Treatment of cellulosic materials

540,219. Crease-proofing textiles; synthetic resin compositions. COURTAULDS, Ltd., WILCOCK, C. C., and TATTERSFIELD, C. P. April 4, 1940, No. 6093. [Classes 2 (iii) and 15 (ii)] [Also in Group VIII] Cellulosic materials, e.g. cotton, linen, or regenerated cellulose are water-proofed by applying thereto a wax or fatty acid and a proportion of a condensation product of formaldehyde and cyanamide which does not exceed 6 per cent of the weight of the material. Suitable waxes are paraffin, beeswax, cerasin, Japan wax or spermaceti and suitable fatty acids are stearic and palmitic acids. The condensation product may be produced on the fibres as described in Specification 506,793, the wax or fatty acid being applied either with the formaldehyde and cyanamide or in the form of an emulsion, or to material treated with the condensation product. Alternatively the condensation product may be applied from acid solution as described in Specification 515,847, treatment with the wax or fatty acid being carried out simultaneously with, prior, or subsequently to such application. Aluminium acetate may be added to the treating liquid. Suitable wax emulsions are made by homogenizing molten paraffin wax with a hot aqueous gelatine solution or by emulsifying paraffin wax with triethanolamine stearate in water. A syntheticresin crease-resisting treatment may be used in conjunction with the water-proofing process. In example (1) slivers of staple fibre are immersed in an aqueous solution of cyanamide and formaldehyde adjusted at pH6 and ammonium sulphocyanide and a wax emulsion added. After hydro-extracting the material is heated at a temperature of 135‹C. 6. An aqueous solution of urea and formaldehyde adjusted to pH8 is boiled under reflux, cooled quickly and allowed to stand, after which it is diluted with water and ammonium chloride is added. An alkaline formaldehyde-cyanamide condensation product dissolved in acetic acid is added to a wax emulsion and the mixture diluted with aqueous aluminium acetate solution. "Fibro" (Registered Trade Mark) cloth is treated in a mixture of the two solutions, squeezed or hydroextracted, dried and heated at a temperature of 140‹C.