Low formaldehyde stiffening agent

A low cost and high solid content stiffening agent,methylated urea-formaldehyde(MUF) resin,is prepared with paraformaldehyde and urea as raw materials,and it is applied to stiffening finish of polyester fabric.Influences of molar ratios of urea/paraformaldehyde(U/F) and methanol/formaldehyde,and dosages of the modifier of polyvinyl alcohol(PVA) and formaldehyde scavenger(M) on the stability of MUF resin and free formaldehyde content on fabric surface are discussed.The optimum MUF synthesis conditions are U/F molar ratio 1 ∶ 2.1,PVA 3% relative to urea,methanol/formaldehyde molar ratio 4 ∶ 1 and formaldehyde scavenger M 4% relative to MUF.The fabric treated with synthetic MUF resin has good stiffness with bending resistance length of 50 mm.