Abstract
Durable press performance is imparted to cellulosic and cellulose-containing substances by the formation of crosslinks between adjacent cellulose chains. The most widely accepted crosslinking methods are treatments with amide-formaldehyde resins using sequential pad/dry/heat cure techniques. Energy conservation is achieved by selecting the appropriate resin/catalyst system to complete the crosslinking by a rapid, single stage dry/cure cycle. As a result, durable press performance is attained without the undesirable drawbacks of single-end reacted sites such as chlorine retention, reduced durability of the finish, and increased release of formaldehyde. Such a rapid cure system can be coupled with low moisture pick-up application techniques to reduce the evaporative heat load.
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