The application of uv curing and corona discharge technology to textiles is introduced and discussed, The influence of uv photoreactive monomer on the shrinkage and mechanical properties of corona and nonpretreated 100% wool gabardine fabric is detailed. Machine washability can be achieved at low add-on by incorporating a uv curable silicone into the formulation and a post-cure steam treatment.. Concern over environmental pollution is encouraging the development of low or zero effluent processes for wool. One area of particular concern is the production of machine washable or shrink-resistant wool.Current processes are based on applying preformed polymers from aqueous dispersions (although certain examples can be applied from solvents-silicone DC , 109 ) using an exhaust or pad method [ 13 t. At present, approximately 70% of all wool rendered machine washable is processed in the top form using the (;sIRol tws/Chlorine/Hercosett process [ 2 ] .Chlorination prepares the fabric for the application of the Hercosett polymer (encouraging exhaustion and adhesion ), but also has the additional advantage of partially shrink-proofing the wool [ 13 ] . Although chlorination is both cost effective and suited to this role, it does lead to the presence of adsorbable organohalogeñ ( Ac~x ) in the effluent. Because of the quantity of wool processed this way/the effluent does present a problem [2J.. This paper describes work to develop a dry process for producing shrink-resistant wool by applying a solventless uv -curable polymer system on corona pretreated and non-pretreated wool fabrics.
