International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology (IJARET) ISSN 0976 – 6480(Print), ISSN 0976 – 6499(Online) Volume 1, Number 1, May - June (2010), © IAEME 25 ECO-FRIENDLY DYEING OF VISCOSE FABRIC WITH REACTIVE DYES B. J. Agarwal Department of Textile Chemistry Faculty of Technology and Engineering The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara E-Mail: bjagarwal@yahoo.com ABSTRACT Water-soluble polymers have versatile applications but they are hardly used in wet processing of cellulosic substrates (cotton, viscose, jute, etc.), particularly in dyeing. In this paper, one such water-soluble polymer, polyacrylic acid has been synthesized, characterized and applied to viscose fabric in conjunction with various types of reactive dyes, namely triazinyl, vinyl sulphone, high exhaustion and bi-functional, along with cross-linking agents, namely Glycerol-1,3-dichlorohydrin and hexamethylene tetramine- hydroquinone respectively. One of the cross-linking agents (the former one) has been synthesized in the laboratory and characterized. Cross-linking agent is necessary to adhere the dye onto the cellulose macromolecule. Different process sequences have been formulated for dyeing purpose. The dyed samples were assessed by Computer Colour Matching system for colour strength in terms of K/S values and their fastness properties were assessed by standard methods. All such dyeings were compared with conventional dyed samples. Key words: Polyacrylic acid, cross-linking agent, viscose, reactive dyes 1. INTRODUCTION In the textile industry, ecology and economy are the two most important aspects in the present worldwide scenario and their significance is of great importance for the survival of the textile industry. There is an increasing demand for the minimization of pollution load during wet processing of textiles, particularly in dyeing. International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology (IJARET), ISSN 0976 – 6480(Print) ISSN 0976 – 6499(Online) Volume 1 Number 1, May - June (2010), pp. 25-37 © IAEME, http://www.iaeme.com/ijaret.html IJARET © IAEME