Development of protective clothing for pesticide industry: Part II — An ecofriendly approach in selection of resin

Abstract

Two low formaldehyde-based resins along with one normal resin based on DMDHEU have been applied separately as well as along with fluorocarbon fi nish on 100% cotton and 70/30 polyester-cotton blended fabrics in varying concentration and their effects on add-on, durability in terms of water and oil repellency and tensile strength studied to make the finishing process more ecofriendly and suitable for its use in protective clothing for pesticide industry. The resins have also been evaluated in terms of their influence on water vapour permeability, creasing behaviour, stiffness and free formaldehyde content of the finished fabrics. It is observed that the type of resin and its concentration affect the durability of fluorocarbon finish to laundering. Glyoxal-based resin exhibits minimum free formaldehyde content, minimum loss in strength and better durability to laundering even at lower concentration. The optimized recipe consists of the fluorocarbon finish, glyoxal-based resin , magnesium chloride as a catalyst and a softener applied in acidic conditions, and could be used to prepare the dress materials suitable for the persons working in pesticide industry.