A welded yarn may have a cross section about a plane that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the welded yarn wherein the cross-sectional area is comprised of two or more distinct portions, wherein the degree of welding in each portion is different, which may also result in different fiber volume ratios compared to raw yarn substrates.

A process for the preparation of coloured and expanded thermoplastic polyurethane (coloured ETPU) material which comprises the following steps: a) providing thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) material and at least one gaseous fluid wherein the melting temperature of the TPU material is above the supercritical temperature of the at least one gaseous fluid b) placing the TPU material in an autoclave together with a colorant and/or a fluorescent whitening agent (FWA), wherein the colorant is selected from at least one of a disperse dye, an acid dye and a pigment; c) increasing the pressure in the autoclave by introducing the at least one gaseous fluid at a temperature below the melting point of the TPU material and at least above the supercritical temperature of the at least one gaseous fluid at the applied pressure (saturation step); and d) allowing the non-expanded TPU material to saturate; and e) decreasing the pressure in the autoclave down to ambient pressure at a temperature between the melting temperature and the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the TPU material at such a rate that the TPU material expands (expansion step) to obtain coloured ETPU material f) removing the coloured ETPU material from the autoclave.

An ink jet textile printing ink composition includes water; a color material; and a metal chelating agent. In the ink composition described above, the metal chelating agent includes at least one selected from methyl glycine diacetic acid, L-glutamate diacetic acid, L-aspartic diacetic acid, hydroxyethylimino diacetic acid, 3-hydroxy-2,2-iminodisuccucinic acid, dicarboxymethyl glutamic acid, (S,S)-ethylenediaminedisuccinic acid, and salts thereof, and the pH of the ink composition is 6 to 10.

The present invention relates to a method of colouring polymer substrates at low temperatures. The method comprises subjecting the polymer substrate that is to be coloured to a colouring liquor comprising a solvent in which the colourant has a high solubility and then adding a solvent in which the colourant has a low solubility, typically water.

Disclosed is an ink set for textile printing including: a pretreatment liquid that contains a polyvalent metal salt, a water-soluble organic solvent, and a surfactant; a white inkjet ink that contains a white pigment, resin particles, and a water-soluble organic solvent; and a non-white inkjet ink that contains a non-white pigment, resin particles, a water-soluble organic solvent, and a surfactant. Also disclosed is a method for producing a printed textile item.

The present invention relates to a reactive dye bath and a dyeing process for textiles. The reactive dye bath for textiles comprises an organic solvent, an aqueous dye solution, a surfactant and a co-surfactant. The reactive dye bath or the dyeing process of the present invention allows for full up-take of the dye without subjecting the textiles to any special pre-treatment and without the addition of a salt for accelerating dyeing, so as to obtain dyed textiles with a higher dyeing depth, uniformity and fastness.

A process for the preparation of coloured and expanded thermoplastic polyurethane (coloured ETPU) material which comprises the following steps: a) providing thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) material and at least one gaseous fluid wherein the melting temperature of the TPU material is above the supercritical temperature of the at least one gaseous fluid b) placing the TPU material in an autoclave together with a colorant and/or a fluorescent whitening agent (FWA), wherein the colorant is selected from at least one of a disperse dye, an acid dye and a pigment; c) increasing the pressure in the autoclave by introducing the at least one gaseous fluid at a temperature below the melting point of the TPU material and at least above the supercritical temperature of the at least one gaseous fluid at the applied pressure (saturation step); and d) allowing the non-expanded TPU material to saturate; and e) decreasing the pressure in the autoclave down to ambient pressure at a temperature between the melting temperature and the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the TPU material at such a rate that the TPU material expands (expansion step) to obtain coloured ETPU material f) removing the coloured ETPU material from the autoclave

A dyeing and welding process may be configured to convert a substrate into a welded substrate having at least some color imparted thereto via a dye and/or coloring agent by applying a process solvent having a dye and/or coloring agent therein to the substrate, wherein the process solvent interrupts one or more intermolecular force between one or more component in the substrate. The substrate may be configured as a natural fiber, such as cellulose, hemicelluloses, and silk. The process solvent may include a binder, such as dissolved biopolymer (e.g., cellulose). After application of a process solvent comprised of a dye and/or coloring agent, the substrate may be exposed to a second application of a process solvent comprised of a binder, which second application may occur before or after a process temperature/pressure zone, process solvent recovery zone, and/or drying zone.

A welding process may be configured to convert a substrate into a welded substrate by applying a process solvent to the substrate, wherein the process solvent interrupts one or more intermolecular force between one or more component in the substrate. The substrate may be configured as a natural fiber, such as cellulose, hemicelluloses, and silk. The process solvent may be configured as an ionic-liquid based solvent and the welded substrate may be a congealed network after the process solvent has been adequately swollen and/or mobilized the substrate. A welding process may be configured such that individual fibers of a substrate are not fully dissolved such that material in the fiber core may be left in the native state by controlling process variables. The welding process fibers may have a tenacity 10% or 20% greater or a diameter 25% less than that of a cellulosic-based yarn substrate.

A method for recycling dye from a dyed textile, the method comprising providing a textile coloured with a dye; adding the textile to a bath comprising a solution of ionic liquid, thereby causing the dye to strip from the textile and to disperse within said solution.