Scanning Microscopy of Wax Removal from Bioscoured Cotton Textiles

Abstract

<jats:p>The cotton textile fiber is a field dried, single cellular, collapsed convoluted tube. It is covered with waxes, which are connected by ester linkages to pectins enmeshed in a basket weave structure of the cellulosic primary wall. Depending upon its variety, the mature cotton fiber contains between 0.5%and 1% wax by weight, and it is practically waterproof. The normal industrial method for cleaning cotton fabric involves three steps: de-sizing with amylase enzymes to remove starch sizing or boiling in an aqueous surfactant solution to remove polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) sizing; scouring with caustic soda to remove waxes; and bleaching with hydrogen peroxide to obtain uniform whiteness. The effluent from this process is environmentally toxic, but the process is necessary to prepare fabric for dyeing, durable press finishing, etc. Current research is directed towards the investigation of environmentally friendly methods of removing cotton waxes.</jats:p>