Assignment

ON
ECO- TEXTILES
CHEMICAL PROCESSING OF TEXTILE MATERIALS
(ATS 604)


SUBMITTED TO:
Dr. SANDEEP BAINS
DEPARTMENT OF APPAREL AND TEXTILE SCIENCE
COLLEGE OF HOMESCIENCE

SUBMITTED BY:
SUSHILA
L-2013-HSC-93-D
DEPARTMENT OF APPAREL AND TEXTILE SCIENCE
COLLEGE OF HOMESCIENCE


DEPARTMENT OF APPAREL AND TEXTILE SCIENCE
COLLEGE OF HOME SCIENCE
PUNJAB AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY, LUDHIANA
CONTENTS

Introduction
Desizing
Bio-scouring
Degumming of silk
Carbonizing of wool
Enzymatic H
2
O
2
bleaching and bleach killing
Bio-washing
Bio-polishing
Conclusion









INTRODUCTION:
Textile chemical processing today, particularly the pre-treatment processes require a highly
sophisticated technology and engineering to achieve the well known concepts of "Right first
time, Right every time and Right on time" processing and production. Chemical pre-
treatment may be broadly defined as a procedure mainly concerned with the removal of
natural as well as added impurities in fabric to a level necessary for good whiteness and
absorbency by utilizing minimum time, energy and chemical as well as water.
Increasing environment consciousness in textile processing has forced research and
development efforts to search the safe methods for textile processing. The textile chemical
processing plays an important role in controlling the pollution load for environment. New
applications and improved applicability of many fibres used for clothing, as industrial
materials and for interior decoration requires the provisions of new properties in areas such as
dyeability, static resistance; stain resistance, water absorption, hydrophilicity, water
repellency, adhesive ability and so on. There are surface treatment methods that additionally
increase the value of textile materials. The methods can be classified as chemical treatment
(wet) methods and physical treatment (dry) methods. Chemical treatment methods are most
often used in actual practice. Because of the large amount of energy involved and the high
consumption of water and consequently increase of pollution. Problems related to toxicity
and other health hazards have resulted in the replacement of chemical processing by more
eco-friendly physical methods and use of eco-friendly processing by use of enzyme.
Owing to the demand of global consumer the researchers are being carried out for
new eco-friendly technologies. Plasma treatment, biotechnology, ultrasonic, super critical
carbon dioxide and laser are quite new technology for the textile industry. There are no
harmful chemicals, wet processes, waste water and mechanical hazards to textiles, etc. It has
specific action on the all types of fibers and textiles.
Processing of textile materials involves:
1. Desizing
2. Bio-scouring
3. Degumming of silk
4. Carbonizing of wool
5. Enzymatic H
2
O
2
bleaching and bleach killing
6. Bio-washing
7. Bio-polishing

1. DESIZING
Desizing is the process in which the size applied to the warp yarn before weaving is removed
to facilitate the penetration of dyes and chemicals in the subsequent wet processing
operations.
CONVENTIONAL DESIZING
A) Acid desizing,
Disadvantage: May degrade cotton.
B) Oxidative desizing
Disadvantages: Residual peroxide, High pH due to caustic and high TDS.
ENZYMATIC DESIZING:
Malt extract was used originally for the desizing of amylaceous sizes from the fabric. Later,
around 1900, Diastafor was found more efficient for starch desizing. Rapidases were
introduced in 1919 and cause the liquefaction of starch in compounds soluble in water. At
present a variety of these products are available commercially. They are mainly based on
amylopectic enzymes. These enzymes do not damage the cellulose. These enzymes are
effective at various temperatures range, covering all means of applications. Malt amylases
fall into two categories and are named (alpha) and (beta) species. For synthetic fibers and
their blends the most common sizing agents used for nylon are based upon PVA, gelatin,
casein or variety of vegetable and mineral oils. Desizing of regenerated celluloses depends on
nature of size that must be removed. Desizing is difficult as rayon swells in water to a great
extent. This leads to poor penetration of enzyme. When water soluble PVA is used as sizing
agent in weaving, no desizing of synthetic fibre fabrics is necessary.
How it works:-

The - amylases are capable of hydrolysing starch molecules at random, present in
the sizing preparation, transform starch to dextrins, breaking them down to soluble
sugars thus helping in eventual desizing.
-amylase attacks straight chains, cleaves the units and produces maltose, so that
molecular chain of starch is shortened gradually.
When -amylase is applied to a starch solution; it is found that viscosity of the
solution decreases rapidly, but for -amylase the viscosity drops slowly. Thus it is
clear that the proportion of and -amylases in a desizing mixture determines the
period (time) of effective desizing. The molecular structure of cotton is unaffected by
amylases.
The other size ingredients namely glue, gelatin etc. being protein in nature can be
hydrolysed using proteolytic enzymes such as Gelatase, Trypsin etc.
Starch and lubricants (glycerides) are known to form insoluble complexes and the
lipase is expected to help break these complexes thus making the removal of starch
much easier.

DESIZING METHOD:
The desizing enzymes are available at various forms which can act right from room
temperature (longer period) in batch form to high temperature for continuous desizing.
In actual practice the grey cloth is first passed through hot water and then padded with
the desizing mixture containing 0.5-2% malt extract and non-ionic wetting agent. Wetting
agent helps the enzyme to penetrate the size film.

2. SCOURING
The loom state cotton fabric contains about 8-12% natural impurities of total weight of
the fibre. These impurities mainly consist of waxes, proteins, pectic substances and mineral
matters. In addition to this; the mechanically held impurities called 'motes' are present
containing seed-coat fragments, aborted seeds and leaves etc. that cling to the fibre. Apart
from these, the loom-state fabric is also contaminated with adventitious oils such as machine
oils, tars, greases etc. Scouring is a purifying treatment of textiles. The objective of scouring
is to reduce the amount of impurities sufficiently to obtain level and reproducible results in
dyeing and finishing operations.

CONVENTIONAL METHOD:
Alkali scouring: Where 3-4% caustic soda is used at high temperature (90-950C) for
long duration (2-3hours)
ENZYMES USED FOR BIOSCOURING:
Pectinase Pectins removal
Protcase Removal of proteins
Lipase Removal of oils & Fats or waxes
Combination of 2 or 3 enzy mes may be used to get synergistic effect. The degree of
whiteness of a cotton sample treated with cellulases only is lower by 8-10% than the degree
of whiteness of alkaline boiled-off treatment. Pectinolytic enzymes can be used for enzymatic
degradation of pectin adhering to cotton. Cotton fibres or their blends with other fibres can be
treated with aqueous solutions containing protopectinases for 18 hours at 40
0
C to give
scoured yams with good tensile strength retention. Pectinases and cellulases are very
effective compared to the proteases and lipases

Disadvantages of alkali scouring Advantages of bioscouring
1) Damage to fibre.
2) Requirement of large quantity of water.
3) Heavy effluent load (Salts of
neutralization)
1) Milder process: No damage to cotton.
2) By products readily degradable.
3) Less load of effluent of salts.
4) Less energy and time.
5) Softer handle of fabric.
6) Less weight loss with good absorbency.

RECIPE AND PROCEDURE FOR ENZYMATIC SCOURING:
Enzymatic scouring can be carried out with exhaust as well as continuous method.
Exhaust method:
Enzymes 1%
Wetting agent 0.5%
Temperature 50-600C
Time 1 Hour
Continuous Method:
Pad with 10-15 gpl enzyme solution + wetting agent followed by steaming at 1000C for 2-3
minutes.

3. DEGUMMING OF SILK
Silk consist of two fibroin filaments held together by connecting layer of sericin. Fibroin
consist 75% weight of silk fiber and Sericin consist 25% weight in raw silk and both are
proteins. Degumming involves removal of sericin layer prior to dyeing/printing or finishing
getting bright/lustrous fabric.

HOW ENZYMATIC DEGUMMING WORKS:
Enzyme which can hydrolyse the sericin is classified as proteolytic enzymes. The
proteolytic enzymes cleave the peptide/amide linkages and convert them into amino acid.
Mainly there are three types of proteolytic enzymes such as zinc protease (e.g. carboxy
peptidase A), serine protease (Chymotrypsin, Trypsin, Thrombin) and thiol protease (acts as
cystine residue in the protein). The function of proteolytic enzymes in their degree of
degumming depends on the pH of the bath and the optimum activity is found to be different
at different pH for different enzymes.

DEGUMMING METHOD:
Usually enzymatic degumming of silk is a two stage process:
In pre-degumming stage, the cloth is treated with a solution containing soda-ash (1
g/l) at 95
o
C for 20 min at a liquor ratio of 30.
In the second stage, further degumming is carried out by treatment in a solution
containing protein enzyme (0.06-0.1 g/l), non-ionic detergent (1 g/l) for 30 min at 55

o
C to 60
o
C.
It is usually impossible to achieve full degumming of silk by enzymes. A
short-time treatment in a third bath containing soda-ash or soap may be given for the
removal of the remaining sericin.

4. CARBONIZING OF WOOL
Vegetable matters of wool are normally removed by a process known as carbonising.
Carbonisation of wool with inorganic acid may cause some degradation of the fibre.
The replacement of carbonisation by the use of enzymes, such as cellulases,
ligninases, hydrolases, lyases and oxidoreductases are reported. A biochemical alternative
using complex combination of enzymes to the chemical process of carbonising with sulphuric
acid is also reported. The amount of sulphuric acid required for carbonization, can be reduced
by the action of cellulolytic and pectinolytic enzymes. Natural soilings on wool such as
vegetable matter and skin flakes can also be enzymatically modified. Burr removal becomes
easier after lubricating wool with cellulases due to weakening of the cohesion between burr
and wool. Lignin of the burrs in wool can be degraded by the use of lignin peroxidases.

5. ENZYMATIC H
2
O
2
BLEACHING ANG BLEACH KILLING:

Bleaching of cellulosic material with enzymes is not possible. Though pre-treatment
with enzyme causes higher hemicelluloses loss producing open structure and thus larger
surface area is accessible to hydrogen peroxide resulting in higher whiteness Enzyme can be
used for quicker decomposition of residual H
2
O
2
on fabric. After H
2
O
2
bleaching, if residual
peroxide is not removed and dyeing is done in same bath, it will result in reduction in colour
yield (drop in depth of shade).Hence the fabric needs to be washed several times before
dyeing, resulting in high water consumption. Hence enzymes are used to decompose residual
H
2
O
2
. Catalase enzyme is used for this purpose.

THE PROCEDURE FOR H
2
O
2
BATH CLEANING UP:
Drain the bleaching liquor.
Fill with fresh water.
Adjust pH for dyeing.
Add 1gpl catalase enzyme.
Check H
2
O
2
% in bath after 10 min.
Start dyeing in same liquor.
The rinsing is not required, when enzyme is used as all H
2
O
2
has broken down and residual
enzyme has no effect on dyestuff.


6. BIO-WASHING
Stone and denim washed garments, generally cotton, show a characteristics well worn look
and are very popular with young people. In the stone washing process, the finished garments,
whose fabric had been dyed with sulphur, or reactive dyes or indigo, are subject to the
eroding action of pumice stone in a washing machine in the presence of an oxidiser, usually
potassium permanganate. The treatment results in uneven decolourisation, without excessive
loss of fabric strength. The blue denim is faded by the abrasion action of pumice stones.
Complete or partial replacement of pumice stones by cellulase enzymes for the effect of
stone-washing on denim is well established and hundreds of looks can be generated from any
piece of standard denim fabric. The enzymes or combination of enzymes eliminate partially
projecting dyed fibres, exposing the undyed material underneath. This forms the uneven,
colour-flecked surface of wash-out article, but with no material surface damage and with an
elegant fabric appearance. The surface frictions play an important role in the enzymatic
decolourisation of cellulosic fabrics. The mechanical action opens the outermost layers of the
cellulosic crystal, thus increasing the part of the cellulose accessible to enzymes, and
allowing the enzymatic removal of the dye.
7. BIO-POLISHING
Surface modification of cellulosic fabrics to improve their cleaner surface conferring cooler
feel, brighter luminosity of colours, softer feel and more resistance to pilling using cellulases
is often known as bio-polishing . This treatment can be applied to knit and woven cellulosic
fabrics such as cotton, viscose and linen and their blends. The elimination of superficial
microfibrils of the cotton fibre through the action of cellulase enzymes is obtained by the
controlled hydrolysis of cellulose leaving the surface of the fibres free and conferring a more
even look. Although bio-polishing may be carried out at any time during wet processing, it is
most conveniently performed after bleaching. Fabrics may be treated in either piece or
garment form and the treatment can be combined with another process or kept as a single
operation. Batch processing, using washers, jets, becks and winches is extremely suitable as
pH and temperature can be controlled easily. Controlled finishing with cellulase enzymes
optimizes the surface properties of the fabric, but decrease in tensile strength. Commercial
processes aim for 3- 6% weight loss after hydrolysis and a maximum of 10% loss in strength
is considered acceptable

CONCLUSION:
Due to the increasing requirements on the dyeing and finishing of textile fibres and fabrics,
the society demand for textiles that have been processed by eco-friendly sound methods. In
order to achieve this end, techniques other than conventional wet finishing must also be
considered. The concepts of enzyme finishing and treatment, amongst others, must be firmly
embraced by industry so that damage to environment can be avoided.


REFERENCE:
Karmakar S.R. (1999), Chemical Technology in the Pre-treatment Processes of Textiles,
Elsevier science B.V.
Carr C.M. (1995), Chemistry of the Textile Industry, Blackie academic & professionals. Pp
157-280
Eklahare S.R., Eco-friendly Chemical Processing of Textiles & Environmental Management,
http://www.sulphurdyes.com/Eco%20Friendly%20Chemical%20processing%20of%2
0Textile%20&%20Environmental%20Management.pdf
Periyasamy A. P., Eco Friendly in Textile Wet Processing, http://www.slideshare
.net/abiramprince/eco-friendly-in-textile-wet-processing
Polaina and MacCabe (2007), Industrial Enzymes: Structure, Function and Applications,
Springer, the Netherlands. Pp 51-63.
Shah S.R. (2013) Chemistry and Applications of Cellulase in Textile Wet Processing, Res. J.
Engineering Sci. Vol. 2(7), pp 1-5