TEX-SHIELD · Environmental friendly and Durable Oil and water repellence finish on Technical Textiles

In the current market, the well-known brands of technical textiles are coated with Perfluorocarbon chemistry to possess highly durable oil and water repellent (OWR) finish. In early days, water repellent finish for fabrics was provided by simple paraffin or wax coatings which washed out eventually. Alternatively, PFOS and PFOA are the chemicals belonging to the family of perflourochemicals (PFCs) also known as C8 chemistry is used. Although PFC-C8 are used together with binders that act as glue to stick to the surface of fabrics, as it is not chemically bonded to the substrate it leaches out, causing ecological threat. Recent studies have found PFC-C8 present in the blood, tissues and foetal-cords of human and its bio-persistence and bioaccumulation in the environment has caused significant concerns. Notably, due to these concerns, 3M withdrew Scotchguard from the market in 2000. C8 Fluorocarbons are currently under high regulatory pressure (2006/122/EC) and it’s outlawed in favour of C6 chemistry which performs lower to meet the industries durability and repellence standards.There is a strong demand for replacing the C8 chemistry with an equally performing finishing chemical. TEX-SHIELD will develop a novel, multifunctional molecular structure with silica backbone that is chemically bondable to the fibre/filament to achieve a highly durable textile finish that is resistant against the oil/grease /powder stains by biological route. The reasonable silica content in it will replace the C8 chemistry while providing equal performance. A replica of film forming effect will be formulated. The project will evaluate the suitable deposition technique. TEX-SHIELD will provide the textile industry with a cost effective and environmentally safe OWR finish on textiles, revolutionising the current market place, whilst resolving the concerns of the current PFC-C8 based stain-resistant coatings. This will profoundly reduce water consumption during washing for the consumers.