Wet processing

Fabric pre-treatment

Wet processing
We can consider the wet processing
the sector in a textile mill to have
three distinct sections included
within it.
These are the
Preparatory ( singeing, desizing,
scouring, mercerization)
Colouartion ( Dyeing, printing)
Finishing (Water repellency, Flame
repellence, Anti-soiling finish)

Textile Wet Processing

Grey Fabric

Bleaching

Singeing

Wash

Wash
Mercerization
(Cotton)

Wash

Heat Setting
(PET and Nylon)

Wash
Scouring

Dyeing
or
Printing

Wash

Desizing
(Woven)

Finishing
(chemical,
mechanical)

Textile Pre-treatment
Pretreatment refers to any
treatment, which is done before
the actual colouration (dyeing
and printing) process.
It is the series of cleaning
operations.
All impurities which causes
adverse effect during dyeing and
printing are removed during the
pretreatment process

Cotton finishing route

Silk finishing root

Synthetic fibre finishing root

Wool finishing root

Objectives of pre-treatment

Good desizing effect

Removal of seed husks
Removal of foreign substances from the fibers
Lowest possible fiber damage
High degree of Whiteness
Good Physical/Technological ratings
High color yield
Levelness of the effects
High and even Hydrophilicity / Rewettability

Constituents of cotton
As discussed earlier pretreatment is the series of cleaning
operations. In pretreatment all the impurities present in
cotton are removed. Cotton fiber by nature contains:
Cellulose 86.8%
Natural Impurities:
Oil and Waxes
0.7%
Pectins
1.0%
Carbohydrates 0.5%
Proteins
1.2%
Salt
1.0%
Water
8.5%
Colour Pigments:
Others 2.0%
Except cellulose and water all the impurities are removed in
pretreatment

Impurities removed during pretreatment

Short Fibres
Singeing
Applied Impurities (Size Material)
Desizing
Artificial Impurities (Oil ,Dust, Dirt)
Scouring
Natural Impurities (Oil, Wax, Pectins,
Proteins)
Scouring
Colour Pigments (Naturally present in
cotton)
Bleaching

1 Singeing

 Introduction
Singeing, desizing, mercerizing, scouring
and bleaching are the basis for all
subsequent processes. Mistakes made in
this stage show up in later stages where
correction is difficult.

 Singeing is the process in which

protruding fibres present on the
surface of a material (yarn/fabric) are
burnt away to give the material a
smoother surface
It is usually the first stage in the
pretreatment process done on grey
fabrics.
The material is singed on one or both
sides by passing either over heated
plates or heated cylinder or over a
gas flame

 Process
Singeing is usually done by passing the fabric
through a burning gas flame at high speed followed
by quenching in water or the desizing bath to
extinguish the smoldering fibers.

Singeing
Typically passed directly from singer into
desize bath
Fire

Fire

Singer

J-Scray

Roll

Objectives of Singeing
To get rid of protruding fibres
To create smooth surface for printing
To increase wettability of fabrics/
yarns
To improve rubbing fastness and
washing fastness of the dyed or
printed fabrics

Desizing
Desizing is the process in which size
material is removed.
Size is deliberately added on the yarns
before the weaving processes so as to
increase the strength of yarn, as yarn has to
under go great stress and strain on the loom
This process of desizing is necessary
otherwise the fabric will give varying and
uneven results in dying, printing
Desizing can be done either be carried out
either by hydrolysis or oxidation

Warp Size Characteristics

Strengthen warp
yarns
Size should not
penetrate beyond
surface
Lubricate warp
yarns
Adhere to yarn
Be extensible

Be flexible
Resistant to
abrasion
Easily removed
Inexpensive
Not support
bacteria

 Desizing involves converting starch

to a to a product with a higher
degree of water solubility
Desizing process includes:
Impregnation the fabric with desizing
agent.
Allow the time for the agent to the
absorbed into the size and degrade or
solubilize it.
Wash out the degrade size material

Types of desizing
Desizing can be done in a number of
ways.

Hydrolytic desizing

Acid de-sizing

A weak solution of an acid (0.5-1%)

(hydrochloric or sulphuric) is
sufficient to solubilize the starch at
room temperature in a few hours.
If the concentration of the acid,
temperature and duration of the acid
de-sizing treatment are increased,
the de-sizing will takes place very
rapidly, but the acid may attacks the
cotton resulting in the weakening of
the fabric.
23

Enzymatic desizing
Uses enzymes to degrade starch
It is one of the most commonly used methods in
the industry as it is absolutely safe process. The
desize bath contains bacterial enzymes, common
salt, wetting agent and acetic acid
The fabric is passed through the desize bath
maintained at a specific temperature and pH
range,
After passing fabric in the desizing solution it is
batched for 8-12hours.
During this time starch is converted from
insoluble starch to soluble sugars and then simple
washing is done

 While carrying out this process

temperature limit is to be
maintained, as enzymes are active
within a narrow limit of temperature.
They work best between 60oC and
70oC
Enzymes need a slightly alkaline
solution to work out their best; hence
a pH range of 5.5-6.5 is needed. The
pH is adjusted using acetic acid

 The enzymes hydrolyses the starch

only (not the cellulose)
On the other hand acid de-sizing
attacks cotton cellulose under suitable
conditions of time, temperature and
acid concentration.
Enzyme de-sizing is therefore safer
than acid de-sizing. (enzymes are
however more expensive than acids).

Oxidative desizing

Oxidative Desizing

In this process the desizing is carried out

by the oxidation of the oxidizing agents
like: 1) Sodium Hypo chlorite
2) Hydrogen Peroxide
3) Sodium Bromite
The oxidizing agents under optimum
chemical and temperature conditions
liberate oxygen, which help in the
oxidation of the starch into water-soluble
form.

Scouring
Cotton is based on 90% of cellulose and the
remaining portion consists of impurities
such as fats, waxes & organic compounds.
The main impurities which must be removed
are fats and waxes which are insoluble in
water thus decreasing the water absorbency
of fabric raw cotton contains
This process of removing off the
hydrophobic impurities from a desized
fabric is known as scouring
This is done using an alkali like sodium
hydroxide

 A series of reaction takes place in the

fabric. These are: 1) NaOH converts all the saponifiable oils
into soluble soap and soluble glycerine.
2) Proteins are all degraded into soluble
amino acid
3) All types of mineral matter is dissolved
4) All dust ,dirt particles are removed by the
detergents
5) Waxes are emulsified by the soluble soaps

Objectives of scouring
To remove natural fat, wax, and oil
materials contained in the fabrics
without damaging the fibres
To accelerate dye and chemical
absorption of the fabrics
To improve the handle of the goods
(softer)

31

 The main actions, which take place during

scouring, are
(i) Saponification
(ii) Emulsification
(iii) Solvent Extraction (Detergency)
Saponification: - is the process in which fats are
treated with an alkali leading to the formation
of hydrophilic soaps (sodium salts of fatty
acids).
Emulsification: removal of mineral oils/waxes by
use of an emulsifying agent, which keeps the
emulsion formed for a longer time. When the
mineral oil or waxes are emulsified they can be
easily removed by washing.

 Detergency:
The dust and dirt particles are
removed by using a good detergent.
The detergent keeps the dirt and dust
particles in a stable suspension in
water and does not allow them to
settle again. Soap is a good detergent

 The scouring can be done in in a

number of ways: 1) Kier and J-Box when scouring is to
be done in rope form
2) Open width pad roll system when
open width treatment is required
Kier scouring is the most commonly
used method of scouring

 Kier is the most often used machine for the

scouring process in the industry. Kiers are
horizontal and vertical cylindrical vessels in
which the fabric is piled up in rope form
and then hot alkaline scouring liquor is
circulated through the fabric.
They are generally made up of iron and are
available in various capacities; generally 2ton kier is used.
The process of getting the fabric piled up,
the liquor circulating inside the kier is
known as kiering

Bleaching

Natural fibers, i.e. cotton, wool, linen etc.

are off-white in color due to color bodies
present in the fiber.
The coloring matter gives a yellowish
brown color to the fibers, which is
unwanted as far as aesthetic appearance
and smooth subsequent finishing process is
considered.
Bleaching should also decolorize or remove
any residual impurities left by scouring
Cotton fibers usually require bleaching
unless the material will be dyed very dark
or dull shades.

 Purpose
The goal of bleaching is to decolorize
the impurities which mask the natural
whiteness of fibers.

A good bleaching agent should have

following properties: It should ensure a pure and permanent
whiteness to the fabric.
It should give level dyeing properties.
It should not cause any tendering of the
fabric, which causes the loss in tensile
strength of the fabric

Types Of Bleaching
Different chemicals are available to carry
out the process of bleaching. These include:
1. By using dilute Sodium Hypo chlorite
solution at room temperature
2. By using Hydrogen Peroxide solution at 8085oC.
3. By using Sodium Chlorite solution at boil.
4. By using peroxy compounds e.g. peracetic
acid

 Full Bleach - Full white / Snow white

Half Bleach - to dye light / pale /
medium shade.
No Bleach - to dye dark shades.

H2O2 Bleaching
Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) bleaching
is the most common bleaching
method, and is environmentally
friendly (degradable into water and
oxygen).
The best bleaching whiteness can be
obtained at a pH 11 adjusted using
caustic soda.

 Since hydrogen peroxide contains an atom of loosely

combined oxygen, it has powerful oxidising properties.
Due to this it has a bleaching action on textile
substrates.
In a neutral aqueous solution, hydrogen peroxide is
ionised in to perhydroxyl and hydrogen ions
H2O2
HOO- + H+
HOO- is the active bleaching agent. But the bleaching
effect is dependent greatly on the pH of the solution.
In acidic or neutral pH, perhydroxyl and hydrogen ions
are found in solution. These hydrogen ions have a
tendering effect on cellulose due to its acidic nature.
In acidic or neutral pH tendering effect of H+ ions is
more than the bleaching effect of the HOO- ions, which
causes yellowing of the cotton substrate

 In alkaline condition following equilibrium

exists:
H2O2 + OHHOO- + H2O
This gives a more bleaching effect and
less tendering of cotton
In an alkaline medium although the
damage to cotton fibre is less, the
stability of peroxide itself is also very less.
In absence of stabiliser, in alkaline
medium at temperatures as high as 1001100C, the entire peroxide will decompose
HOO- (unstable) OH + O*

 The presence of water hardness and

the iron or metal contamination in
commercial processes further
enhances the action of peroxide
decomposition
To prevent this use of a stabilising
agent in bleaching baths to get good
bleaching performance is advised.
Sodium Silicate is the widely used
stabiliser in peroxide bleaching

Sodium Chlorite (NaClO2) bleaching

Sodium Chlorite (NaClO2) bleaching is performed
after pH adjustment to 3.5 with an acid such as a
formic acid.
It provides a soft hand with less embrittlement of
cotton. Compared with the H2O2 bleaching, some
insist that even bluish whiteness can be achieved
with the NaClO2 bleaching.
NaClO2 bleaching is free from worries about pin-hole
generation, which often occurs in the H2O2 bleaching.
However, a harmful chlorine dioxide gas is generated
during the bleaching process, and therefore, suitable
measures including the equipment need to be taken
for metallic corrosion problems and dechlorination
purposes

 After bleaching, a dechlorination process

needs to be provided.
A trace of chlorine which exists in fabrics
reacts with nitrogen compound to form
chloroamine, or cause yellowing of the
fabrics when exposed to light and heat.
Note: a special reducing agent, sodium
thiosulfate (hypo), or hydrogen peroxide
(so-called, `cosmetic bleaching`) is used
for the dechlorination purposes.

Sodium Hypochlorite (NaClO) bleaching

Sodium Hypochlorite(NaClO) bleaching is

characterized in that the bleaching is
performed at room temperature without
requiring a heating apparatus such as a
steamer, and that the chemical cost is low.
However, the disadvantages of the NaClO
bleaching include relatively low bleaching
whiteness and embrittlement of fabrics.
No particular pH adjustment is required in
the NaClO bleaching.

 The NaClO bleaching is usually employed

for bleaching fabrics after Kier-scouring, or
for bleaching towels.
For towels, the two-step bleaching
comprising the NaClO bleaching and the
H2O2 bleaching is preformed to obtain full
whiteness.
The NaClO bleaching is also employed for
jeans fade adjustment, etc.
Note: that a dechlorination process needs
to be provided as in the NaClO2 bleaching.

Mercerization
Mercerization is an optional process in the
sequence of the wet processing
It involves the treatment of the fabric with
the highly concentrated alkaline solution.
Generally the material is treated with 25% of
NaOH for relatively short time under tension
This is because the longer duration may
even cause the degradation of the fabric.
After the treatment the fabric is thoroughly
washed to remove the traces of the alkali

Cotton is generally mercerized in the

under given forms: Yarn form
Fabric form

Effect of mercerization

Swelling
Increased lustre
Increased tensile strength
Change in cellulose structure