Loading patent…
AssigneeWool Research Organisation of New Zealand, Inc.
InventorsAlan John McKinnon, John Robert McLaughlin, Murray Edwin Taylor, Douglas Alexander Rankin, Paul Gregory Middlewood, Phillipa Le Pine, Paul Johannes Roy Mesman, Stephen Barry Manson
Estimating the term…
A wool or the like fiber scour including at least one of the following, (a) scouring process wherein the fiber is subjected to an acid extraction process to remove absorbed iron, and by to greatly improve the brightness (Y tristimulus value) of the wool; (b) a scouring process wherein a bleaching process is carried out part way through the wet process following by dying, rewriting and chemical reduction, therefore stabilising the bleached color to prevent subsequent reversion in the dyebath; or (c) a scouring process wherein scoured clean fiber is dried and dusted, and then reimmersed in liquors containing detergents and dispersants, thereby effectively removing extra amounts of residual dirt. The scour produces an improved quality of fibres.
A fibre scouring process of at least two parts, wherein in a first part fibres are subjected to process steps to remove woolgrease and dirt, the process steps incorporating a peroxide bleaching step and drying, and wherein in a second part there is incorporated a step of subjecting the fibres to an acidic solution of a sequestering agent and a reducing agent to thereby remove absorbed iron, to bleach the fibre protein to thereby greatly improve the brightness (Y tristimulus value) of the fibres, remove peroxide residues from the fibres, stabilize the color benefit from any previous oxidative bleaching step, and prevent subsequent color deterioration during dyeing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.