Textiles Processing

By Manish Solanki
 SCOURING

• This cleaning treatment, also referred

to as alkali boil-off, removes most
of the cottons impurities. This
includes sizing residues, wax, oil,
protein, and other foreign
substances like sand, dust and
leafy matters. The scouring
efficiency is mainly depends on
maturity, fineness and origin of
cotton fibers.
 KIER BOILING
• Kier boiling is most commonly used for
scouring operation. A kier is a cylindrical
vessel capable of holding 1 to 5 tons of
fabric. It is provided with pressure gauge
and safety valve. For kier boiling, a
mixture of 5-10 g/l caustic soda solution,
1% sodium silicate, 1% soap along with
wetting agent. Boiling takes place at
101oC temperature for 6-8hrs under
pressure.
• After completion of boiling the liquor is
completely drained out and immediately
follows washing with cold water. It is the
best way of scouring cotton fabrics as
the maximum impurities are removed.
Kier Machine
 J-Box
• In continuous machines, scouring can be
carried out through a series of J-Boxes
for progressive desizing and scouring.
The desized and washed fabric is padded
with strong alkali solution (5-10 gm/lit
NaOH or mixture of NaOH & sodium
carbonate), emulsifying agent and
wetting agent. After padding the
saturated cloth, it enters in to J-Box
where it remains for 40-60 mins in
plaited form at a temperature of about
100°C. The cloth before entering J-Box is
rapidly preheated by means of steam in
U- shaped heating tube. The internal
surface of the entire J-Box is very smooth
to avoid any friction an the moving cloth.
 BLEACHING
 Bleaching is the process of removing
natural coloring matters that cannot be
removed from fibers by extensive
scouring. Bleaching is also required for
fabrics that are to be dyed in pastel
shades, in particular light blues and
violets, and for materials to be dyed in
colors with maximum brightness. The main
objective of bleaching process is, to
achieve the desirable level of whiteness
with minimum damage to the fibers, and
within the shortest possible time.
Sodium hypochlorite Bleaching

• In typical batch treatments of cotton

fabrics with sodium hypochlorite in kiers,
the bleaching bath is prepared as
follows:
• Sodium hypochlorite 1-3 gm/lit of
available chlorine
• pH of the bath 11 – 11.5
• Temperature Room
temperature
• Time 2 hrs
 Since the bleaching is done in
alkaline medium (pH 10-11) the
alkali, which is present in the
material has to neutralized with
dilute mineral acid. It is referred as
“souring” This treatment with dilute
hydrochloric acid or sulphuric acid is
known as souring.
• The fabric is impregnated with dilute
hydrochloric acid or sulphuric acid
at room temperature for 30-60
minutes; the fabrics are then
thoroughly washed with water and
then dried.
 Advantages;

• Bleaching with sodium hypochlorite

can be carried at room
temperatures.
• Powerful and economical method of
processing
• Free from the defects of bleaching
powder
 Disadvantages

• All protein impurities must be

completely removed before
bleaching otherwise the fabric
may turns yellowish.
• Residual chlorine must be removed
otherwise fabric may be
damaged.
 Anti-chlorine treatment

To remove the residual
chlorine, the fabric is to be
washed with sodium – thio –
sulphate, sodium bi-sulphite
(chlorine destroyer) the
chlorine will wash away. This
treatment is called
“antichlor”
 Advantages of bleaching with hydrogen
peroxide

• Hydrogen per oxide is a universal and is

used extensively for the bleaching of
cotton materials. It can be employed
for bleaching fibers like wool, silk,
polyester and other man- made fibers
also, under a wide range of application
conditions.
• The loss in weight of fabric in bleaching is
less than that with hypochlorite
bleaching.
• Per oxide bleached are more absorbent
than hypochlorite bleached fabrics.
• No possibilities of yellowing of fabric.
• In addition, hydrogen per oxide relatively
inexpensive, does not release toxic
chemicals or unpleasant odour, and
does not cause corrosion of equipment.
 CONTINUOUS BLEACHING
PROCESS

• In this process desizing, scouring and

bleaching are combined together.
These are very attractive options
since savings in time, energy,
labor, etc., are possible. However,
combined operations are not
always sufficient for preparation of
certain cotton fabrics for dyeing
and finishing.
 Procedure
• In this method, the fabric is padded
with the enzyme bath and then
passed into a wet steam chamber
at 96oC- 100oC where the desizing
takes place in less than a minute.
• The fabric after desizing is
impregnated a solution of 4-6%
NaOH, 1-3 g/l wetting agent, and 1-
3 g/l emulsifier at the period of 2-3
minutes.
•


• The fabric after impregnation is taken

out and piled into J-box at 98oC and
allowed to remain there for two
hours during which period the alkali
reacts with the impurities.
• The fabric is then rinsed and
impregnated with 1% hydrogen
peroxide at pH 10.5-using1%
sodium silicate as a stabilizer and
wetting agent.
• The cloth after impregnation is again
heated to 90-95oC and stored for
an hour in J- box.
• It is then rinsed thoroughly.
 MERCERIZATION

• The treatment of cotton fabrics or

yarns with a cold concentrated
solution of sodium hydroxide
solution for one minute or less is
called mercerization: cotton fibers
swell, untwist and their bean
shaped cross section changes into
round form.
 Mercerization improves the
following properties.

• Mercerization improves the

following properties.
• Strength would be increased 15-25%;
• Luster further enhanced;
• Greater affinity to water dyes and
other chemical finishes.
• Fabric is padded with about 20-25%
NaOH solution containing a wetting
agent and then passed over several
cans to allow a doweling time of
approximately one minute. During
this time NaOH will penetrate the
fibres and react with them. At this
stage the tension is applied
lengthwise.
• The fabric is then placed on a stenter
frame (tension now is applied in
both warp and weft directions) and
is pulled to its desired dimensions.
While on the tenter frame, the
fabric is washed by spraying water
until the amount of sodium
hydroxide on the fabric is reduced
to only a few present.
 OPTICAL BRIGHTENING
The fluorescent brightening agents


called ‘optical brightening agents,

increase the apparent whiteness or
brightness of materials, and are used
in textiles, detergent, paper, paints,
etc.
 Application of Optical
Brighteners

• The application of optical brighteners are

depends on the types of fibres on which
is applied and accordingly can be
classified as direct, disperse and cationic
types. The direct brightening agents are
mainly used for the brightening of
cotton, linen, viscose and nylon
materials. The acid florescent
brightening agents serve mainly for the
brightening of silk and wool fabrics. The
disperse florescent brightening agents
are used primarily for polyester, acetate
and acrylic materials.
 CLEANING OF WOOL

• Raw wool contains the following

impurities; Wool grease, soil, dust,
cellulose fragments and suint (dried
perspiration, mostly soluble potassium
salts.)
 Keratain 33%
 Dirt 26%
 Suint 28%
 Fat 12%
 Mineral matter 1%
 Wool scouring

 Scoured with detergent solution at

pH of up to 11 at below 60 o C
temperature with anionic/non ionic
detergent and small amount of weak
base (0.4% Na2Co3) sodium
carbonate / ammonia.
 Carbonizing

• Cellulose material such as leaves,

grass, seeds, and vegetable fibers
are removed. The fabric (some
time’s loose fibers) is treated with a
dil. Solution. Of H2So4, then dried,
and cured. Cellulose materials
decompose to form a very fine
black powder, which can be easily
dusted out.
 Wool bleaching

• Two methods of bleaching are

commonly used, viz. (i) the
oxidation method using hydrogen
peroxide and (ii) the reduction
method employing sulphur dioxide,
sodium bisulphate or sodium
hydrosulphite. Sometimes the wool
is bleached with peroxide followed
by bleaching with sulphur dioxide.
• A method of peroxide bleaching
under acidic conditions has
been devised; the bath is
made up of 2 g/l of H2O2
containing 0.25% formic acid
and adjusted to pH 3 to 3.5 at
room temperature. The
scoured material is
impregnated with the peroxide
solution on a padding mangle,
and allowed to stand
 Degumming of Silk
 Silk fiber in its natural state,
contains a heavy coating of a glue-
like substance or gum called sericin
which gives it a harsh and stiff feel
and hides the rich luster and
whiteness of the real fiber. This silk-
gum amounts to about 25 per cent of
the weight of raw silk. Wild silks such
as Tasar silk, Eri silk and Muga silk
also contain gum. Unless the gum is
removed, silk does not exhibit its
characteristic luster, smoothness as
well as softness and tends to dye
unevenly.
• Degumming with Synthetic
Detergents
 Synthetic detergents are now being
increasingly used in place of soap.
Their main advantage is that they
permit continues processing of piece
goods and the time of treatment is
shorter viz. 40 minutes.
• In this method, the material is
treated with 2.5 to 5 g/l detergent
(Sandopan SRS liq. of Sandoz) at
pH 11.2 to 11.5 for 30 to 60
minutes at boil and then rinsed
thoroughly first with hot water and
then with cold water.
• The disadvantage of this method is
that soft feel is not always
obtained.
• Degumming with Enzymes
• This treatment is longer than that
with synthetic detergents and
involves a special pre-treatment
before enzyme treatment requiring
swelling of the gum.
• The material is first treated with
• 0.5 g/l soda ash ; 0.5 g/l Glauber’s
salt ; 3 g/l penetrating agent like
Imerol XN liq. (Sandoz); at boil for
about 1 hour.
• It is then treated with 1-5 g/l protein
enzyme; 1 g/l soda ash and ; 2 g/l
Glauber’s salt; at 45°C for about 1
hour.
• It is further treated in a third bath
containing 0.5 g/l soda ash; 2 g/l
sodium silicate; 2 g/l Imerol XN liq.
(Sandoz) 0.5 g/l Glauber’s salt at
boil for 1 hour.
• It is a three-step process. Improper
degumming can give rise to
mechanical damage causing chafe
marks at the surface; as a result,
the ends dye a lighter shade.

 Bio-Polishing
In recent years, there has been
tremendous use of enzymes in
wet processing of textiles
Cotton, other natural and man-
made cellulosic fibres can be
improved by an enzymatic
treatment called Bio-Polishing.
cellulases based enzymes are
used for bio-polishing on cotton
& lyocell(Tencel) fabrics.
 Objectives
• Smother & softer surface
• Prevention of pilling
• Superior color brightness
Applications

• Cellulase based enzymes:

2-3 g/l
pH 5.5 - 6.0 (acetic acid used

to maintain ph)
Temperature 40 - 55 °C,

Time 30-45 min.

• Cellulases hydrolyse the
microfibrils (hairs or fuzz)
protruding from the surface of
yarn as they are most susceptible
to enzymatic attack. This
weakens the microfibrils, which
tend to break off from the main
body of the fibre and leave a
smoother yarn surface. A ball of
fuzz is called a 'pill' in the textile
trade. These pills can present a
serious quality problem since
they result in an unattractive,
• After Bio-Polishing, the fabric shows a
much lower pilling tendency. Other
benefits of removing fuzz are a
softer, smoother feel and superior
colour brightness. Similarly
enzymes can also be used for
wool(protease) & silk (Sebrite)
fabric