ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the chemistry, physics, and engineering of finishes and their components. The testing of those products to predict how the materials will process on synthetic fiber manufacturing equipment, and how these fibers are processed into a final product, also examined. The synthetic fiber industry began in the middle of the 19th century with the introduction of nitrocellulose fibers, but full commercial production of this type of fiber did not commence until after 1890. A spin finish is a complex mixture of a wide range of chemical components and a mixture that is required to assume many roles in fiber processing. The finish chemists must keep these in mind when compounding their formulations. These are safety, yarn lubrication, antistatic properties, microorganism growth and wetting. Every spin finish consists of one or more components with the choice of materials dependent upon the end use of the yarn being prepared. The components are lubricants, emulsifiers, antistatic agents and antimicrobial compounds.
