Bleaching of Textile

Bleaching it is also one kind of textile chemical process with oxidizing

agent such as H2O2, NaOCl or reducing agent FeSO4, NaSO4to achieve the fabric highly
hydrophilic, true whiteness and should not tendering or damage the tensile strength.
The next process of decolorization of greige material in to a suitable material for next
processing is called bleaching. Bleaching of textiles can be classified in to oxidative
bleaching and reductive bleaching. Although ancient methods of bleaching remain
unknown, historians have evidence that early civilizations must have known how to
bleach fabrics. White cloth was produced by the ancient Egyptians, Babylonians,
Phoenicians, and Hebrews, as well as by the Greeks and Romans. After the Crusades of
the 1100s and 1200s, the practice of bleaching fabric spread throughout Europe. In the
old days, people simply spread wet cloth on the ground outdoors and left it to dry in the
sunlight until it turned white, which could take weeks or even months. This process came
to be called crofting, after the Scottish word for a small meadow (croft). As early as 1322,
crofting was practiced on bleaching grounds in England near Manchester. In Scotland and
Ireland, some people still bleach their cloth on the grass in this way. High-quality linen
that was dried on plots of grass became known as lawn.
By the 1700s, Dutch weavers had improved the bleaching process and emerged as the
leaders of Europe's bleaching industry. After the lye was washed out, the linen was
spread on the ground as usual. Although major bleaching operations were known outside
Holland, the Dutch enjoyed a near-monopoly on bleaching linen through the 1700s.
Fabric produced by the Dutch process was called holland cloth.
In 1756, scientists found that dilute sulfuric acid would work better than buttermilk and
the time required for the bleaching process was greatly reduced. An even more dramatic
improvement in bleaching technology resulted from the discovery of chlorine in 1774 by
Swedish chemist Karl Wilhelm Scheele (1742-1786). In 1785, he introduced a bleaching
liquid called lye de Javelle and publicized his technique without patenting it. When James
Watt learned of the method, he passed the information on to Scottish chemist and
manufacturer Charles Tennant, who began using the bleaching liquid in Glasgow. But the
chlorine gas needed for the liquid bleaching process was not readily available, so Tennant
invented a more convenient bleaching powder and introduced it in 1799. The solid
powder, which was made by combining chlorine with slaked lime (calcium hydroxide),
was much easier to handle and ship to other fabric manufacturers. When added to a little
dilute acid, the powder released the chlorine gas which bleached the cloth very quickly.
By the 1830s, factories were churning out huge quantities of bleaching powder for textile
use. This abundant supply of chlorine bleach helped stimulate the cotton industry.

The fabric industry found hydrogen peroxide to be another useful bleaching chemical.
Peroxide is used on some fabrics, such as wool and silk, which can not tolerate exposure
to chlorine. About 95 percent of textiles that require whitening are now bleached with
hydrogen peroxide which, like chlorine, is a powerful oxidizing agent. Pure hydrogen
peroxide was first prepared by Louis Jacques Thenard (1777-1857) in 1818. Even though
it costs more than chlorine, hydrogen peroxide is often preferred because its action on
fibers is milder, it leaves no undesirable residues, and the bleaching process is faster.
Several sulfur compounds, which act as reducing agents rather than oxidants, are also
used in bleaching wool and silk fabrics, as well as feathers and straw.
Historically a variety of other industries have used similar bleaching technology. For
example, in the paper industry, wood pulp is usually treated with chlorine compounds
first followed with hydrogen peroxide as a final bleaching step. This two step process
improves the pulp's ability to stay white through subsequent paper manufacturing steps.
Other industries which extensively use bleaching technology include the flour industry,
which uses chlorine compounds to bleach over 80 percent of all wheat flour produced in
the United States, and the petroleum industry which uses chlorine bleach to deodorize gas
filters. Chlorine compounds are also known for their antibacterial properties and are used
in certain water treatment processes.
Through the 1990's chlorine-based products have remained the preferred method of fabric
bleaching for the consumer. However, perborate bleaches are becoming increasingly
popular because they can be safely used on a variety of fabrics. Improved bleaching
performance is expected to come from other oxygen-containing bleaches such as
percarbonates which are expected to play an important role in the future of commercial
bleaching.

Necessity of Bleaching:
To ensure a pure and permanent basic white color in fabric.
To destroy natural color from grey fabric and increased whiteness on fabric.
To ensure label dyeing property.
A high uniform absorbency of fabric for water, dyestuff, and finishing agent.
A sufficient high uniform degree of whiteness.
Fabric should not damage and DP should remain high.
Whiteness of fabric should remain high.

Mechanism of bleaching:-

Bleaching
chlorite

mechanism

with

sodium

Sodium chlorite is a light yellow alkaline liquid that is stable at ambient temperature.
When broken down by
acids, it forms chlorine dioxide (CIO2), a green gas that is readily soluble in water.
Chlorite breaks down according to the following mechanism:
5 ClO2 + 4 H+ 4 ClO2 + Cl- + 2 H2O (I)
4 ClO2- + 2 H+ 2 ClO2 + Cl- + ClO3 + H2O (II)
Reaction I is always the most important of the two; reaction II is promoted by the drop in
pH.
Sodium chlorites colour stripping properties used in bleaching textiles are thought to
derive from the formation of
chlorine dioxide. Bleaching is performed in a weakly acidic aqueous solution with
enough sodium chlorite to
allow the chlorine dioxide to be absorbed by the textile fibres as it is formed. This process
is completely
mastered.

Types of bleaching:Oxidative bleaching

Generally oxidative bleachings are carried out using sodium hypochlorite, sodium
chlorite or hydrogen peroxide. Natural fibres like cotton, ramie, jute, wool, bamboo are
all generally bleached with oxidative methods.
Reductive bleaching
Reductive method of bleaching is done with Sodium hydrosulphite, a powerful reducing
agent. Fibres like Polyamide, Polyacrylics and Polyacetates can be bleached using
reductive bleaching technology.
Optical whiteners
After scouring and bleaching, Optical Brightening Agents (OBA) is applied to make the
textile material to appear more brilliant whites. These OBA are available in different tints
such as blue, violet and red.

Process of bleaching
Batch processes
Batch processes (e.g. kier, package, winch, jet, overflow, and jigger)
consist of two steps without any
intermediate washing. First, the sizing agents are stripped in a bath containing a nonfoaming wetting
agent and the high-temperature desizing enzyme. The bath is sent to the processing tank
and heated
to 80-90C for 10-15 minutes then cooled to 70C.
Step two consists of bleaching without any intermediate washing. The bath contains the
activation
agent and the sodium nitrate (corrosion inhibitor) dissolved in warm water, a small
amount of
35% hydrogen peroxide (2-5 l per m3 of bath), the 25% sodium chlorite, the amount of
formic acid
needed to keep the pH between 3.6 and 4, and an optical brightener compatible with the
chlorite. It is
heated to 95C for 45-60 minutes for cotton/linen o r 115-120C for 30-45 minutes for
polyester/cotton
(temperature ranges for the optical brightener). The bath is then cooled to 80C,
discharged, and the
fabric is washed at 95C, then at 65C and finally at ambient temperature.

Batch bleaching with sodium chlorite

ADVANTAGES
PROCESSES

OF

SODIUM

CHLORITE

Permanent whiteness.
Hulls and aphids are removed from cotton without having to boil it first.
Characteristics of cellulose fibres left intact, particularly in the case of linen, viscose,
rayon, cell
wool and cotton/linen or polyester/viscose blends. Bleaches cotton of mediocre quality,
which
would be damaged by other methods. Lower weight loss.
Maximum whiteness is obtained with synthetic fibres such as polyester in
polyester/cotton blends
or polyamide in polyamide/cotton blends.
Destroys yellowish thermal decomposition products without affecting the polymer
structure of
synthetic fibres (if bleaching is required). As synthetic fibres are delicate polyamide,
polyester,
acrylic and chlorofibres in particular sodium chlorite is recommended as a safe and
effective
bleaching agent.
Excellent hydrophilic properties of treated fabrics for uniform dyeing.
Less energy, labour, water and time are required when sodium chlorite bleaching is
used in steam
saturation (J-Box, U-Box, Pad-Roll) and batch mills. The productivity gains are
significant and no
investment is required.
Little chlorine dioxide is released by the combined desizing and bleaching. A
ventilation system
should nevertheless be installed as a precaution.

OTHER USES OF CHLORITE

Sodium chlorite is used in many industries where quality, safety and

environmental protection are
essential factors the production of chlorine dioxide, a powerful oxidising agent with
excellent
bactericidal properties.
Bleaching of food products, such as starches, flours, fruits and alginates.
Bleaching and preservation of leathers and skins.
Preservation of food products.
Disinfection of flour and preservation of its properties.
Treatment of drinking waters.
Treatment of industrial process waters.
7

 Removal of colour from industrial waste waters.

Semi-continuous bleaching.
Two semi-continuous processes are used for open-width bleaching of
cotton fabrics. In the first, called Pad-Roll, the fabric is saturated with a pad (80-100%
delivery rate),
placed in a steamer at 95-98C and wound in a box i n which steam is injected at a
temperature of 9598C to keep the air inside moist and warm. The fab ric is spun on its shaft for 1-3 hours.
In the second, called Pad-Batch, the fabric is impregnated with a pad, wound around a
shaft at
ambient temperature, wrapped in a sheet of plastic to avoid evaporation and spun for 1520 hours.
The fabric then passes into the washer, where it is rinsed in hot then cold water and then
dried. Before being dried, it may be neutralised with acetic acid. The advantages to this
process are its flexibility and
low investment cost.

Pad-Batch process

Continuous bleaching.

Continuous bleaching lines generally utilise the Pad-Steam process and

include continuous desizing and boiling steps. Continuous processes are suitable for large
amounts of
fabric of the same, or at least similar, quality. The machines used are a saturator (pad), a
preheater
and a steamer in the shape of a U or J (called a U-box or J-Box). The fabric travels
through these
chambers for a relatively long period of time (30 minutes on average) in folded (cuttled)
rope form
(open-width boxes may be used, but they are expensive and bulky) in a 100-102C steam
atmosphere.
Several units may be placed side by side so that the fabric may be desized, boiled and
bleached once or
twice without stopping. A washer is placed at the end to rinse and neutralise the fabric.
Hydrogen
peroxide is particularly suited to this type of process.

Batch bleaching.
Batch processes are used for small amounts of fabric. The fabric is bleached in
machines called winches with a high liquor ratio (1:20) or jet or overflow machines with
a low liquor
ratio (1:5 to 1:10). If the latter are used, non-foaming auxiliary agents are necessary on
account of the
agitation. Jiggers are best for crease-sensitive fabrics (heavy fabrics or those with a high
thread
count). The liquor ratio is around 1:5. Kiers and beam machines are used more for
delicate fabrics such
as gauze and bunting as well as knitted fabrics. The liquor ratio is nearly 1:10.
Pad-Roll process
Pad-Batch process

Conclusion:Textile bleaching is one of the stages in the manufacture of textiles. All

raw textile materials, when they are in natural form, are known as 'greige' material
(pronounced grey-sh). This greige material will be with its natural color, odour and
impurities that are not suitable for clothing materials. Not only the natural impurities will
remain on the greige material but also the add-ons that were made during its cultivation,
growth and manufacture in the form of pesticides, fungicides, worm killers, sizes,
lubricants, etc.