Archroma is making cellulosic dyeing more efficient.
The Swiss chemical company launched Cyclanon XC-W e, a washing-off auxiliary that improves productivity and reduces resource consumption in cellulosic dyeing.
The innovation addresses common issues with conventional polyacrylate or copolymer washing-off agents, specifically how they struggle to fully remove unfixed dye from fabric. This is even more challenging when a high concentration of salt remains on the fabric from the dye bath or under hard water conditions.
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Archroma says this can lead to excessive rinsing and multiple washing baths, adding how ineffective washing-off may result in quality rejections due to back staining or uneven shade development.
Cyclanon XC-W e overcomes these challenges wth outstanding color fastness, even in difficult high-electrolyte or hard water conditions. With easier unfixed dye removal, Archroma said mills can reduce pre-rinsing and the number of washing baths to achieve shorter washing-off cycles and save time, water, energy and chemical inputs compared to conventional polyacrylate or copolymer washing-off agents.
Archroma said Cyclanon XC-W e requires up to 20 percent less water in the washing-off stage, up to 20 percent less CO2 emissions and up to 20 percent less chemicals that conventional products.
Additionally, companies can reduce process time by up to 15 percent. Archroma gave the example of a knit production plant producing 10 metric tons of dyed fabric per day. The plant could increase daily output by 1 metric ton without expanding capacity, by using Cyclanon XC-W e to eliminate two washing baths and reduce quality rejections.
“With Cyclanon XC-W e, we are building on our proven trio-polymer platform to give mills a way to meet rising brand expectations for durable, high-quality casual wear with a lower environmental footprint—all at a cost profile comparable to conventional washing-off agents,” said Dhirendra Gautam, Archroma’s VP global marketing and strategy.
Archroma said the added cost of Cyclanon XC-W e is compared to conventional polymer-based products. Additionally, it can be combined with other products like the Blue Magic all-in-one pretreatment and Novacron EC/S reactive dyes to create an end-to-end solution for dyeing cotton fabrics.
Cyclanon XC-W complies with MRSL and RSL standards. The company said registration for Bluesign, ZDHC Level 3 and GOTS 7.0 are underway.
