Advancements in Thickening Agents Used in Textile Printing
Nagla Elshemy, Amal Abd El-Rahman, S. H. Nassar, Nagla Elsayyad
Abstract
A thickening agent that is particularly suitable for printing pastes is, water-insoluble, water-swellable, or water-swollen polymer made by reverse phase polymerization of a blend of water-soluble. Where there are three basic types of thickeners: a) polysaccharide thickener, b) synthetic thickener, c) emulsion thickener, all of them can be used as a thickening agent alone or a mixture of them. Synthetic products, in particular, have come under severe criticism for their high environmental pollution at the manufacturing stages and applications. However, auxiliaries derived from natural resources, especially from plants are considered to be biodegradable, non-toxic as well as non-allergenic than their synthetic counterparts. The main goal of this review is to give an overview of academic study in the field of thickening agents based on thickener and the potential application in textile printing.