Since the founding of the People's Republic of China 60 years ago, especially since the reform and opening up, China's textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries industry has made significant progress. From the early 1950s until the reform and opening up, the annual consumption of textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries was only 7000 tons. After 30 years of reform and opening up, the consumption in 2005 had reached 760000 tons, of which more than 680000 tons were domestic auxiliaries and about 80000 tons were imported auxiliaries. The self-sufficiency rate of domestic auxiliaries exceeded 88%. During the 11th Five Year Plan period, the development of China's textile industry accelerated, and the demand for textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries increased accordingly. The average growth rate of textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries production was over 8%, reaching 880000 tons in 2007 and exceeding 900000 tons in 2008. China's textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries have been exported since the early 1970s, and the export volume has grown rapidly. In 2007, the export volume reached 54000 tons, and the export value exceeded 89 million US dollars. The product structure of auxiliary agents for export has undergone significant changes, expanding from mainly using insurance powder, hanging white blocks, etc. in the past to include pre-treatment agents, printing and dyeing auxiliary agents, and finishing agents.

1. New situation in the industry

Although China's textile industry and textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries industry have been strongly impacted by the global financial crisis since the second half of 2008, which has affected their development speed, in March 2009, the country further clarified the position and role of the textile industry in the national economy, pointing out that it is a traditional pillar industry and an important livelihood industry of China's national economy, as well as an industry with obvious international competitive advantages. It was listed as one of the 10 key industries for national revitalization, which is a good opportunity for the development of China's textile industry. Since 2009, the central government has repeatedly pointed out the need to accelerate the transformation of the economic development mode. For the auxiliaries industry, it is not only necessary to attach importance to economic development, but also to maintain harmony between people and nature, people and society, and people and the environment. Development has pointed out the correct direction for the industry to adapt to new situations and develop healthily. The low-carbon economy, as an important way to transform economic development, is precisely implementing this strategy. It is an economic model based on low consumption, low pollution, and low emissions, with a focus on innovation in energy and emission reduction technologies, innovation in industrial structure and systems, and fundamental changes in human survival and development concepts. Using this requirement to measure the textile printing and dyeing auxiliary industry, the situation of adapting to low-carbon economic requirements is not optimistic. Important auxiliary intermediates and many auxiliary agents still belong to the category of "two highs and one low", and the task of energy conservation and emission reduction is very arduous. In addition, the country has recently explicitly required all industries to eliminate outdated production capacity and include the goal of carbon intensity (i.e. carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP) in the "12th Five Year Plan" and "13th Five Year Plan" development plans. It is required that the carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP be reduced by 40% to 45% by 2020 compared to 2005. This is not only a challenge for the additive industry, but also a new driving force for its healthy and sustainable development.

At present, China's domestic demand growth is accelerating, consumption upgrading efforts are increasing, industrial optimization and upgrading are accelerating, and the consumption of additives continues to rise. The global center of additives is further shifting to Asia, mainly to China. In addition, as the world enters the post financial crisis period this year, although there are still many unpredictable uncertainties and significant variables in the development of domestic and international economies, the situation of economic recovery and recovery at home and abroad has become a certainty. In the first half of this year, the textile printing and dyeing industry maintained steady and rapid growth, with a year-on-year production growth rate of 16.07%. The year-on-year growth rates of export quantity and export foreign exchange earnings were 15.32% and 22.92%, respectively. The average export price increased by 6.59% year-on-year, and major economic indicators have recovered to pre global financial crisis levels. The production of the dye industry has maintained moderate growth on the basis of stable improvement, with a dye output of 385000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 8.2%, and exports of 138000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 29.2%; Among them, the production of organic dyes reached 95000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 34.4%, and exports reached 77000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 47.4%, basically returning to the production level before the financial crisis. It can be expected that the textile printing and dyeing industry and the dye industry will further recover and grow throughout the year, and the trend is promising. Moreover, according to SRIC's calculations in the United States, the average annual growth rate of demand for textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries in the Asian market from 2006 to 2011 will increase from 4.1% in the previous five years to 4.9%. The market demand will be 1.8 to 1.9 times that of the combined North American and Western European markets, ranking first in the world. The growth rate of demand for textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries in China is expected to reach 15% to 20% in the coming years, exceeding the growth rate of textile production. China's textile printing and dyeing auxiliary industry is ushering in a rare development opportunity.

2. Facing new problems

The textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries industry in China has great development space under the new situation, but at the same time, the overall level of textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries is still low. The variety structure, product quality, manufacturing technology, and application services of domestic textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries still have a considerable gap compared to the international advanced level. This is extremely disproportionate to China's position as a major producer of textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries in the world, mainly manifested in the following 8 aspects.

2.1 High performance and functional additives rely on imports

In recent years, the annual import volume of textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries in China has been around 85000 tons, which is 1.6 times the annual export volume; The annual foreign exchange consumption is 2.34 times the annual foreign exchange earnings, and the annual import average price is 1.44 times the annual export average price. This indicates that China's imported textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries are mainly high value-added products, while the exported auxiliaries are mostly low-end products, and this situation continues to increase.

The overall situation of China's printing and dyeing industry also reflects the significant differences between imported and domestically produced auxiliaries. For example, some high-performance additives such as high penetration agents, high-efficiency emulsifiers, high-efficiency detergents (suitable for fabric washing with high fastness requirements), anti yellowing additives, enzyme preparations, especially the new generation of enzyme preparations, etc; There are also additives used for post-treatment of dyed fabrics to improve product functionality, such as waterproof, oil resistant, and stain resistant finishing agents, easy to remove finishing agents, durable anti-static agents, antibacterial finishing agents, durable flame retardants, UV resistant finishing agents, etc. There are few domestic additives corresponding to these products, and their performance cannot meet market demand, mainly relying on imports. Although imported products have higher prices, lower supply efficiency, and less flexible payment methods compared to domestic products, they have good and reliable performance, and high product quality credibility. For example, MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) for chemicals is a necessary requirement in today's market. Imported products have safety standard testing certificates regulated by authoritative institutions, which include product hazard overview, toxicology data, ecological toxicology data, emergency response to leaks, disposal, contact control, and personal protection. However, domestic products can only provide the manufacturer's seal or a brief explanation from some institutions that the product does not contain a certain chemical substance, and the credibility of the product is not high. In situations where high ecological and environmental quality indicators are required, users still prefer imported additives. According to rough statistics on the current proportion of imported and domestic auxiliaries used in China's printing and dyeing industry, the post-treatment agent ratio is generally (0.3-0.5): 1, the dyeing agent ratio is less than 0.1:1, and the pre-treatment agent ratio is (0.15-0.3): 1.

2.2 General additives have unstable quality and low effective ingredients

Universal textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries refer to conventional pre-treatment agents, dyeing auxiliaries, printing auxiliaries, and softeners. Such as conventional desizing agents, refining agents, chelating dispersants, three in one pretreatment agents, detergents, crosslinking agents, softeners, etc. After years of effort, many printing and dyeing enterprises have reported that the performance of these general-purpose domestic auxiliaries is basically equivalent or slightly lower than that of imported auxiliaries, with no significant difference. Their varieties have basically covered various dyeing and finishing processes. However, some products still have defects such as unstable quality, poor batch stability, low effective ingredients, significant impact on fabric color, and unclear ecological and environmental performance. This has led to the occurrence of substandard textiles from time to time, and has put great pressure on the energy-saving, emission reduction, and wastewater treatment work of printing and dyeing enterprises. Especially, these additives lack standardized safety standards or ecological and environmental quality testing certificates, greatly affecting the credibility of the products. In the face of the increasingly fierce competition in today's market, where quality and environmental requirements continue to rise, it is inevitable that the so-called customer relationship will become increasingly diluted, and the competition for product credibility cannot be ignored by strengthening the procurement of essential products. The unstable quality of additives is related to factors such as small scale, weak technical strength, loose production standards, and difficulty in effectively ensuring product quality in most enterprises. In addition, even though domestic products have no significant difference in performance compared to imported products, China currently lacks stable brands that are energy-saving, emission reducing, and environmentally friendly, as well as other factors, including: (1) inability to effectively shorten processing cycles or reduce processing steps, save time, and improve efficiency; (2) Cannot reduce energy consumption, lower water consumption, save costs, etc; (3) The added value is not high. This indicates that the variety of domestic additives is not yet complete, and the variety structure needs to be improved. If these problems are not solved, it will lead to the expansion of the mismatch between the printing and dyeing auxiliaries industry and the textile printing and dyeing market, and even result in a transformation that affects the development of the textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries industry.

2.3 Lack of toxicological and ecotoxicological performance data for additives

Although the basic performance of domestically produced universal additives is basically equivalent to that of imported additives, there is a serious lack of data on the inherent characteristics of additives urgently needed in the current domestic and international markets, including physical and chemical properties (composed of melting/freezing point, boiling point, relative density, vapor pressure, surface tension, water solubility, distribution coefficient, flash point, flammability, explosiveness, self ignition point, oxidation, particle size, etc.), toxicological properties (composed of skin irritation or skin corrosion in vitro methods, eye irritation in vitro methods, skin sensitization, mutagenic bacteria, acute oral toxicity, etc.), and ecological toxicity properties (including short-term toxicity of algae, biodegradation, etc.). According to the REACH regulation, the inherent characteristic indicators required for different tonnage additives are 26 (1-10 tons), 40 (10-100 tons), 57 (100-1000 tons), and 65 (greater than 1000 tons), respectively. However, China's textile printing and dyeing additives currently only have 4-5 indicators in physical and chemical properties, namely melting point/freezing point, boiling point, relative density, water solubility, etc. The number of missing intrinsic characteristic indicators of printing and dyeing auxiliaries in China is calculated according to different tonnages: 18 auxiliaries are missing from 1 to 10 tons, 33 auxiliaries are missing from 10 to 100 tons, 50 auxiliaries are missing from 100 to 1000 tons, and 56 auxiliaries are missing from over 1000 tons; The deficiency rate of intrinsic characteristic indicators ranges from 67% to 83% according to different tonnages, with an average of 77%. This is related to the fact that for a long time, the vast majority of additives in our country have been developed through imitation, follow-up development, or simple processing using other raw materials. It is believed that the final application performance of additives is the same or similar to that of corresponding foreign products, and their inherent characteristics should also be similar, which is neither tested nor clear. However, in fact, due to differences in the raw materials and additives used, the selected synthesis route, and the controlled technical conditions, the impurities contained in the final additives are different. And this is precisely the key factor that determines its inherent characteristics, especially its toxicological and ecotoxicological properties, and it is also an important basis for distinguishing whether additives contain highly concerned chemicals (SVHC). This is one of the main gaps between domestic and imported additives. So far, domestic additive manufacturers still cannot clarify what impurities are contained in their produced additives. Recently, they encountered this problem when registering additives in accordance with the European REACH regulation, which not only increases the cost of the textile printing and dyeing additive industry to cope with REACH regulations, but also may affect the variety structure of additives produced by enterprises.

2.4 Serious homogenization of additives

At present, there are 64 categories and over 3000 varieties of textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries produced in China according to the classification of TEGEWA in Germany (there are 77 categories of textile auxiliaries), of which the main varieties are about 600-700. There is still a significant gap compared to the varieties of textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries in the international market, and the homogenization phenomenon of different grades of auxiliaries produced by various enterprises in China is serious. Many enterprises produce auxiliaries with the same or similar performance, forming a situation of "you have me," small quantity repetition, and price competition. Many additives still have the problem of "changing the soup without changing the medicine". For example, some additives suitable for cellulose fibers are simply mixed with other surfactants and promoted to other fibers without detailed performance and stability tests. This not only causes losses to printing and dyeing enterprises, but also damages their own reputation. This fully demonstrates that the development capability of domestic additives is relatively weak, the technical support is not strong enough, and the innovation awareness is lacking. This is related to the current textile printing and dyeing additives industry, which has repetitive blending, light synthesis, small scale, and weak strength. At present, the proportion of newly synthesized surfactants and monomers in the entire industry is decreasing. Although compounding efficiency enhancement technology is a high-tech with advantages such as low investment, short cycle, no three wastes, and fast effectiveness, it must have two important conditions: first, to master the principle of compounding efficiency enhancement, and second, to have surfactants and monomers or compounds in composition or compounding. At present, there are about 50 commonly used surfactants (including cationic, anionic, nonionic, and amphoteric) available in the market, among which the main anionic and nonionic surfactants are less than 30 except for those that are prohibited. There are not many monomers or compounds available in the market, such as alkyl siloxane series, and a considerable number of additive companies have not synthesized or rarely synthesized them. They mainly rely on purchasing surfactants and monomers or compounds from the market as raw materials, and then simple mixing, compounding, and emulsification processing to produce additives. Therefore, due to the fact that nearly 80% of domestically produced textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries are made by compounding or mixing surface active groups as the basic raw materials, the homogenization phenomenon of textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries is quite serious due to the limited influence of surface active agents and new monomers.

2.5 Delayed standardization of additives

At present, the quality indicators of most domestic textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries are only conventional and universal indicators, lacking characteristic indicators, and there is no testing technology and method for characteristic indicators. What are the ecological and environmental quality indicators that the market is concerned about, such as Oeko Tex from Germany? Standard100、 The indicators for the prohibition or restriction of harmful chemicals to human health and the environment, as stipulated by the EU's Eco label and the American Apparel and Footwear Association's (AAFA) RSL, are either incomplete or non-existent in the standards for domestic additives. So there is a serious lag in both the method standards and product standards of textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries in our country. Some existing industry standards such as fixing agents, dispersants, softeners, and other product standards are no longer suitable for current market requirements and must be revised as soon as possible. In addition, the implementation of standards is inadequate. These are precisely one of the main reasons for the confusion of auxiliary products in the current market.

2.6 Lack of application technology and services for additives

The auxiliary agent industry is a fine chemical industry that, like dyes, organic pigments, and other industries, is closely integrated with the market and users. How to help users choose and use auxiliary agents well is a very important task for textile printing and dyeing auxiliary agent production enterprises, which not only relates to market development, but also involves the survival of enterprises. But for a long time, China's textile printing and dyeing auxiliary agent enterprises have focused on manufacturing rather than application; Heavy on buying and selling, light on service. Many enterprises lack technical talents in the application of auxiliaries, and their application services are merely formalities, seriously hindering the innovation and development of textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries in China.

2.7 Poor brand building

The well-known brands of textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries produced by large companies in the international market have long been well-known. They have created great benefits for these large companies because the brand is a symbol of product quality, giving people credibility and peace of mind when using it. The increasing proportion of designated brands or tags reflected by printing and dyeing enterprises in customer orders is a good proof. But so far, China's textile printing and dyeing auxiliary industry lacks branded products, let alone well-known brands. Leading companies in the industry such as Zhejiang Chuanhua Co., Ltd. and Guangdong Demei Fine Chemical Co., Ltd. have done a lot of work in brand building and cultivation in the past few years, which is very promising. In the face of fierce market competition, brand competition cannot be ignored for enterprises.

2.8 Industry system and mechanism reform cannot keep up with the pace of market changes

At present, the system and mechanism of the textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries industry are not adapted to the pace of market changes. The deepening reform, overall planning, achieving large-scale operation, and improving competitiveness of the industry all require that the system and mechanism problems of the industry be solved as soon as possible, and they are also important guarantees for solving the above new problems.

3. Innovative new approaches

The textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries industry in our country will face rare development opportunities in the new situation, but we must also fully recognize the new problems that exist, dare to challenge and innovate, and strive to achieve new (innovation), optimization (optimization), and good (service). The focus is on innovation, including product innovation, process innovation, service innovation, and management innovation, striving to achieve the goal of becoming a strong producer of textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries in China as soon as possible.

3.1 Product Innovation

With the deepening development of low-carbon economy, printing and dyeing technologies at home and abroad are constantly changing, high-tech is constantly injected, new fibers and printing and dyeing technologies are constantly emerging, and the added value of textiles is constantly increasing. In recent years, countries around the world have attached great importance to innovating and adapting new high-performance textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries to meet the requirements of low-carbon economy. Currently, the focus is mainly on the development of "one low, two high, and one high", namely low-temperature energy-saving auxiliaries, high-performance energy-saving auxiliaries, highly specialized energy-saving auxiliaries, and multifunctional energy-saving auxiliaries.

3.1.1 Low temperature energy-saving additives

(1) Activating agent for low-temperature bleaching with hydrogen peroxide

In recent years, countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, and Japan have developed various activators for low-temperature bleaching of hydrogen peroxide, such as non-ionic tetraacetylethylenediamine (TAED), anionic nonanoyloxybenzenesulfonate sodium (NOBS), cationic N - [4- (triethylaminomethylenebenzoyl)] caprolactam chloride (TEBCC), and 6- (N, N, N-trimethylamine) caprolactam p-toluenesulfonic acid (THCTS). Among them, cationic activators have strong activation ability. These oxygen bleaching activators are used during bleaching, which can reduce the oxygen bleaching temperature to around 70 ℃ and shorten the cold rolling batch bleaching time to 4-6 hours. If the same temperature and time as conventional processes are used, the amount of alkaline agent can be reduced, and energy saving, time saving, and product quality can be achieved. China is also developing and applying activators for low-temperature bleaching of hydrogen peroxide, such as JD-88 activator for low-temperature bleaching of hydrogen peroxide from FedEx Chemical Co., Ltd., FelosanIFB and Beixon IFS from Jiahe Chemical Co., Ltd., but their application in production is not yet widespread.

(2) Low temperature bleaching agent

The traditional refining process is carried out in a certain concentration of caustic soda solution at temperatures of 98-100 ℃ or even higher. After refining, it needs to be repeatedly washed with water to remove alkali and impurities, resulting in high energy consumption, large water consumption, high wastewater discharge, and heavy pollution. The new low-temperature bleaching agent can reduce the surface tension of the refining solution, improve the permeability of the alkaline solution, and enhance the wettability of cotton fibers. This can lower the refining temperature and enable the same bath bleaching of the refining and hydrogen peroxide bleaching, while reducing the bleaching temperature. The QR series low-temperature bleaching agents from Shanghai Qirui Textile Chemical Co., Ltd., especially the low-temperature bleaching agent QR-2020, have the following effects: ① Energy saving and steam saving of over 40%; ② Easy washing, water saving, and reduced wastewater discharge each account for 50%; ③ Short working hours, saving about 60% of time; ④ Good quality, doubled hair effect and solved the problem of oxygen drift and hole breaking, reducing the effect of wet heat setting.

(3) Low temperature degreaser

During pre-processing, low-temperature degreasers can not only remove fat, silicone oil, mineral oil, and oil stains from fabrics, but also save energy. For example, TissocylRC9 from Hangzhou Noah Company is a hydrocarbon free low-temperature degreaser that can effectively emulsify fat and mineral oil at low temperatures. It can also self emulsify and remove silicone oil contained in nylon/ammonia mixed textiles at low temperatures. Additionally, this additive is biodegradable, measurable, and pumpable.

(4) Low temperature dyeing auxiliaries

① Low temperature dyeing assistant for wool

There are two types of low-temperature dyeing auxiliaries for wool. One type is a new compound such as N-cyclohexylpyrrolidone, alkylamide, zwitterionic surfactant, etc. When dyeing wool with acid dyes or 1:2 type metal complex dyes, adding this new dyeing aid can lower the dyeing temperature to around 75 ℃; The other is non water soluble organic solvent, such as Tributyloxyethyl phosphate lotion, which is used to pretreat the wool to make the wool fully expanded, so that the wool can be dyed at 40~60 ℃ to obtain good dyeing effect. China has also developed such low-temperature dyeing auxiliaries, such as the wool low-temperature dyeing assistant LDW-630 from Tianjin Liankuan Fine Chemical Co., Ltd. and the wool low-temperature dyeing assistant CTC series from Beijing Zhongfang Chemical Co., Ltd. They can save energy by more than 20%.

② Green carrier for atmospheric pressure dyeing of polyester with dispersed dyes

This carrier does not contain halogens and there are mainly two types. One is a single organic compound such as N-cyclohexylpyrrolidone, N-octylpyrrolidone (Wacogen WH600), N-alkylphthalimide Raycatex NSCconc、 Diethylene glycol and other substances, which are non-toxic or low toxic, and easily biodegradable; Another type is a mixture composed of 85% diethylene glycol and 10% N-cyclohexylpyrrolidone, which is a high-performance substitute with a moderate price and is known as Swellinagent G.

(5) Low temperature soap detergent

Low temperature soaping agents are mainly formulated through synergistic technology, which combines surfactants with good penetration, emulsification, dispersion, and solubilization effects at low temperatures, such as monoalkyl diphenyl ether disulfonic acid and isomeric alcohol polyoxyethylene ether (containing various addition numbers of ethylene oxide chains). They can reduce the soaping temperature by about 40 ℃ and achieve good cleaning effect. If polyvinylpyrrolidone is added, it can play a role in anti fouling. BASF's new soap washing agent CyclononXC-W has a significant soap washing effect at lower temperatures, and is not affected by water hardness, salt dosage, or acid-base conditions. It can shorten the soap washing process, save 25% water, save energy, and increase the production capacity of washing processing. The sodium bis (alkyl) diphenyl ether disulfonate (alkyl R containing C: 8-15) developed by the Second Chemical Plant of Jinling Petrochemical Company in Nanjing, China, is similar in molecular structure to two sodium alkylbenzenesulfonates connected by an oxygen atom as a bimolecular (Gemini type) surfactant, which can reduce the critical micelle concentration (CMC) and soap washing temperature.

3.1.2 High functional and energy-saving additives

3.1.2.1 High functional pre-treatment agent

(1) Efficient pre-treatment agent

① Efficient emulsifier

Due to its unique elasticity, spandex is widely used to form blended fabrics with other fibers such as polyester/ammonia, nylon/ammonia, cotton/ammonia, etc. Generally, spandex core and yarn are used, with some spandex content even exceeding 20%. In order to allow spandex to pass through the spinning holes normally, a small amount of lubricant, mainly silicone oil, needs to be added during spinning. The higher the blending ratio of spandex, the more organic silicone oil is contained on the fabric. This type of silicone oil is difficult to emulsify, but it must be removed to a large extent before or during printing and dyeing. Otherwise, the fabric surface is prone to color spots, stains, and discoloration during printing and dyeing, and the color fastness is significantly reduced. In general, blended fabrics need to be refined with a specialized silicone oil remover for spandex before printing and dyeing to remove the organic silicone oil from the spandex fibers.

At present, there are two main types of silicone oil removal agents for spandex in the domestic and international markets - solvent based and emulsion based. Due to the varying degrees of harm to human health and pollution of the ecological environment caused by many solvents, companies mainly focus on developing emulsion formulations. For example, Sultafon D from Stockhausen is an efficient emulsifier and a low foaming, high-efficiency wetting/refining agent, especially suitable for washing away difficult to emulsify silicone oil and mineral oil in spandex. The cotton fabric treated with the combination of this additive and SolopolZF (polymer chelating agent) has stable quality and can be dyed in the same bath. It can reduce processing time and cost by more than 60%, increase processing capacity by 25% to 33%, and greatly reduce the discharge of pollutants; DepicolPC9 is also an efficient emulsifier that can effectively remove oil, especially silicone oil, from fabrics with high spandex content. When combined with Setavin PAS (pH buffering agent for acid dyeing) and DepicolAY (auxiliary agent to prevent yellowing during hot melt fixation of fabrics after dyeing), it can achieve one bath refining, dyeing, and fixation of nylon/spandex fabrics (blend ratio 80:20). Compared with conventional processes, it can reduce processing time by 50%, reduce dye bath volume and emission by 80%, greatly improve the dyeing ability of equipment, and do not affect the color fastness of dyed fabrics; CPANew, a spandex refining agent from Hangzhou Dorne Textile Technology Co., Ltd. in China, is also used to remove various dyeing problems caused by incomplete removal of silicone oil components in natural and synthetic fibers; There are also non foaming silicone oil refining and removal agents such as Anmei Baoding from Shanghai Xingkang Chemical Co., Ltd. and SymorlCS-88 (also known as silicon removal agent) from Shanghai Shengyue Textile Materials Co., Ltd., which have this function.

② Efficient penetrant

The penetration force and condition of bleaching solution in fabrics are related to the bleaching effect of fabrics, and play an important role in energy conservation, emission reduction, and pollution reduction. The strong penetrant D-1070 from Zhejiang Hongda Chemical Products Co., Ltd. has high permeability and can penetrate fabrics quickly and evenly, improving the bleaching effect and promoting stable fabric quality and high efficiency. This excellent penetrant is usually composed of surfactants with extremely strong permeability under alkaline conditions, such as KT08, which is an anionic isomeric alcohol sulfate surfactant with no surface activity under neutral conditions and has extremely strong permeability in concentrated alkaline solutions; TEP is also an anionic surfactant that has extremely strong permeability under strong alkaline and high-temperature conditions, and has excellent emulsifying, degreasing, and washing functions. They are some new types of pre-treatment surfactants.

③ Efficient Cold Rolling Stack Refining Agent

Compared with conventional processes, the cold rolling pile pretreatment process has lower temperature, higher alkali concentration, and more difficult penetration of alkali oxygen solution into cotton fabric. Especially at low temperatures, it has poor emulsification ability for oil and wax, which can easily cause differences in whiteness and wool effect between the edges, inside and outside of the fabric, resulting in dyeing defects. Therefore, the development of efficient cold rolling pile refining agents plays a significant role in expanding the cold rolling pile pretreatment process and short process bleaching process, as well as energy conservation, emission reduction, and pollution reduction. The powerful refining agent CP-8 from Hangzhou Dorn Textile Technology Co., Ltd. is an efficient cold rolling pile refining agent that has multiple functions such as wetting, boiling, bleaching, etc. It has been proven to achieve good wool effect (9.1cm wool effect after 30 minutes) and whiteness in cold rolling pile refining, which can be completed in one step, has excellent cold pile effect, does not require re bleaching process, saves time, and reduces costs; The high-efficiency cold rolling pile refining agent ZL-321, developed in cooperation between Yiwu Zhongli Industry and Trade Co., Ltd. and Zhejiang Textile and Apparel College, also has this characteristic. It is composed of high-efficiency penetrant, hydrogen peroxide low-temperature bleaching activator, new metal chelating agent, and environmentally friendly surfactant.

④ Efficient chelating dispersant

During the pre-treatment stage of cotton and linen fabrics, the presence of copper and zinc ions used as sizing preservatives is not conducive to desizing, and the sizing agent and impurities are prone to re deposit on the fibers, affecting the whiteness of the base fabric; The calcium, magnesium ions, and pectin salts in the cooking solution during cooking can seriously affect the wool effect, whiteness, and hand feel of the fabric after cooking; During bleaching, heavy metal ions such as iron accelerate the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide, causing local peroxidation, decreased strength, and even holes in the fabric; Calcium, magnesium, and heavy metal ions in hard water can easily form insoluble metal salts that precipitate on fabrics and equipment, affecting product quality and causing equipment scaling. Therefore, efficient chelating dispersants must be added to effectively solve defects in fabric pretreatment. This efficient chelating dispersant not only has good dispersion function but also has good chelating shielding effect on calcium, magnesium and heavy metal ions, improving the whiteness, hand feel and dyeing performance of cotton and linen. It does not contain prohibited chemicals and is biodegradable. Its monomers generally contain amino groups, hydroxyl groups, unsaturated bonds, etc. Such as maleic anhydride, acrylamide, acrylic acid, etc. LD-330, a new chelating dispersant developed by FedEx Chemical Co., Ltd; SolopolZF, an efficient metal chelating agent developed by the German company Storhausen, is a sugar based biodegradable polymer chelating agent that can combine with metals, calcium, magnesium, and other substances in cotton. It can be used to replace the currently used metal chelating agents with poor biodegradability and is also a chelating dispersant with excellent dispersibility.

(2) Alkali resistant pretreatment agent

① Huntsman's Tinocrarite CBB and Yorkshire's SeriquestCA, both strong alkali resistant hydrogen peroxide stabilizers and chelating agents, are capable of withstanding 120g/L strong alkali, providing good stability for hydrogen peroxide bleaching and excellent chelating effects on calcium, magnesium, and iron ions. They are suitable for the hydrogen peroxide continuous high-temperature steaming and bleaching process of cotton and its blended fabrics, with advantages such as good processing whiteness, significant impurity removal effect, and minimal fiber damage.

② Alkali resistant refining agent

The refining agent HS-200 COMC from Zhejiang Huasheng Chemical Products Co., Ltd. has excellent alkali stability and alkali penetration resistance, and its refining effect is superior to similar products on the market at the same dosage.

③ Alkali resistant penetrant

The alkali resistant silk gloss penetrant 3300DX from Shanghai Daxiang Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. has excellent alkali resistance and fast and uniform penetration; The chlorine resistant penetrant SC-01 from Nanjing Yabo Technology Co., Ltd. has the characteristics of alkali resistance and chlorine resistance to various oxidants, with fast and uniform penetration and low dosage. It is the main choice for wool finishing penetrants.

3.1.2.2 High functional printing and dyeing auxiliaries

(1) New pH buffering agent

① Setavin PAS is a pH buffering agent used for acid dyeing, which has strong buffering capacity, stable dyeing pH, and other characteristics, improving the stability of dye uptake and dye quality. It is combined with additives such as Depicol PC9 and Depicol AY to achieve a successful one bath refining, dyeing, and fixation process for blended fabrics composed of polyamide fibers and elastic fibers.

② Egasol SF is a liquid alkaline buffering agent without silicates and phosphates, suitable for cold pad batch dyeing of reactive dyes. Compared with silicates/caustic soda, it can shorten the fixation time and improve the fixation rate.

(2) Hydrophilic dye fixative

Danfix SA 100 is a special hydrophilic dye fixative with a multi cationic structure. It is a light yellow liquid that does not contain formaldehyde and has a pH value of about 4 (10g/L). It is easily soluble in water and suitable for the fixation treatment of reactive and direct dye dyes. The treatment method is simple, and both immersion and continuous methods can be used. After fixation, the dye will not reduce water absorption and has excellent wetting fastness, with little impact on light fastness and almost no color change.

(3) New generation thickening agents for paint printing

The Tubivis Eco 400 and Tubivis Eco650 developed by CHT (Jiahe) are a new generation of paste like synthetic thickeners that are VOC free and based on natural oil-based substances as carriers. Tubivis Eco 400 has simple processability, fast expandability, no risk of clogging the screen, no smoke, and does not require viscosity adjustment when configured according to the specified dosage. Tubivis Eco 400 can meet high-tech requirements such as electrolyte stability, permeability, and contour clarity during printing. Tubivis Eco650 is an economical product that no longer requires adding ammonia water to the printing paste when in use.

(4) New auxiliary suitable for cold-rolled batch dyeing with reactive dyes

The chelating dispersant M-1075 and cotton M-230K developed in our country are resistant to electrolytes and strong alkalis (280-300g/L). The leveling and dyeing agents also have excellent solubility, permeability, and protective functions for reactive dyes, and are easy to eliminate without affecting subsequent soap washing.

(5) New type of polyester oligomer dispersant

BreviloROL, developed in our country, is a new type of polyester oligomer dispersant that is suitable for dyeing polyester and polyester ultrafine fibers. It produces good dispersibility and evenness of dispersed dyes, and effectively removes polyester oligomers by synergistic action with alkaline agents during the reduction cleaning process.

(6) NikkaRZ-BF, a new additive suitable for one-step dyeing process of polyester/cotton blended fabrics, is a dispersing and leveling agent used for dyeing polyester/cotton blended fabrics with dispersed/active (or direct) dyes in one-step dyeing process. It has the characteristics of low foaming and excellent resistance to elemental pigment.

(7) A new type of auxiliary agent for coating dyeing of cotton fabrics

Cotton fabric coating dyeing is an energy-saving, emission reducing, and pollution reducing dyeing technology that requires supporting additives such as cationic modifiers, darkening agents, grafting agents, etc. Currently, new cationic modifier products include LavaCon E from DyStar, Sandene2000LID from Clariant, Aromafix series from Mingcheng Chemical Company in Japan, cationic modifiers PT and PNT from Changsheng Chemical Company in Shanghai, and pretreatment agent KZ-76 from Daxiang Chemical Company in Shanghai. They can improve the dyeing depth and fastness of cotton fabric coating dyeing.

(8) New additives suitable for various fabric transfer printing processes

① Special finishing agent suitable for heat transfer printing process on cotton fabrics and polyester/cotton blended fabrics

After processing cotton fabrics with this new additive, transfer printing paper printed with pattern patterns made with special dye ink can achieve multi color fine printing through hot pressing at a certain temperature and pressure. The new additive was developed by Beijing Huaxu Dituo Textile Technology Co., Ltd.

② New additives for cold transfer digital printing process suitable for cellulose fiber fabrics

The new additives include chelating adsorbents, isolation treatment agents for transfer printing paper, and modified pastes, developed by Shanghai Changsheng Textile Products Co., Ltd. These new additives and dye pastes are processed separately for cellulose fiber fabrics and transfer printing paper, followed by cold transfer printing and cold pile fixation, and finally washed and shaped. Compared with circular or flat screen printing, it can save 66% water and 65% energy, and the reuse rate of discharged water after treatment reaches 90%.

3.1.2.3 High functional finishing agent (1) New generation organic silicon softener

RucafenHHS is a new generation of microemulsified hydrophilic silicone softener or hybrid silicone softener based on Hybrid Hydro Soft technology. The quaternization function, organosilicon softener function, and non-ionic emulsification function present in the hybrid organosilicon resin structure ensure that the finishing agent produces excellent softness, good re wettability, and comfortable wearability on the finished fabric, especially on synthetic fibers. At the same time, these functions make the softener more stable, as it prevents yellowing of the softener by blocking the quaternary ammonium salt.

(2) New waterproof, oil repellent, and stain resistant finishing agent

① Nuva N2114 lig., Asahi Guard AG-E061, Unidyne Multi Series, and Rucostar EEE are new oxygen-containing waterproof and oil repellent finishing agents that do not contain PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate) and PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid). They have excellent waterproof and oil repellent properties, as well as safety and environmental protection that meet market requirements. Compared with fluorinated products based on C8 chemistry, they have the same high performance and can be used to replace products manufactured with PFOS or PFOA.

② Nuva N4118 lig., Scotch guard PM-492, PM-930, FC-226 are new fluorine-containing waterproof and stain resistant or easy to clean finishing agents that do not contain PFOS or PFOA. They have excellent anti fouling or stain removal properties and can meet market requirements for safety and environmental protection. Compared with fluorine-containing corresponding products based on C8 chemistry, they have the same high performance and can be used to replace products manufactured with PFOS or PFOA.

(3) A new type of fluorescent whitening agent suitable for use in the same bath as pre-treatment agents or other finishing agents

① Uvitex MSTV and Uvitex MSTB are low affinity fluorescent whitening agents that have high whiteness, good uniformity, no head and tail color difference, and excellent reproducibility when used in the same bath with resin finishing agents.

② Hostalux TCE-N6 lig is a fluorescent whitening agent that can dye both polyester and cotton in the same bath during hydrogen peroxide bleaching. It has a simple application process and excellent wash fastness.

3.1.3 High specificity and energy-saving additives

(1) New generation of biological enzymes for dyeing and finishing processing

Biotechnology is an important high-tech that has been widely used to manufacture biological enzymes or enzyme preparations. Using it for dyeing and finishing processing is considered a green dyeing and finishing technology, which not only has specificity, but also high efficiency, fast reaction, energy saving, low water consumption, short working hours, low pollution without damaging fibers, avoiding uneven dyeing in the future, and improving color yield. At present, it has expanded to almost all textile wet processing fields, and new generations of varieties are constantly being developed.

① LANXESS's Baylase EVO is a new type of biological enzyme preparation - pectinase, which can be used to remove pectin containing natural cotton wax from fiber walls. When combined with Diavadine UN (a specialized surfactant), it can gently remove wax, resulting in less quality loss compared to fabrics treated with caustic soda. It also has a soft hand feel and high hydrophilicity, and improves appearance, saving processing costs up to 25%.

② The BIOTOUCH new generation cellulase and pectinase from AB GmbH in Germany can change the pre-treatment process of cotton polishing fabrics to one bath two-step or one bath three-step, greatly saving time (omitting traditional polishing and inactivation processes), energy and water.

③ Scourzyme NP from Novozymes is a new refining enzyme that utilizes biological principles to break down pectin on cotton and linen fibers, facilitating the removal of lipids, wax, and other impurities from the fibers. It has milder application conditions, is more effective in fabric refining, consumes less energy and water, and has a smaller impact on the environment.

④ The refined enzyme KDN from Qingdao Kangdeen Biotechnology Co., Ltd. can be used for pretreatment of fibers/yarns/fabrics such as cotton and linen. It has the characteristics of reducing process temperature, reducing treatment time, and avoiding high temperature alkali boiling. It not only improves the quality of the treated fabric, but also reduces energy and water consumption and reduces wastewater load.

(2) Anti yellowing additive

① BASF's TX1567 is a specialized additive used to prevent yellowing of white synthetic fiber fabrics in contact with packaging materials during storage or transportation. It effectively and reliably prevents nitrogen oxides from binding with antioxidant butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) molecules, reducing environmental pollution, improving the lifespan of synthetic fiber fabrics, and achieving the goal of energy conservation, emission reduction, and pollution reduction.

② Depicol AY is also a specialized anti yellowing additive used to prevent blended fabrics composed of polyamide fibers and elastic fibers from turning yellow during hot melt fixation after dyeing.

3.1.4 Multi functional and energy-saving additives (1) Multi functional pretreatment agents

① Sandoclear T10 liq. from Clariant is a new multifunctional pretreatment agent that has multiple functions such as wetting, cleaning, and stability, is easily biodegradable, and suitable for the three in one process of retreat, boiling, and bleaching. It is composed of a combination of fatty alcohols, polyethylene glycol ethers, and aromatic sulfates.

② The multifunctional pretreatment agent YH-SC of Shanghai Yihua Industrial Chemicals Co., Ltd. is a host used for cotton based fabrics. It integrates five functions including refining, stabilization, chelation, dispersion, and alkali action, and has significant energy-saving, emission reduction, and pollution reduction effects.

③ The polyester cotton refreshing JF-99 from Ningbo Jinfang Fine Chemical Co., Ltd. is a multifunctional additive suitable for T/C, T/R, CVC and other blended fabrics, which enables cotton pretreatment and polyester dyeing to be carried out in the same bath. The process is simple and easy to use. Compared with the traditional process of alkaline bleaching, acidic dyeing, and alkaline cotton covering for blended fabrics, this new additive can save chelating agents, refining agents, alkaline agents, oxygen bleaching stabilizers, glacial acetic acid and high-temperature leveling agents, and can also avoid the occurrence of polyester oligomers, without defects such as dye spots and color spots. Taking 1t T/C knitted fabric as an example, it can save 50 tons of water, 150 kW · h of electricity, 50 tons of steam, 3-4 hours of time, reduce emissions by 50 tons, and improve equipment utilization by more than 20%.

(2) Multi functional finishing agent

Hydroperm ECO liq. from Clariant is a new type of weakly cationic hydrophilic multifunctional finishing agent based on aliphatic polyetheramide solution. It can improve the ability to control humidity, promote faster absorption, moisture conductivity, and surface evaporation. The fabrics treated with it have excellent washability, soft hand feel, and do not damage the whiteness of the fabrics treated with fluorescent whitening agents.

3.2 Process Innovation

3.2.1 Main problems currently faced

In the development process of textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries in China, chemical synthesis technology and compounding efficiency enhancement technology have played an important role, and will continue to be important means for textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries enterprises to conduct product research and development, enrich products, and improve functions in the future. However, in the past 30 years, due to increasingly strict environmental protection requirements, higher energy conservation requirements, and greater difficulty in synthesis, the development of new synthesis technologies has been slow, and the application of high-tech has been limited. The proportion of chemical synthesis in the entire industry has gradually decreased, and a considerable number of enterprises have not synthesized or rarely synthesized, mainly relying on purchasing raw materials for compounding or mixing to produce. Therefore, there is a significant gap between the manufacturing technology of China's textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries industry and the international advanced level. As is well known, the synthesis technology of textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries is crucial for enterprises to personalize, create brands, and possess important central technologies. With the development of additive manufacturing enterprises towards scale, there will be increasing emphasis on synthesis technology, and the future development direction will be a trend of emphasizing both synthesis technology and compound efficiency enhancement technology.

3.2.2 New Chemical Synthesis Technologies

There are many high-tech advancements in the field of chemical synthesis technology today, with prominent ones including catalytic technology, sulfur trioxide sulfonation technology, continuous nitrification technology, adiabatic nitrification technology, compound efficiency enhancement technology, green solvent reaction technology, recycling technology, biotechnology, nano technology, and microemulsification technology. Especially catalytic technology, which is a rapidly developing green manufacturing technology in the clean production process of textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries, is a vital component of key manufacturing technologies in various countries. It has the characteristics of high selectivity, high yield, high purity, and low pollution, producing significant energy-saving and emission reduction effects, and belongs to atomic economic reaction technology. At present, it includes skeleton nickel catalytic hydrogenation reduction technology, phase transfer catalysis technology, molecular sieve catalysis technology, amorphous nickel catalysis technology, metal compound catalysis technology, enzyme catalysis technology, etc; Compound efficiency enhancement technology is also a very important high-tech, also known as combination efficiency enhancement technology, which has significant effects on saving capital, energy, water, emissions, and reducing costs.

3.2.3 Methods of Compound Efficiency Enhancement Technology Compound efficiency enhancement technology can be roughly divided into two methods. One is the external compounding method, which involves compounding two or more additives with different properties according to certain principles and ratios. This is the main manufacturing method for domestic and foreign additive manufacturers; Another approach is internal compounding, which involves introducing functional groups of another additive into the molecular structure of the additive to give it a new function. Introducing hydrophilic polyether and quaternary ammonium salts into the structure of amino silicone oil can result in a modified amino silicone oil that is both soft and hydrophilic.

3.2.4 Advanced Environmental Protection Technologies and Their Development Trends

The application of nanotechnology can play a role unmatched by traditional technology, such as the preparation of nano material antibacterial powder, nano lotion adhesive, nano silicone emulsion, etc. The development of advanced environmentally friendly technologies is also an important part of accelerating the use of high-tech in the textile printing and dyeing auxiliary industry. Currently, the more important new environmentally friendly technologies that have been developed include persistent high activity iron bed technology, resin adsorption technology, permeable membrane technology, wet catalytic oxidation technology, non flow anaerobic sludge bed biochemical technology, etc. Moreover, DCS control in the production process of additives and the use of instruments for intermediate control are of great significance for stabilizing production, improving quality, energy conservation and emission reduction, and are important technological innovations that cannot be ignored. The entire content of process innovation includes non-toxic and harmless raw materials, renewable resources, non-toxic and harmless catalysts, non-toxic and harmless solvents, atomic economic reactions, highly selective reactions, and DCS control of production processes, as well as effective treatment of three wastes, recycling of waste, and recycling of wastewater to ensure the production of energy-saving, emission reducing, and environmentally friendly additives. Only in this way can we achieve a shift towards economic advantage with minimal resource, energy, water, and environmental costs, and win considerable economic output.

3.4 Management Innovation

In order to create an innovative atmosphere in the textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries industry, promote and facilitate the pace of industry innovation, it is very important to establish a modern management system that is suitable for the innovative atmosphere. This system is a systematic project that requires reform of the existing management system, mechanism, methods, etc. It is necessary to have a strong awareness of respecting talents and knowledge, and fully mobilize the enthusiasm of all parties. At present, the small scale and scattered factory locations of textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries industry in China are not conducive to technological innovation and development of the industry, nor to improving the competitiveness of the industry. It is imperative for enterprises to carry out mergers and acquisitions and restructuring to achieve large-scale operation. And only in this way can advantageous enterprises obtain development opportunities beyond the industry. So, management innovation is an important guarantee for product innovation, process innovation, and service innovation.

4. Conclusion

In the 60 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, China's textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries industry has developed through opportunities and challenges, imitation and innovation. By: (1) rapidly expanding production scale and forming a relatively complete industrial system; (2) Implementing the strategy of revitalizing the country through science and education, and making breakthroughs in technological innovation; (3) Extensive international cooperation has been carried out, and significant achievements have been made in opening up to the outside world; (4) Through a series of measures such as continuous deepening of enterprise reform and further transformation of institutional mechanisms, China has developed from a weak foundation and backward technology to one of the world's major producers of textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries, creating brilliant achievements in China's textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries industry, achieving a historic leap in China's textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries industry, and laying the foundation for the development of China's textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries industry towards higher quality and higher level.

The current situation faced by China's textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries industry is very severe, manifested in high energy conservation and emission reduction requirements, strict environmental and health requirements, multiple market quality requirements, and many existing problems. But opportunities for development still exist, and we must firmly seize them to meet challenges and boldly innovate scientifically. Only in this way can the excellent situation formed in the 60 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China continue to expand, and China's goal of developing from a major producer of textile printing and dyeing auxiliaries to a strong producer be achieved.

Source: Jicui Network Observation