| abstract |
The present invention provides compositions for treating cellulosic materials, and in particular for sizing paper or waterproofing textiles with a reactive agent. The reactive agent is a cyclic imide substituted by an aliphatic hydrophobic group and N-substituted by an electron-withdrawing group. Preferably, the composition contains a non-aromatic cyclic imide N-substituted by a long chain acyl group, e.g. N-stearoyl-4-cyclohexene-1,2-dicarboximide. Aqueous emulsions of the imides preferably contain a retention aid such as acrylamides and may be used particularly suitably to size aqueous paper pulp even under mildly alkaline conditions. |