Textile Chemical Processing

What is the need of Textile Chemical Processing?

In Textile Chemical Processing the chemical treatments are given to the fabric after
being manufactured. Actually the fabric coming from the loom is not having properties like
absorbency, softness etc and the most important is that the appearance of the fabric is dirty or
pale yellow; we cannot use it directly for making apparels or clothing. So, it is necessary to
go for chemical processing of the material to make it wearable.
The general sequence of processes carried out on gray cloth
Gray Inspection Stitching Mechanical Cleaning Singeing Desizing
Scouring Bleaching Mercerising Dyeing/Printing Finishing
Gray Inspection
It is checked whether the grey fabrics are in
conformity with standards, and all weaving faults
are marked out. Fabric inspection involves three
possible steps: perching, burling and mending.
Perching is a visual inspection and the name
derives from the frame, called a perch, of frosted
glass with lights behind and above it. The fabric
passes through the perch and is inspected. Flaws,
stains or spots, yam knots and other
imperfections are marked. Burling is the removal
of yam knots or other imperfections from the fabric.
The faults are then mended and any knots in the
material are then pushed to the back. Mending is
obviously, the actual repair of imperfections. Knotting should be done carefully and
thoroughly so that the repair or holes is not visible.

Stitching
After the goods have been inspected and checked they are classed in the grey room,
according to quality and stamped. Goods of similar weight, width and construction and the
goods which will receive a similar treatment are sewn together, end to end, by sewing
machines especially constructed for this purpose and each batch is given a number called lot
number. The fabrics are usually sewn on circular
machine. Stitching should be done in such a manner
that the creases in fabric at the time of stitching
should be avoided. The use of proper stitching
thread is necessary to avoid stitch marks during
colour padding.

SINGEING
The objective of singeing is to remove
projecting fibres or protruding fibres, which gives it
a fuzzy appearance, from the surface of the fabric so as to give it a smoother, cleaner
appearance. The reason for which singeing is necessary:

(i) Singeing improves the end use and wearing properties of textiles.
(ii) The burning-off of protruding fibres results in a clean surface which allows the
structure of the fabric more clear.
(iii) Singeing reduces the fogginess caused by differing reflection of light by the
projecting fibre and the dyed fabrics appear brighter.
(iv) Singeing is an effective means of reducing pilling in blended fabrics containing
synthetic fibres.
(v) Unsinged fabrics soil more easily than singed fabrics.
(vi) A closely singed fabric is essential for printing fine intricate patterns.
(vii) Singeing process facilitates and speeds up desizing, if the fabric is impregnated
with desizing liquor immediately after singeing.

Singeing Machinery:
Singeing machineries are mainly based on direct and indirect singeing systems. The
direct singeing may be done either on a hot plate, or on a rotary cylinder, or on a gas singeing
machine or on a machine combining plates and gas burners. The special features of indirect
singeing systems are no flame contact, uniform singeing, heat retention zone and singeing by
means of heat radiations. The indirect system produces fabrics which have a softer touch as
compared to other methods. Gas singeing is more convenient, more economical and more
effective than other methods and is well accepted commercially. The plate singeing and roller
singeing machines are now out of date.
1 Plate Singeing Machine

Figure - A Plate singeing Machine with alternating arrangement

In plate singeing machine there are two curved Copper plates, 1-2 inches thick. These
Copper plates are set in the fire clay and heated to bright redness by the furnace below or by
suitable heating arrangement. The cloth in open width passes over and in contact with the hot
plates, at a speed of 135 – 225 m/min. Automatic transverse motion is fitted to the machine,
which constantly changes the part of the hot plate in contact with the fibre, to avoid the local
cooling and non-uniform heating of the plates.
The protruding fibres are burnt during the passage of the cloth through the machine.
However the fibres present in the interstices of the warp and weft are not singed.
2 Roller Singeing Machine

Figure- A Roller Singeing Machine

The fabric is made to pass over, in contact with rotating cylinders. These cylinders are
made up of cast iron or copper and are heated by internal firing system. In this case, surface
temperature is more uniform than in the case of hot plates. However, the problem of local
cooling of the cylinder by contact with the cloth causes uneven singeing.
In this case also, the fibre present in the interstices of warp and weft are not removed
from the surface and the lustre is impregnated to the fabric due to the contact of the hot and
hard metal surface.
3 Gas Singeing Machine
In this process, the fabric is passed rapidly over a row of gas flames at a high speed
and then immediately into the quench bath to extinguish the sparks. And cool the fabric. The
machine consists of one or more gas burners giving continuous flat or vertical flames. Here
the flame is produced by compressed air and coal gas. The flame is adjusted with respect to
the width of the fabric. The angle of the burners and the height of the flame can also be
adjusted. When the cloth is drawn over flame at a high speed, the protruding fibres burn
without damaging the cloth. The position of the burner must be taken into consideration
according to the fabric to be singed .
 Figure- Gas Singeing Machine
Singeing of Different Fibres materials:
In singeing the short fibres are burnt off from the surface of the fabric by direct or
indirect heating systems without damage to the cloth by scorching or burning. The thermal
behavior of different kinds of fibres is different and singeing at higher temperature is
naturally associated with greater hazards on excessive contact period and may cause thermal
degradation of the fibre.
In case of vegetable fibres, grey singeing is necessary as it leads to slight yellowing
which needs subsequent bleaching to get high degree of whiteness. Grey singeing is also
economical as singeing at any other stages of processing requires additional washing and
drying. Vegetable and regenerated fibres fabrics can be singed very strongly with maximum
burner intensity to obtain good results. Regenerated fibres normally bum to a little less easily
than natural fibres. Wool has poor combustion properties and are very sensitive to
temperatures and hence woollen materials are not subjected to intense flame like cotton. In
woolen fabric flame is not generally allowed to penetrate the material and this can be
obtained by blowing air through the fabric from the opposite side of the flame so that the
flame will be restricted only on the surface of the fabric. Alternatively, the fabric can be
guided to water cooled guide rollers allowing the flame to heat the cloth. When the flame
strikes the fabric it is reflected by air/steam cushion created within the material.
 Amongst the synthetic fibres polyester has the greatest significance. It melts at 280°-
290°C but does not burn till about 500°C. Thus flame singeing machine with a powerful
flame is needed and also helps in overcoming the problems of oligomers i.e. the small chain
polymers that come to the surface.
For blended fibre fabrics singeing conditions are to be selected depending on the
sensitiveness of the kinds of fibres to heat, blend composition, weight of fabric and fabric
geometry. For example, singeing should be carefully conducted to avoid heat damage of the
acetate component of the acetate/viscose blended fibre fabrics. Though singeing improves the
resistance to pilling of the polyester/wool blended fabrics, but should not be carried out on
low weight fabrics because of risk of damage. If singeing is carried out after dyeing the
sublimation fastness of disperse dyes used must be adequate to withstand the singeing
conditions.

Desizing
The grey cotton fabric contains natural as well as those added to the fabric such as size
to facilitate weaving.
Size normally contains an adhesive (film former) and a lubricant. For cotton fabrics
the film former is usually starch or a starch derivative. All starches are, by their very nature,
either water-insoluble or only sparingly soluble. For viscose the most important sizing agent
is the cellulose derivative carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), which has good water solubility.
In addition to natural products, such as starch and starch derivatives, synthetic sizes based on
styrenemaleic acid copolymers, polyvinyl alcohol, polyacrylates or polyacrylamides are used
on polyester/cotton or polyester/viscose, as well as mixtures of starch and polyvinyl alcohol.
The lubricant in a size formulation is usually tallow, but spermaceti, paraffin wax and
mineral oils are sometimes employed. These lubricants impart good smoothness and low
frictional properties to the yarn and are therefore beneficial for weaving, but they are
insoluble in water and difficult to remove from the fibre surface, which can lead to severe
problems in desizing.
Concept of Desizing
It is necessary to remove the size from the cloth; otherwise the hydrophobicity of the
wax and the tallow hinder subsequent dyeing and printing. Waxes and tallow are removed in
the later (scouring), while the starch is removed during desizing. Desizing is the term usually
restricted to the removal of starch from the fabric.
Starch is insoluble in water, but they can be solubilised by hydrolysis of these long
chain compounds to shorter ones. The hydrolysis of starch takes place in following stages.
Starch (Insoluble) Dextrin (Insoluble) Soluble dextrin (soluble)
Maltose (soluble) α-glucose (soluble)

For the desizing purpose the hydrolysis is carried out up to the stage of soluble dextrin
only not to further to α-glucose, because our aim of desizing is to make the size material
soluble.
 Classification of Desizing Methods
The desizing methods can be classified as in

Hydrolytic Desizing
4 Rot steeping
This is the oldest and cheapest
method of desizing. The main feature of this
process is that no special chemicals are
required. The cloth is first impregnated with
warm water (at 40°C) through a padding
mangle and then squeezed to about 100%
expression. One of padding mangle used is
shown in figure. The cloth is then allowed to
stand for days in pits or cemented tanks. The
micro-organisms, naturally present in water
multiply and secrete starch liquefying
(hydrolysing) enzymes which solubilise the starch present in the size on fabric. The cloth is
finally washed with water to remove the starch. The main disadvantage of this process is that
it is a slower process and requires an enormous floor space for storing water impregnating
cloth.
5 Acid Desizing
The cloth from the singeing machine is impregnated through a solution of dilute
sulphuric acid or dilute hydrochloric acid (0.25% owf), followed by batching for about 8 -12
h. At first sight the use of acid could appear to be dangerous, since conditions, which degrade
starch, are those on which cellulose is also liable to be attacked. Since the hydrolysis of the
starch is exothermic reaction, the temperature of the desizing bath may rise to higher side,
even to 50C, but at this temperature dilute acid solution doesn’t attack or hydrolyze
cellulose. But if the cloth impregnated with dilute mineral acid solution is exposed to the air
during the storage period, localized drying due to evaporation cause increase in the
concentration of acid at that portion and if the concentration is sufficiently high cellulose is
hydrolysed. To avoid this, moistened jute cloth is placed over impregnated fabric. A
subsequent washing after acid treatment completely removes the starch.
 The concentration of the acid can be as high as 2 % for short times and as low as 0.2
% for overnight stripping.
Enzymatic Desizing
The most effective way of removing starch from fabrics is by the use of extracts
containing appropriate enzymes. An outstanding feature of enzyme desizing is the specific
nature of the enzyme action. Enzymes are biocatalysts; they differ from normal chemical
catalysts because they are very specific in their action, have relatively low energies of
activation and are usually active only over a narrow range of pH. They are classified by the
names of the substrate they decompose, e.g. amylases degrade amylose, proteases to proteins,
and cellulases to cellulose.
Some properties of enzymes are as follow:
1) Enzymes are complex and high molecular weight protein molecules. Chemically
enzymes are proteins of high molecular weight e.g. molecular weight of the enzyme
-amylase is about 100,000.
2) Enzymes react at specific parts of the substrate molecule because these are specific to
their action.
Desizing enzymes may be classified based on the source from which they are obtained as
in fig.

Test for Desizing Efficiency

After the desizing by any of above methods, we now go for checking how far our
purpose is achieved or not. We can check the desizing efficiency both quantitatively as
qualitatively. The quantitative method to check the desizing efficiency is the weight loss.
Scouring
The desizing process is actually a destarching process because in this the starch present
on warp yarns is liquefied by either hydrolytic or oxidative reaction and removed in
subsequent washing step. But after desizing the fabric still contains fats and waxes (both
natural as well as added), which adversely affect the absorbency of the fabric. These
impurities are removed from the fabric by the process of “Scouring”.
Thus the main purpose of scouring cotton fabric is to remove the natural as well as added
impurities of essentially of hydrophobic nature as completely as possible and leave the fabric
in highly absorptive state without undergoing a significant chemical or physical damage.
The scouring process is done by boiling the fabric in an alkali solution. The main
processes occur during scouring are:
1. Saponification of oils present in the fibre.
2. Waxes and unsaponifiable material is removed by emulsification of the same.
3. Pectins are changed into their soluble salts of pectic acid.
4. Mineral matters are dissolved.
5. Proteins are hydrolysed into degradation soluble products.
 6. Dirt or dust is removed and held in a stable suspension by the detergents present in the
scouring bath.
The scouring process requires use of soft water because the use of hard water
would cause precipitation or insolubalizaion of soap. It is therefore necessary to add
sequestering agents (chelating agents or metal complexing agents e.g. Nitrilo Triacetic
Acid (NTA), EDTA, gluconic acid. Sequestering agents also help in the elimination of
iron, which can give problems during subsequent bleaching with hydrogen peroxide.
Therefore, there are three components in a cotton scouring bath: caustic, to
swell and dissolve the motes and to saponify oils and waxes, surfactant, to lower the
bath's surface tension so it can wet-out the fabric faster and to emulsify oils and waxes
and chelating agent, to form water dispersible complexes with heavy metals.
Bleaching
After the removal of the waxes and other hydrophobic type of impurities from grey
fabric by the desizing and scouring the fabric is now in a more absorbent state. But still have
the pale appearance due to the presence of natural colouring materials like pigments etc.
these pigments can not be removed the only way to tackle these pigments is to decolourise
them using suitable oxidising agents. This will make the fabric in a super white form. This
process of decolouration of natural pigments is called the bleaching. The process of
bleaching gives a sparkling whiteness to the fabric and hence makes it suitable for further
processing.
Methods of Bleaching
The various chemicals employed to carry out bleaching process are:
1. Dilute hypochlorite solution preferably Sodium Hypochlorite (NaOCl)
2. Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) solution
3. Sodium Chlorite (NaClO3) solution
4. Certain peroxy compounds like peracetic acid
5. Potassium Permanganate (KMnO4) solution
Sodium Hypochlorite Bleaching:
It is done by using sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) as a bleaching agent. This process is
also known as chemicking.
General Recipe:
Concentration - 2-3 g/l available chlorine
pH - 10-11
Temperature - Room temperature
Treatment time - 2 hours

Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) Bleaching:

The bleaching process carried out by NaOCl is known as Half bleach because the
whiteness obtained is temporary not permanent. So, the hypochlorite bleaching should
followed by another bleaching treatment. Now instead of NaOCl, strong oxidising agent
H2O2 is used to carryout bleaching. This bleaching with H 2O2 called as full bleach because
the whiteness obtained is permanent. Properties of H2O2
 It is highly unstable to alkali like NaOH, Na2CO3, rapid decomposition takes place.
2 H2O2 2 H2O + O2
Mechanism of peroxide bleaching
Though hydrogen peroxide is stable in acidic medium, but bleaching occurs by the
addition of alkali or by increased temperature. Hydrogen peroxide liberates perhydroxyl ion
(HO2-) in aqueous medium. The perhydroxyl is highly unstable and in the presence of
oxidisable substance (coloured impurities in cotton), it is decomposed and thus bleaching
action takes place.
H2O2 + NaOH H2O + HO2-
However, at higher pH (above 10.8) the liberation of HO 2- ion is so rapid that it
becomes unstable with the formation of oxygen gas which has no bleaching property. If the
rate of decomposition is very high, the unutilized HO 2- may damage the fibre. A safe and
optimum pH for cotton bleaching lies between 10.5 to 10.8 where the rate of evolution of
perhydroxyl ion is equal to the rate of consumption (for bleaching).

The process of regulation or control of perhydroxyl ion to prevent rapid

decomposition of bleach and to minimize fibre degradation is described as stabilisation.
Stabilisers for peroxide normally function by controlling the formation of free radicals. These
are complex blends of a selection of materials serving a number of functions.Sodium silicate
is used as a stabilizer.
Sodium silicate is the most conventional, easily available and widely used stabiliser.
This sodium silicate act as a multifunctional agent:
 Act as a stabilizer
 Keeps the metal ions away i.e. act as sequestering agent
 It also acts as a buffer and maintains the alkaline pH.
General Recipe of H2O2 Bleaching:
H2O2 Concentration - 2-4%
Sodium silicate - 0.5-1%
NaOH/Na2CO3 - 0.5-1%
Sequestering agent - 0.1-0.3%
pH - 9.5-10.5
Temperature - 80-85°C
Time - 90 mins

Comparison of hypochlorite and Peroxide bleaching:

H2O2 Bleaching Sodium Hypochlorite Bleaching

Peroxide is universal bleaching agent can be It is mainly used for cellulosic fibres not for
employed to wool, silk as well as cotton. protein fibres like wool, silk.
Peroxide is milder agent so degrading affect Hypochlorite is having degrading affect on
on cellulose is less. cellulose.
Peroxide also gives mild scouring action so It doesn’t give any scouring action.
simultaneous scouring and bleaching is
possible in continuous process.
It doesn’t affect the coloured material so it It can’t be used over coloured material.
can be used for coloured materials.
With H2O2 there is no need of danger of There is a problem of corrosion and
equipment corrosion and no unpleasant unpleasant odours.
odours.
Only rinsing after bleaching is sufficient Hypochlorite bleaching needs an antichlor
treatment.
Bleaching with peroxide is a costlier than Relatively it is less costly.
hypochlorite.
Hydrogen peroxide bleaching requires No such need of stabilizers in hypochlorite
stabilization usually with silicates which bleaching.
have problem of stains on subsequent dyeing.

Sodium Chlorite (NaClO2) Bleaching:

Besides NaOCl and H2O2 we may se sodium chlorite (NaClO2) as a bleaching agent.
NaClO2 is a stable compound under alkaline or neutral conditions but it rapidly decomposes
under acidic conditions giving the chlorine dioxide ClO 2 which act as oxidising agent.
ThisClO2 act as a bleaching agent. But we often avoid using sodium chlorite bleaching
because: NaClO2 have a corrosive action on the equipment and the ClO 2 liberated have a
obnoxious smell.
5 NaClO2 + 4HCl 4 ClO2 + 5 NaCl + 2 H2O
In the past time the NaClO 2 was used for bleaching only synthetic materials like
polyester, nylon etc. due to which this bleaching process also known as Synthobleach.
Treatment conditions for sodium chlorite bleaching are:
Temperature - 95°-100° C
pH - 10-11
Treatment time - 1-2 hours

Bleaching of Wool and Silk:

 Scoured Wool varies in shade from the light cream of wools considered to have good
color to discolored The main problem is that the whiteness of wool attained during bleaching
is not permanent. Wool tends to yellow over a period of atmospheric exposure of
approximately six months. Amongst the oxidising agents hydrogen peroxide is most
commonly used because sodium hypochlorite gives a deep rust color and sodium chlorite
develops pink coloration on wool. Traditionally wool is bleached by oxidative processes
either in the presence of alkaline stabiliser or under acidic condition of hydrogen peroxide
In the alkaline condition, wool is treated at pH 8-10 with a 1.5-3 volume solution of
hydrogen peroxide containing 2-3 g/1 stabilizer, which may be sodium silicate or sodium
pyrophosphate. Bleaching may be carried out at 50°C for 3 to 5 h and then rinsed, treated
with dilute acetic acid and rinsed again. The level of whiteness can be controlled by
concentration of hydrogen peroxide, length of treatment time, pH and temperature of
treatment bath.

Bleaching of Viscose:

Filament viscose rayon may not require bleaching since this is normally carried out
during manufacture. However, viscose in staple form requires bleaching as it may not
necessarily include a bleaching treatment during its manufacture. The same reagents as those
used for bleaching linen and cotton fabrics are useful for these fibres. For very good
whiteness, rayon may be bleached on a jigger with alkaline hypochlorite or combined scour
and bleach using hydrogen peroxide (up to 1 vol. strength) containing sodium silicate and
alkaline detergents-at a temperature of about 70°C.

Bleaching of Blended Fibre Fabrics:

Polyester/Cellulosic Blends:
Polyester fibre in blends with cellulosic fibres in the ratios of 65/35 and 50/50 are
common construction. When cellulose portion is rayon, the blends rarely require bleaching,
but when cotton is present bleaching is usually necessary. Bleaching treatments of such
blends are normally required to remove the natural colours of cotton, sighting colours and if
the polyester portion is turned yellow at the time of heat-setting operation. Chlorine
bleaching, peroxide bleaching and chlorite bleaching are employed widely. If the polyester
portion requires bleaching, then chlorite bleaching is used, as this bleaching agent bleaches
both polyester and cellulose. If the polyester portion does not need bleaching, then peroxide
bleaching is more convenient. Alkaline hydrogen peroxide bleaching is the most preferred
system for polyester/cotton blends.

Polyester/Wool Blends:
In general, blends containing wool and polyester fibres can be bleached with hydrogen
peorxide either in acid or alkaline medium without risks of damage. In acid medium, the
fabric is treated with a solution containing 30-40 ml/l H 2O2 (35%), 2-4 g/1 organic stabilizer,
0.25 g/1 wetting agent and 0.25 g/1 detergent at pH 5.5-6 (acetic acid) for 40-60 min at 80°C
or 2-2.5 h at 65°C. The treated fabrics are then given warm and cold rinse. In alkaline
medium, the bath comprises of (35%), 30-40 ml/l H 2O2; sodium pyrophosphate, 2-4 g/l;
ammonia to maintain the pH 8.5-9. The bath is set at 40°C and the goods are treated for 2-4
h, and rinsed well in warm and cold water.
Nylon/Cellulosic Blends:
Blends of nylon and cellulosic fibres may be bleached with either H 2O2 or NaClO2
H2O2 does not bleach nylon and normal methods of bleaching degrade nylon. Blends
containing 30% or less of nylon may be bleached by the continuous H 2O2 method, and in
such cases cotton will absorb the peroxide preferentially and so protect the nylon from
damage. The goods are entered into a bath containing 2-3 volume H 2O2, 1 g/1 sodium
hydroxide flake, 0.2 g/1 peroxide stabilizer, 0.25 g/1 sequestering agent at 40°C the
temperature is raised to 85°C and then the treatment continued for 1 h. The treated goods are
then cooled and rinsed thoroughly. Hypochlorite does not damage nylon but it has got no
bleaching action on it. Sodium chlorite causes no degradation of either cellulosic or
polyamide and is a better bleaching agent the fabric is treated with a solution containing
sodium chlorite (2-5 g/l) at pH 3 to 4 at 90°C for 11/2 to 2 h. This is followed by a treatment in
a 2 g/1 solution of sodium carbonate at 40-50°C and finally hot and cold rinses are given in
water.

Nylon/Wool Blends:
It is difficult to bleach this blends since the method normally used for nylon degrade
wool. Alkaline H2O2 bleaching always damages the polyamide fibres to some extent. Normal
alkaline H2O2 bleaching process may be used with safety on blends containing up to 25%
polyamide, but acid bleach must be used when proportion exceeds this figure. The fabric can
be bleached with a solution containing 12-15 ml/1 H 2O2 (35%); 2 g/1 tetrasodium
pyrophosphate, 1 g/1 EDTA (30%) at 60-65°C for 45-60 min and then rinsed well in water.

Determine the bleaching Efficiency:

Absorbency Test:
The simple test of measuring the absorbency of sample consists of allowing a drop of
water to fall from a fixed height (2.5 cm) on to the conditioned fabric sample, which is
mounted on an embroidery frame of about 6 inches diameter. A stop watch is started as soon
as the drop falls on the fabric and stopped as the water drop is completely absorbed by the
fabric. This complete absorption of drop is ensure by appearance of a dull spot on fabric i.e.
the reflected light disappear from the edge of drop. This time is termed as the absorbency
time.
Yet another method for absorbency test is the measurement of the time required for the
sample of about 1 inch size to sink in water, termed as sinking time. A drop absorbency or
sinking time of about 5 sec is generally considered satisfactory for well prepared fabric.
In case of synthetic fabrics or their blends the above test methods are not applicable
and for such materials strip test is used. In this we measure the height of water raised by
capillary action in the fabric. In his test method a 5cm wide strip is cut across the filling
direction. Then numbers of these strips are immersed 1mm deep in 1% aqueous solution of
C.I. Direct Blue 86 for 2 sec and then immediately placed on wire screen. After drying, the
capillary rise of dye solution is measured.
Whiteness:
Whiteness is related to the luminosity as well freedom from yellowness. It is measured
by measuring the reflectance of the specimen against a standard white (magnesium oxide/
ceramic) tile which represents a whiteness value of 100.

Silk
A. Degumming of Raw Silk
Degumming is at the heart of wet processing of raw silk. The main purpose of the
degumming process are to remove the Sericin from the fibre, to remove some impurities (e.g.
waxes, fats, mineral salts) affecting both the dyeing and printing processes, to make the fibre
highly absorbent for dyes and chemicals and to reveal the lustre of fibroin and to improve the
appearance of the fibre. The fact that the raw silk contains two components fibroin and
Sericin, which covers the filaments. Sericin contains some impurities, for example, waxes,
fats, mineral salts and pigments. Sericin has the same amino acid residues, as fibroin but the
proportions contained in both components are quite different. As a result of this, the
degumming process must be carefully carried out on silk in the appropriate conditions
otherwise the fibroin may be damaged. The pH range from 4 to 8 is normally safe for fibroin
and it has been found that alkaline conditions are less harmful to fibroin than acid conditions.
In contrast to fibroin, the solubility of Sericin is very high at pH values between 1.5 and 2
and between 9.5 and 10.5. The Sericin is removed from the fibre but the fibroin must not be
damaged
Table - Composition of raw silk
Fibroin 70-80%
Sericin 20-30%
Carbohydrates 0.7%
Wax materials 0.4-0.8%
Inorganic matter 0.6%
Natural pigments 0.2%

There are 5 ways of Degumming silk

1. Degumming with water under pressure at 115C
Water at room temperature does not dissolve silk but silk is highly susceptible to dissolution
in boiling water. For complete removal of Sericin, in case of cultivated varieties of silk, it is
necessary to extract the silk yarn with water at 120C for 4 hours. For this reason, this
process gives a risk of fibroin being damaged when the time of treatment is prolonged. This
process needs large autoclaves to treat the fibre in silk industry. A further disadvantage is that
this process gives incomplete degumming and sometimes soap or synthetic detergent must be
added to improve the degumming effect. Therefore this process is very difficult to control
and now it is not used in silk industry in order to remove Sericin from silk.
2. Degumming with soap (at 98C)
Different soaps like olive oil, palm oil can be used for degumming. Marseilles soap, an olive
oil soap, is an outstanding soap for degumming because of its high degree of hydrolysis
which gives better lustre. For example, this process may be carried out using 10 – 20 g/l soap
at 92 – 98 C for 2- 4 hours adjusted pH to 10.2 – 10.5 in order to react effectively upon the
sericin.
The degumming action of the soap is due to alkali formed, which forms a chemical bond
with Sericin and produce soda salt, on the hydrolysis of the soap. The Sericin, in the form of
soda salt, is separated by soap and dissolved in water due to the emulsification action of soap.
The quantity and type of soap required degumming generally depends upon the nature and
type of silk.
Disadvantage of soap degumming are
The process requires soft water. The metallic ions such as Ca and Mg combine with soap and
produce insoluble metallic soap, which deposits on fibre and reduces the lustre of fabric.
Combination of soap and alkali accelerate the process.
As a result of the high temperature, this process tends to attack both sericin and fibroin
because of the sensitive nature of fibroin itself and chemical similarity of fibroin and sericin.
3. Alkali Degumming
Alkalis hydrolyse protein by attacking the peptide bonds and are said to have severe
damaging effect on proteins. Hence, this process has to be carried out under controlled
condition, so as not to result in over degumming. For this process, pH should be maintained
between 9.5-10.5. Below pH 9.5, rate of degumming is too slow causing prolonged exposure
and hence mechanical damage. Above pH 10.5 there is a danger of fibroin being attacked.
Alkalis used for degumming are caustic (NaOH), caustic soda (Na 2CO3), sodium bicarbonate
(NaHCO3), K2CO3, Na2SiO3, trisodium phosphate, sodium phosphate, borax and ammonia.
Among these caustic soda is the most preferred alkali. Alkali is rarely used alone, since it
leaves the silk rather harsh in handle and it is recommended to use buffer system. Hence
caustic soda and sodium bicarbonate is the widely used buffer.
The optimum concentrations are: Na 2CO3 – 1.06%
NaHCO3 – 0.84%
 Non-ionic surfactant – 0.3%
Degumming can be carried out at 100C for 2 hours with MLR 1:40.
4. Acid degumming
It is comparatively safe method, as the action of organic acids was reported to be much less
pronounced on silk than that of mineral acids. Different acids used for degumming are Lactic
acid, Tartaric acid, Oxalic acid, Succinic acid, Citric acid. Degumming is carried out with
0.05 moles/L acid and 3g/l non-ionic surfactant at 100C for 60 min. considering the weight
loss and tenacity the best result are obtained with succinic acid and monochloro acetic acid.
5. Enzymatic degumming
Enzymes are proteins, catalysing a specific chemical reaction, which are known as ‘bio-
catalysts’. They work at atmospheric pressure and in mild conditions (e.g. at 40C, pH 8.0).
Trypsin, papain and bacterial enzymes are the main types of enzymes for silk degumming.
These enzymes are called ‘proteases’ because they degrade and their degradation products
are polypeptides, peptides and other substances by hydrolysis of the –CO-NH- linkage.

Proteolytic enzyme action on protein

Enzymatic degumming has the following advantage over the conventional degumming with
alkaline soap.
 It has a specific reaction thereby it may give a minimum damage to fibroin.
 It has a lesser risk of over degumming than alkaline soap degumming,
 Weight loss can be easily modified by adjusting the concentration of enzyme, the
reaction time and the use of optimum pH and temperature.
 With the enzyme method, silk is treated at low temperature (e.g. at 40C) not only
reducing energy costs but also preventing fibre weakness.
 Enzyme treatment is an environmentally friendly process because enzymes are readily
biodegrade in nature.
  There is no soap required in enzyme degumming process. Therefore, uneven dyeing
problem caused by metallic soap can be avoided.
Enzymatic degumming also has some economic disadvantages as:
 It needs some pre-treatment processes, since the gum must be swollen before the
enzyme bath.
 It is very slow reaction compared to alkaline soap degumming.
Degumming of the silk is carried out in form of hanks as well as fabric.