Textile finishing is one of the important links to improve the performance and quality of textiles, and wetting agents play an important role in the finishing process. However, with the development of the textile industry and the increasing environmental requirements, the application of wetting agents in textile finishing is also facing new challenges.

In the process of textile finishing, wetting agents can improve the interaction between additives and textiles, enhance the penetration and diffusion ability of additives. This helps to achieve a more uniform finishing effect, improving the softness, anti-static properties, and wear resistance of textiles. However, traditional wetting agents often contain harmful chemical components to the environment, such as formaldehyde, heavy metals, etc. These ingredients may remain on textiles during the finishing process, posing potential hazards to the environment and human health.

Therefore, developing environmentally friendly textile wetting agents has become an important task at present. Environmentally friendly wetting agents usually use natural or renewable resources as raw materials, such as plant extracts, bio based surfactants, etc. These wetting agents not only have good wetting properties, but also reduce their impact on the environment. At the same time, they are easy to degrade during use and will not cause residue problems on textiles, thus ensuring the health of consumers.

However, the application of environmentally friendly wetting agents in textile finishing also faces some challenges. Firstly, the cost of environmentally friendly wetting agents is usually high, which increases the cost of textile finishing. Secondly, different types of textiles have different requirements for wetting agents, which need to be selected and adjusted according to specific situations. In addition, the performance and stability of environmentally friendly wetting agents also need to be continuously optimized and improved to meet the high requirements of textile finishing.

In order to overcome these challenges, textile companies and research institutions need to increase their research and development efforts and continuously introduce environmentally friendly wetting agents with better performance and lower cost. At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen the collaborative research between wetting agents and textile finishing processes, optimize finishing processes, improve finishing efficiency and product quality.

In summary, textile wetting agents play an important role in textile finishing, but also face challenges in terms of environmental protection and cost. By increasing research and development efforts and optimizing finishing processes, these challenges can be overcome and the sustainable development of the textile industry can be promoted.