Optimisation of cationic dye dyeing process of Porel fabrics using response surface methodology

Abstract

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibre, widely utilised across diverse industries, suffers from inherent drawbacks such as inadequate moisture absorption, limited hydrophilicity, and susceptibility to static electricity. To address these limitations, Porel fibre has emerged as a novel modified polyester fibre that incorporates flexible aliphatic polyester into its macromolecular chain. This innovative design not only overcomes the deficiencies of PET fibre but also enables it to be dyed using cationic dyes or disperse dyes under atmospheric pressure conditions. However, the investigation of the dyeing process of cationic dyes on Porel textiles remains relatively scarce. In this work, response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimise the dyeing process of Porel fabrics with C.I. Basic Blue 162. The effects of dyeing temperature, dyeing time, and dye concentration on exhaustion percentage and colour strength (K/S value) were investigated using the Central Composite Design (CCD) method. The optimal dyeing process condition was as follows: a dyeing temperature of 96°C, a dyeing time of 51 min, a dye concentration of 3.6% owf, a dye solution pH value of 4–5, and a liquor ratio of 1:20. Under the optimal dyeing process conditions, the Porel fabrics achieved an exhaustion percentage of 96.2% and a K/S value of 36.0. The aforementioned efforts endow Porel fibre with high‐quality dyeing capabilities and broaden the application prospects of polyester textiles.