Лако-красочные материалы — производство

The first synthetic dye, Mauveine, was discovered by Perkin in 1856. Hence the dyestuffs industry can rightly be described as mature. However, it remains a vibrant, challenging industry requiring a continuous stream of new products because of the quickly changing world in which we live. The early dyes industry saw the discovery of the principal dye chromogens (the basic arrangement of atoms responsible for the color of a dye). Indeed, apart from one or two notable exceptions, all the dye types used today were discovered in the 1800s [1]. The introduction of the synthetic fibers nylon, polyester, and polyacrylonitrile during the period 1930-1950, produced the next significant challenge. The discovery of reactive dyes in 1954 and their commercial launch in 1956 heralded a major breakthrough in the dyeing of cotton; intensive research into reactive dyes fol­lowed over the next two decades and, indeed, is still continuing today [1] (see Section 3.1). The oil crisis in the early 1970s, which resulted in a steep increase in the prices of raw materials for dyes, created a drive for more cost-effective dyes, both by improving the efficiency of the manufacturing processes and by replacing tinctorially weak chromogens, such as anthraquinone, with tinctorially stronger chromogens, such as (heterocyclic) azo and benzodifuranone. These themes are still important and ongoing, as are the current themes of product safety, quality, and protection of the environment. There is also considerable activity in dyes for high-tech applications, especially in the electronics and nonimpact printing indus­tries (see Chapter 6).

The scale and growth of the dyes industry has been inextricably linked to that of the textile industry. World textile production has grown steadily to an esti­mated 35 x 106 t in 1990 [2,3]. The two most important textile fibers are cotton, the largest, and polyester. Consequently, dye manufacturers tend to concentrate their efforts on producing dyes for these two fibers. The estimated world produc­tion of dyes in 1990 was 1 x 106 t [2,3]. The figure is significantly smaller than that for textile fibers because a little dye goes a long way. For example, 1 t of dye is sufficient to color 42 000 suits [3].

The rapid growth in the high-tech uses of dyes, particularly in ink-jet printing, is beginning to make an impact. Although the volumes of hi-tech dyes will remain small in comparison to dyes for traditional applications, the value will be signifi­cant because of the higher price of these specialized dyes.

Perkin, an Englishman, working under a German professor, Hoffman, discov­ered the first synthetic dye, and even today the geographical focus of dye produc­tion lies in Germany (BASF, Dystar), England (Avecia), and Switzerland (Clar — iant, Ciba Specialties). Far Eastern countries, such as Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, as well as countries such as India, Brazil, and Mexico, also produce dyes.