Composition for pretreating fiber materials

Abstract

Compositions that include a mixture of three different ethoxylated alcohols with or without further products are useful for pretreating textile materials, especially cotton fabrics. The compositions have acceptable viscosities and are preferably used in the form of aqueous solutions or dispersions. These have little if any tendency to form foam, are highly compatible with enzymes and impart very good rewettability to textiles treated therewith.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . The method of using a composition that includes the following components A), B) and C): 
 A) an ethoxylated alcohol of the general formula (I)    R 1 —OCH 2 CH 2 —O m H   (I)    B) an ethoxylated alcohol of the general formula (II)    R 2 —OCH 2 CH 2 —O n H   (II)    C) an ethoxylated alcohol of the general formula (III)    R 3 —OCH 2 CH 2 —O x H   (III)    where R 1  is a linear or branched alkyl radical of 6 to 14 carbon atoms, R 2  and R 3  are each a linear or branched alkyl radical of 10 to 18 carbon atoms,    m is from 3 to 12, preferably from 4 to 10,    n is from 3 to 18,    x is from 5 to 20,    R 2  and R 3  each contain at least 2 carbon atoms more than R 1  and x-n is not less than 2, for pretreating fiber materials.    
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein R 1  is a branched alkyl radical of 8 to 12 carbon atoms.  
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1  or  2 , wherein R 2  and R 3  are each independently a branched alkyl radical of 10 to 16 carbon atoms.  
     
     
         4 . The method according to one or more of  claims 1  to  3 , wherein n is from 4 to 10 and x is from 6 to 16.  
     
     
         5 . The method according to one or more of  claims 1  to  4 , wherein the composition includes the components A), B) and C) in the following relative amounts: 
 10 to 40 parts by weight of A)  
 3 to 30 parts by weight of B)  
 0.1 to 10 parts by weight of C).  
 
     
     
         6 . The method according to one or more of  claims 1  to  5 , wherein the composition further includes one or more of the components D), E), F), G) and H) 
 D) water  
 E) an aliphatic diol of 2 to 10 carbon atoms,  
 F) one or more aliphatic mono- or polybasic carboxylic acids of 3 to 8 carbon atoms or alkali metal salts thereof  
 G) hydrolyzed poly(maleic anhydride)  
 H) an alkylpolyglycoside.  
 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 6 , wherein component E) is a diol having a branched saturated alkyl radical in which the two OH groups are not attached to adjacent carbon atoms.  
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 6  or  7 , wherein component F) is citric acid or an alkali metal salt thereof.  
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 6  or  7 , wherein component F) is gluconic acid or an alkali metal salt thereof.  
     
     
         10 . The method according to one or more of  claims 1  to  9 , wherein the composition includes the components A) to H) in the following relative amounts: 
 10 to 40 parts by weight of A)  
 3 to 30 parts by weight of B)  
 0.1 to 10 parts by weight of C)  
 0 to 100 parts by weight of D)  
 0 to 20 parts by weight of E)  
 0 to 20 parts by weight of F)  
 0 to 10 parts by weight of G)  
 0 to 15 parts by weight of H).  
 
     
     
         11 . The method according to one or more of  claims 1  to  10  for pretreating textile fabrics.  
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 11 , wherein the fabrics are wovens or knits.  
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 11  or  12 , wherein the fiber materials are 50 to 100% by weight cellulose, especially cotton.