Method for treating a substrate made of animal fibers with solid particles and a chemical formulation comprising a colourant
AssigneeXeros Limited
InventorJohn Edward STEELE
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Abstract
The invention discloses a method for treating an animal substrate comprising: agitating the moistened animal substrate with an aqueous treatment formulation and a solid particulate material in a sealed apparatus, wherein the aqueous treatment formulation comprises at least one colourant. There is also disclosed an animal substrate obtained by the method and finished leather goods obtained by the method.
Claims57
A method for treating an animal substrate comprising:
- agitating the moistened animal substrate with an aqueous treatment formulation and a solid particulate material in a sealed apparatus, wherein the aqueous treatment formulation comprises at least one colourant.
The method according to any preceding claim wherein the colourant is selected from one or more dyes, pigments, optical brighteners or mixtures thereof.
The method according to any preceding claim wherein the animal substrate is moistened by wetting so as to achieve a water to animal substrate ratio of from about 1000:1 to about 1:1000 w/w.
The method of any preceding claim wherein the ratio of water to animal substrate in the treatment formulation is from at least 1:40 w/w to about 10:1 w/w.
The method according to any preceding claim wherein the ratio of water to solid particulate material in the treatment formulation is from about 1000:1 to about 1:1000 w/w.
The method according to any preceding claim wherein the ratio of the solid particulate material to the animal substrate is from about 1000:1 to about 1:1000 w/w.
The method according to any preceding claim wherein the ratio of the solid particulate material to the animal substrate to water is from about 1:1:1 to about 50:50:1 w/w.
The method according to any preceding claim comprising adding a first portion of the aqueous treatment formulation and agitating the moistened animal substrate with the treatment formulation in the sealed apparatus before introducing the solid particulate material.
The method of any preceding claim further comprising, before or after said agitating the moistened animal substrate with an aqueous treatment formulation and a solid particulate material, subjecting said animal substrate to at least one further treatment selected from tanning, retanning, cleaning, curing, beamhouse treatments including soaking, liming, unhairing, scudding, fleshing, deliming, bating, pickling and fatliquoring, enzyme treatment, dye fixing, and one or more additional colourant treatments.
The method of any preceding claim wherein the treatment formulation comprises at least 5% w/w water.
The method of any preceding claim wherein the treatment formulation comprises water and no organic solvent.
The method of any preceding claim wherein the aqueous treatment formulation comprising at least one colourant has a pH less than 7.
The method of any preceding claim wherein the method comprises no step configured to coat the solid particulate material with the colourant prior to contact of the particulate material with the animal substrate.
The method of any preceding claim wherein the particles are re-used at least once in a subsequent treatment process according to the method.
The method of any preceding claim including the step of subjecting the particles to a cleaning procedure after the treatment of the animal substrate.
The method of any preceding claim wherein the solid particulate material does not penetrate the surface of the animal substrate.
The method according to any preceding claim wherein the solid particulate material comprises a multiplicity of polymeric particles or a multiplicity of non-polymeric particles or a mixture of a multiplicity of polymeric and non-polymeric particles.
The method according to any preceding claim wherein the treatment formulation comprises one or more components selected from the group consisting of:
- solvents, surfactants, cross-linking agents, preservation agents, metal complexes, corrosion inhibitors, complexing agents, biocides, builders, catalysts, chelating agents, dispersants, perfumes, enzymes, oils, waxes, waterproofing agents, flame retardants, stain repellants, reducing agents, acids, bases, neutralizing agents, polymers, resins, oxidising agents and bleaches.
The method according to any preceding claim wherein the treatment formulation comprises two or more portions and wherein each portion of the treatment formulation may be the same or different.
The method according to any preceding claim wherein the treatment formulation comprises at least one surfactant.
The method according to any preceding claim wherein the treatment formulation comprises at least one preservation agent.
The method according to any preceding claim wherein the treatment formulation comprises at least one tanning agent.
The method according to any preceding claim wherein the method consists of a treatment cycle comprising one or more phases or stages.
The method according to any preceding claim comprising the steps of:
- a) agitating the moistened animal substrate with a first portion of the aqueous treatment formulation and a solid particulate material in a sealed apparatus;
- b) removing the solid particulate material;
- c) adding a second portion of the aqueous treatment formulation and agitating the moistened animal substrate with the aqueous treatment formulation.
The method according to any preceding claim wherein the sealed apparatus comprises one or more dosing compartments suitable for containing one or more portions of the treatment formulation.
A method as claimed in any preceding claim comprising one or more subsequent processing steps selected from drying, coating, lacquering, polishing, cutting, shaping, forming, embossing, punching, gluing, sewing, stapling and packaging the treated animal substrate or one or more parts thereof.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.