Nonionic-Anionic Wetting Agents
Nonionic-anionic wetting agents combine two ionic characters in one product. They are formulated so one item can serve the padder and the jet, in neutral and in alkaline liquor alike. Four products in the family.
Why blend two characters?
Nonionic and anionic structures fail in different places. A nonionic drops below its cloud point in an electrolyte-loaded bath and separates. An anionic precipitates with calcium in hard water and foams more readily.
A blend sets those two weaknesses against each other. The anionic component lifts the alkali and electrolyte tolerance of the nonionic; the nonionic component takes the edge off the hard-water sensitivity and the foam of the anionic. The result works across a wider window than either pure family covers alone.
Which mill does this family suit?
The mill that wants one product to serve several machines and several recipes. Getting an acceptable result from a single wetting agent on both padder and jet, in both neutral and alkaline liquor, cuts the number of items on the recipe sheet, and with it the storage, the dosing lines and the room for operator error.
The trade-off is that at either extreme a specialised product does better. In concentrated caustic a mercerising wetting agent wins; on dense polyester a deaerating surfactant wins. The place for blended wetting agents is the wide middle between those two ends.
How does the blend ratio show in the result?
|
Dominant character |
Behaviour |
What to watch |
|---|---|---|
|
Anionic-heavy |
High alkali tolerance and fast wetting |
Foam and hard-water sensitivity rise |
|
Nonionic-heavy |
Low foam, better detergency |
The working limit narrows under electrolyte load |
|
Balanced |
Wide working window |
Falls behind a specialised product at the extremes |
The first thing to look at when choosing is the electrolyte load in the recipe, the second is how much foam the machine tolerates. Once those two are clear, the choice inside the family narrows: pending from the client.
What is a special type for?
The special types in this family are formulated against a constraint the standard blend does not cover: a particular machine type, a particular fabric group, or a need to simplify the recipe. The selection follows whichever constraint dominates, and the lab trial is set up with the real bath composition.
Product comparison
Comparison
| Product | Description | Ionic character | Working pH range | Temperature | Dosage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DK WET 1037 | Nonionic-anionic wetting agent | awaiting data | awaiting data | awaiting data | awaiting data |
| DK WET N 40 | Nonionic-anionic wetting agent | awaiting data | awaiting data | awaiting data | awaiting data |
| DK WET N 50 | Nonionic-anionic wetting agent | awaiting data | awaiting data | awaiting data | awaiting data |
| DK WET WK 100 | Special nonionic-anionic wetting agent | awaiting data | awaiting data | awaiting data | awaiting data |
Products
- DK WET 1037
Wetting agent blending nonionic and anionic structures, working on the padder and in exhaust, neutral or alkaline.
- DK WET N 40
Nonionic-anionic wetting agent that lets one pre-treatment recipe hold as bath conditions move around.
- DK WET N 50
Wetting agent of mixed ionic character, formulated for mills that want to simplify the pre-treatment recipe.
- DK WET WK 100
Speciality nonionic-anionic wetting agent tuned for the difficult wetting conditions standard blends do not cover.
Common questions
Does a blend wet as fast as a pure anionic?
Usually a little slower, because the nonionic component pulls the average surface activity down. The difference becomes visible on continuous ranges where contact time is short; in exhaust work it is not noticeable.
Can one product cover both pre-wash and bleaching?
That is what blended wetting agents are formulated for. Even so, the product has to be trialled separately under the caustic and stabiliser load of the bleach bath, and the acceptance criterion is a hydrophilicity measurement rather than a visual check.
Why is the ionic character stated for a blend?
Because it governs compatibility with everything else in the bath. An anionic-heavy blend precipitates with a cationic product; a nonionic-heavy one is more tolerant. When building a recipe, that information comes before the dosage.
Other families in this category
Related applications
Guides on these products
Not finding what you need?
We develop custom formulations. Tell us your process, machine type and the result you are after, and the lab will set up a trial and send a sample.