Oil for polypropylene and polyester fibres

Abstract

An analysis of the basic characteristics of samples of the new product Avivazh NTP with a different liquid paraffin content and a comparison with the properties of Hansa oil, highly recommended in synthetic fibre production, showed that Avivazh NTP No. 4 (6% liquid paraffin content) and NTP No. 5 (10% liquid paraffin content) is superior to the imported product with respect to its properties. Companies with one to two machines for production of polypropylene (PP) and polyester (PES) fibres from melt and manufacture of relatively small amounts of fibre, under 2 tons/day, have recently appeared in Russia. These companies require an oil that can be used in production of both PP and PES fibres. We created an inexpensive, effective product for spinning and subsequent processing of PP and PES fibres. The problem was to reduce fibre breaks in the spinning and orientation drawing stage. End breaks increase with an increase in the rewinding speed and are due to the quality and uniformity of the properties of the fibre over the length, its friction characteristics, electrification, and compactness [1]. Oils are used to regulate these properties. Mixtures of several surfactants with mineral oils, waxes, paraffins, and hydrophilic colloids are usually used to give the fibre the required set of properties [2]. The advantage of multicomponent products is their complex effect on many process properties: emulsification of the oil in water, wetting of the fibre, reduction of friction, making the fibre compact, etc. Four samples of Avivazh NTP with different liquid paraffin contents were prepared at Ivkhimprom Co. All of the samples were miscible with water in any ratios and were easily removed from the fibre by washing. Hansa (Germany), which is highly recommended in the industry, was selected as the standard for comparison. The effect of the composition on the properties of the products was investigated by viscometry, thermal gravimetry, and teraohmmetry. The effect of the oils on the physicomechanical, electtrophysical, and tribological properties and processability of the fibres was evaluated. The technical data used with the oils are reported in Table 1. As Table 1 shows, the thermostability of all samples of Avivazh NTP was higher than for Hansa: the weight loss in