Various finishing techniques are used after fabrics are made using weaving or knitting techniques such as Singeing, Desizing, Scouring, Bleaching, Mercerizing etc.

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Singeing

If a fabric is to have a smooth finish, singeing is essential. Singeing is a dry process used on woven goods that removes fibers protruding from yarns or fabrics. These are burned off by passing the fibers over a flame or heated copper plates. Singeing improves the surface appearance of woven goods and reduces pilling. It is especially useful for fabrics that are to be printed or where a smooth finish is desired. Pollutant outputs associated with singeing include relatively small amounts of exhaust gases from the burners.

Desizing

Desizing is an important preparation step used to remove size materials applied prior to weaving. Manmade fibers are generally sized with water-soluble sizes that are easily removed by a hot-water wash or in the scouring process. Natural fibers such as cotton are most often sized with water-insoluble starches or mixtures of starch and other materials. Enzymes are used to break these starches into water-soluble sugars, which are then removed by washing before the cloth is scoured. Removing starches before scouring is necessary because they can react and cause color changes when exposed to sodium hydroxide in scouring.

Scouring

Scouring is a cleaning process that removes impurities from fibers, yarns, or cloth through washing. Alkaline solutions are typically used for scouring; however, in some cases solvent solutions may also be used. Scouring uses alkali, typically sodium hydroxide, to break down natural oils and surfactants and to emulsify and suspend remaining impurities in the scouring bath. The specific scouring procedures, chemicals, temperature, and time vary with the type of fiber, yarn, and cloth construction. Impurities may include lubricants, dirt and other natural materials, water-soluble sizes, antistatic agents, and residual tints used for yarn identification. Typically, scouring wastes contribute a large portion of biological oxygen demand (BOD) loads from preparation processes. Desizing and scouring operations are often combined.

Bleaching

Bleaching is a chemical process that eliminates unwanted colored matter from fibers, yarns, or cloth. Bleaching decolorizes colored impurities that are not removed by scouring and prepares the cloth for further finishing processes such as dyeing or printing. Several different types of chemicals are used as bleaching agents, and selection depends on the type of fiber present in the yarn, cloth, or finished product and the subsequent finishing that the product will receive. The most common bleaching agents include hydrogen peroxide, sodium hypochlorite, sodium chlorite, and sulfur dioxide gas. Hydrogen peroxide is by far the most commonly used bleaching agent for cotton and cotton blends, accounting for over 90 percent of the bleach used in textile operations, and is typically used with caustic solutions. Bleaching contributes less than 5 percent of the total textile mill BOD load (NC DEHNR, 1986).

The bleaching process involves several steps:

The cloth is saturated with the bleaching agent, activator, stabilizer, and other necessary chemicals;
The temperature is raised to the recommended level for that particular fiber or blend and held for the amount of time needed to complete the bleaching action; and
The cloth is thoroughly washed and dried.

Mercerizing

Mercerization is a continuous chemical process used for cotton and cotton/polyester goods to increase dyeability, luster, and appearance. This process, which is carried out at room temperature, causes the flat, twisted ribbon-like cotton fiber to swell into a round shape and to contract in length. This causes the fiber to become more lustrous than the original fiber, increase in strength by as much as 20 percent, and increase its affinity for dyes. Mercerizing typically follows singeing and may either precede or follow bleaching

« Previous Topic Fabric Preparation	Next Topic » Dyeing- What is Dyeing?

Preparation, also known as pre-treatment, consists of a series of various treatment and rinsing steps critical to obtaining good results in subsequent textile finishing processes.	Dyeing operations are used at various stages of production to add colour and intricacy to textiles and increase product value. It chemically changes a substance so that the reflecting light appears coloured.

Categories

Preparation Techniques

Singeing

Desizing

Scouring

Bleaching

Mercerizing

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