Textile Auxiliaries
Muhammad Waseem | MS Textile Chemistry | National Textile University Faisalabad

2. What are auxiliaries
Auxiliaries are the chemicals that are the main factors for producing color
in yarn, fabric, or garments. Chemicals are the second most important
materials for dyeing. Different chemicals are used during textile wet
processing. Chemicals are different in their properties.
Textile auxiliaries are chemicals of formulated chemical products that
enable a processing operation in preparation, dyeing, and the printing of
finishing to be carried out more effectively or which is essential if a given
effect is to be obtained.

3. Importance
 The auxiliaries include dye-fixing agents
 Cationizing agents
 Dispersing & leveling agents etc.
 They help in stabilizing the dyeing bath
 Improve exhaustion
 Achieve level dyeing
 Improve fastness properties.

4. Auxiliaries
Wetting Agents
• The chemical
which is used
for quickly
moistening or
watering textile
materials is
termed the
wetting agent.
Detergents
• Detergents are
nothing but a
chemical that is
used for
clearing textile
materials or to
remove fats, oil,
and wax.
Emulsifiers
• The chemical
which is used to
mix up the oil
and water is
called an
emulsifier.

5. Auxiliaries
Sizing
Components
• The
components
which are used
for sizing are
termed sizing
components.
De-Sizing Agents
• The chemicals
which are used
to remove the
size materials of
fabric in wet
processing are
termed de-
sizing.
Leveling Agents
• The chemicals
which are used
for dyeing just
to give level
shade or even
dyeing is called
leveling agent.

6. Auxiliaries
Dye fixing Agents
• Dye fixing agent is
not anything but a
chemical that
helps to fix up the
dye particle into
the inner position
of the fiber with
the bondage.
Oxidizing-Reducing
Agents
• The chemicals
which help to
increase oxygen
or electronegative
part release the
hydrogen are
termed oxidizing
and reducing
agents
respectively.
De-Foaming Agents
• The chemicals
which help to
prevent foam
formation are
termed de-
foaming agents.

7. Textile Auxiliaries
Let’s Explain
Auxiliaries in detail

8. Wetting Agents or Auxiliaries
• Wetting agents are auxiliaries that help in wetting the surface, by
reducing its surface tension and helping water or chemical
penetrate the fiber surface and thus help in wet processing.
• Types of wetting agents:
• Anionic, cationic, and amphoteric wetting agents ionize when
mixed with water.

9. Wetting Agents or Auxiliaries
• Anions have a negative charge, while cations have a positive
charge.
• Amphoteric wetting agents can act as either anions or cations,
depending on the acidity of the solution.
• Nonionic wetting agents do not ionize in water. A possible
advantage of using a nonionic wetting agent is that it does not react
with other ions in the water.

10. Commonly used Wetting Agents
• Nonionic ethylene oxide condensates used in desizing
• Cresylic and non-cresylic are mercerizing wetting agents
• Pine oil as a fraction between turpentine and rosin, has excellent
wetting
• Sulphated fatty alcohol and Sulfated oil
• Anionic surfactants like sulphonic acids are used in dyeing
processes. (E WET ESC by eksoy)

11. Sizing Process
Sizing is the process of giving a protective coating on the warp yarn
to minimize yarn breakage during weaving. Sizing is the most
important operation in preparing warp yarn for weaving especially
with cotton yarn. The smallest error in the sizing process may be
very harmful.

12. Sizing Auxiliaries
Starch
Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)
Wax
Emulsifier
Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)
Borax
Formaldehyde

13. Pre-Treatment Process
The textile pretreatment process can help eliminate sizing agents,
oils, waxes, seed hulls, soils, pectin, and other impurities while
improving the whiteness and feel of the fabric. A typical pretreatment
process includes three steps:
• De-sizing
• Scouring
• Bleaching

14. Pre-Treatment Process
Improve wetting and fabric penetration
Emulsify and disperse impurities
Prevent or knock down foam in the harshest manufacturing and
processing conditions
Cationize cotton to enable unique, brighter colors and reduce
resource use

15. Pre-Treatment Process
Deliver fabrics that are UV- and water-resistant or repellent
Improve tear strength, abrasion resistance, and wash durability
Add unique moisture-management, wrinkle-free, stretch and recovery
attributes
Give socks, gloves, and sportswear high-grip properties

16. Desizing Process
De-sizing is the process in which sizing materials or chemicals are
removed from the yarn or woven fabric is known as the designing
process and the chemicals which are used in this process are called
de-sizing chemicals or de-sizing Auxiliaries.
It is allowing the desizing agent to degrade and solubilize the size
material, and finally, wash out the degradation products.

17. Importance of Desizing
• To remove the starch material from the fabric.
• To increase the affinity of the fabric to the dry chemicals.
• To increase the absorbency power of the fabric.
• To increase the luster of the fabric, increase dyeing and printing.
• To make the fabric suitable for the next process.

18. Desizing Auxiliaries
• Bacterial α -amylase enzyme
• Wetting agent
Enhance the absorbency of Bacterial enzyme towards the fabric and sizing
material.
• Sequestering agent
Prevent the complex metal ions to decompose in the reaction bath which can
harmful to the fabric.
• Anti-tinting(in Y/D fabric)

19. Scouring Treatment
After de-sizing, cotton materials are subjected to a process known as
scouring. Natural cotton contains 80-85% cellulose and small
amounts of nitrogenous matter, mineral matter, pectate waxes, and
coloring matter as impurities. Removal of these is important for
further processing of textile fabric.

20. Scouring Auxiliaries
A hot aqueous solution of NaOH to remove hydrophobic apparatuses
from the primary wall.
Sodium carbonate, basic medium
Some quantity of Wetting agents
Dispersing agents

21. Pre-Bleach
The cleaning of cotton cloth from colored impurities is known as
bleaching. The purpose of bleaching is to make the fabric amendable
for subsequent processes of coloration and finishing.
Bleaching is usually carried out with oxidizing agents to oxidize the
colored impurities. The usual bleaching agents are sodium
hypochlorite, hydrogen peroxide, and sodium peroxide.

22. Pre-Bleach Auxiliaries
• Hydrogen Peroxide (Peroxide Bleaching agent)
• Caustic Soda (NaOH)
• Stabilizer (Sequestering or Chelating agents Antisil Conc.)
• Cleaning Agent (Felosan RGN)
• Acetic Acid ( To neutralize pH )
• Peroxide ions killer (Nova tex Combi Enzyme)

23. Reactive Dyeing
A dye, which can react chemically with a substrate to form a covalent dye
substrate linkage, is known as a reactive dye. Here the dye contains a
reactive group and this reactive group makes a covalent bond with the
fiber polymer and acts as an integral part of the fiber. A fiber covalent
bond is formed between the dye molecules and the terminal –OH
(hydroxyl) group of cellulosic fibers on between the dye molecules and
the terminal –NH2 (amino) group of polyamide or wool fibers.

24. Reactive Dyeing Auxiliaries
• Reactive Dyes
• Anionic anti-creasing agent (Sera lube MUFC Conc.)
• Dispersing Agents Which maintain the even dyeing and prevent
disturbing precipitations. (Meropan DPE)
• Leveling Agents Which help in even dyeing (Seragal CFTRH)
• Highly efficient anti back
High concentration, High concentration staining properties (Lava cell
NBP)