Wet processing has been and will remain important tothe textile industry in the future. However, economic forces, market demands,and environmental concerns will shape the direction that chemical developmentfor wet processing will take.
General Trends
There are some clear trends apparent for chemical productsdestined for the textile wet processing industry.
Global competition is requiring textile chemicals at lowercost. One way to achieve this goal is to provide high solids concentrates. Byreducing the amount of water to be shipped, transportation costs can belowered, leading to lower cost products. One disadvantage of this approach isthe necessarily higher cost per kilogram of the shipped product. Although theactual cost for use may be lower, the higher initial cost may be a deterrent tosales.
Another approach to lower chemical costs is to provide thechemicals in bulk or semi-bulk containers. In this way, the costs for drums anddrum disposal are eliminated.
If the performance of a chemical product can be enhanced,then the amount of chemical needed for a specific property can be reduced.Using a more efficient chemical can lower the cost per use and since lesschemical is being used, effluent problems can be minimized.
Combining several chemical auxiliaries into one product isanother approach to lowering overall chemical costs. By reducing the number ofindividual products, shipping, storage, and disposal costs are significantlylowered.
Often, the use of a textile chemical involves generatingundesirable side effects, such as foam and effluent problems. Overcoming thesedifficulties is costly in terms of additional chemical requirements and reducedproductivity. One important requirement for competitive textile chemicals willbe fewer problems during use.
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