Hydrogen Peroxide/UV Irradiation as a Bleaching Process for Soybean Fabric

Abstract

The bleaching of greige soybean knitted fabric using ultraviolet (UV) irradiation on hydrogen peroxide impregnated samples was studied. The effect of many variables on the samples' whiteness, lightness, wettability, hydrophilic properties, cystine content, surface examination, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) properties was investigated. The UV/H 2 O 2 bleaching process was optimized using a Box-Behnken experimental design and three optimal recipes were achieved. A novel bleaching process for greige soybean knitted fabric, which consists of sample impregnation in various peroxide baths, followed by UV irradiation, was developed. The improvement in whiteness of greige soybean samples, not easily bleached by conventional bleaching processes, was obtained within minutes, improving processing time and providing energy savings.