Single-Bath Dyeing of Blends of Cotton Fibers with New Generation Polyacrylonitrile Fibers with Reactive Dye in Line with the Target of Sustainable Production

As is well known, today’s industrial dyeing of cotton/polyacrylonitrile blend fabrics is done first with cationic dyes on the acrylic side, followed by reactive dyes on the cotton side in the second bath. This two-bath, two-step process consumes high amounts of water, energy, and chemicals. The only way to dye acrylic/cotton blends with a single dye is to make the fibers dyeable with the same dye. To make these blends dyeable in a single bath, modified polyacrylonitrile fibers that can be dyed with cotton dyes have been introduced. This study investigated the single-bath sustainable dyeability of acrylic/cotton blend fabrics produced using Oncedye Acrylic™, an acrylic fiber developed by Aksa Acrylic that can be dyed with reactive dyes. The findings indicate that the dye type, dyeing depth, and pretreatment are critical for achieving a truly uniform color. It can be concluded that, in particular, when only scouring is used without bleaching, the acrylic and cotton are dyed more closely, reducing the problem of graininess. It is also worth noting that a more