KC12603 - CHEMICAL AND

BIOPROCESS TECHNOLOGY

TEXTILE
INDUSTRY
TEXTILE INDUSTRY

Overview:
• Textile process
• Environment, health and safety in textile industry
OBJECTIVES;

• At the end of this lecture, student should be able to:

o explain the steps involves in textile process
o be aware of health, safety and environmental issues in
textile processing
• Textiles - fabric that's knitted or woven and made from
yarn
• Textile industry - the industry responsible for taking a raw
material, like cotton or wool, and spinning it into yarn that
is later used to create a fabric
Before Industrial Revolution - textile
industry were made at home and without
the use of machines

After Industrial Revolution - creation of

machines led to the creation of factories,
and soon fabric was mass produced
• flying shuttle - one weaver to use one hand and
operate the loom.
• spinning jenny - spin multiple threads at one time.
• power loom - use steam to power to combine
threads.

Nowaday - textile industry comprised of

every business involved in the developing,
producing, manufacturing, and distribution
of textiles
THE TEXTILE PROCESS

1. Fibre production
2. Yarn production
3. Fabric production
4. Wet processing
5. Fabrication/Finishing

Clothes
Fibre Yarn Fabric Textiles and other
artifacts
TEXTILE FIBRES

• Fiber - fine hair-like structure and is considered the raw

materials of textiles.
• The fiber is extracted from various sources - animals, plants,
and minerals, as well as artificially generated.
TEXTILE FIBRES
 YARN FORMATION

• Carding
• Spinning
 CARDING

• Preliminary process in spun yarn manufacture. The

fibres are separated, distributed, equalized, and formed
into a thin web and condensed into a continuous,
untwisted strand of fibres called a sliver.
• This process also removes impurities and a certain
amount of short, broken or immature fibres.
CARDING MACHINE
CARDING MACHINE
 SPINNING

• Process of making yarn from fibres by a combined drawing out and twisting
operation or from filament tow by the combination of cutting/breaking with
drafting and twisting in a single series of operations.
SPINNING MACHINE
FABRIC FORMATION

Spinning → Sizing → Weaving/ Knitting

 SIZING

• The yarn is run through a size solution (starches) and then dried so that it
has the strength and stiffness required to withstand the abrasion and
friction generated in the weaving operation.
• Sizing agents - polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), carboxy methyl cellulose (CMC),
gelatin, oil, polystyrene, polyacrylates (of sodium and ammonium salts), and
polyacetates
 WEAVING

• Is the process of interlacing two yarns of similar materials so that they

cross each other at right angles to produce woven fabric.
 KNITTING

• Is the process of constructing fabric by an interlocking series of loops(stitches)

of one or more yarns.
• Yarn turns into cloth or any other fine craft
 KNITTING MACHINE

Flat knitting machine Circular knitting machine

WET PROCESSING

- Various wet processing techniques are used after sizing, weaving and knitting
of fabrics
- The wet processing is a term that involves the mechanical and chemical
treatment to improve the aesthetic value of the fabric, yarn, fiber.
-The wet processing sector can be divided into three distinct sections.
• Preparation process or preparatory process.
• Coloration process.
• Finishing process.
THE GENERAL PROCESS SEQUENCE
FOLLOWED FOR THE FABRIC WET
PROCESSING

• Singeing
• Desizing
• Scouring
• Bleaching
• Mercerizing
• Dyeing and Printing
SINGEING

• to bum-off the protruding fibers/hairiness of yarn in the

fabric surface to have a smooth finish
• Importance of singeing
• improves the end use and wearing properties of textiles.
• dyed fabric appearance becomes brighter
• effective means of reducing pilling in blended fabrics.
• un-singeined fabrics soil more easily than singed fabrics.
• a closely singed fabric is essential for effective printing
DESIZING

• A process employed to remove the sizing materials present

from the warp yarns in woven fabrics to make it suitable for
further processing. If the sizes are present, they may hinder
dyeing, printing and finishing processes.
• The methods and chemicals used for desizing depend on
the type of sizing agent used
• Importance of desizing
• Eliminate the water repellent nature of sized cloth.
• Increase the absorbency.
• Reduce the consumption of chemicals in the subsequent process.
 DESIZING

(i) Desizing with acid:

• The sized cloth is treated with dilute sulfuric acid (0.5%)at room temperature for a
period of 4 to 12 hours and then washed well.

(ii) Desizing with enzymes:

• When modified starch is employed for sizing, desizing with enzyme is preferable. In this
method, the cloth is steeped in baths containing enzymes and kept for 4 to 8 hours at 55
to 800oC. The enzymes hydrolyse starch and converts it to readily soluble sugars.

(iii) Desizing with Peroxide:

• Peroxide is also employed for desizing. Peroxide fully degrades starch to CO and HO.
However, this method is very expensive. If polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) or carboxy methyl
cellulose (CMC) is used for sizing, they are removed with a detergent/water solution as
they are readily soluble in water.
 SCOURING

• After desizing, fabric still contains fats and waxes which adversely affect the
absorbency of the fabric.
• Scouring is an important operation by which natural impurities (greases,
waxes, fats etc.,) and acquired impurities from the fabric are removed.
• Scouring also renders the cloth whiter and makes it more absorbent for
subsequent bleaching and dyeing.
• 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.
 SCOURING

(i) Continuous Scouring:

• Desized fabric is passed through a caustic solution (3 to 6% caustic soda, surfactants and
sodium phosphate) and after saturation, passed on to J box where the fabric is heated
with live steam at a temperature of 1000C for 1 hour. After scouring, the fabric is rinsed
well with water to remove the excess chemicals.
(ii) Kier Boiling:
• Fabrics are heated under pressure using steam in steel/stainless steel pressure vessels
(kiers) of 2 to 3m. dia and 3 to 4m. height. The kiering liquor is an alkaline solution
containing caustic soda (1 to 3% on fabric wt) (major component), soda ash, sodium
silicate and sodium peroxide with small amounts of detergents. The boiling is carried out
for several hours (2 to 12 hrs). Then the fabric is rinsed well with water. Rinsing is
continued until no brown color remains in the fabric
 BLEACHING

• 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.
• The bleaching process general 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.
 BLEACHING

• In developing countries, sodium hypochlorite or chlorine is used for

bleaching cotton textiles, followed by washing with fresh water and then
by scouring (treatment with sodium bisulfite)
• In developed countries, hydrogen peroxide is the common bleaching
agent. It is an effective bleaching agent, safer chemical and easier to
handle.
• Nowadays, hypochlorite is being replaced by environmentally safe
bleaching agents such as peracetic acid (CH3COOOH).
• It provides higher brightness to fabric with less fiber damage.
• It decomposes to acetic acid which is easily biodegradable rendering the treatment
much simpler
BLEACHING

• Batch bleaching is done in dyers

(continuous processes use J-boxes) where
fabric is tacked for a given period to allow
the chemical to work before fabrics are
withdrawn from the bottom of the box.
Bleaching is followed by thorough rinsing.
MERCERIZING

• A continuous chemical process used for cotton and

cotton/polyester goods to increase dyeability, luster, and
appearance.
• This process causes the flat, twisted ribbon-like cotton fiber
to swell into a round shape and to contract in length. And
causes the fiber to become more lustrous than the original
fiber, increase in strength and increase its affinity for dyes.
• Mercerizing typically done prior to dyeing and may either
precede or follow bleaching
 MERCERIZING

• Steps in mercerizing:
• treatment of the bleached clothes with cold caustic solution
(10% to 30% w/v) containing a penetrant for a specified
period (1 to 3 minutes)
• thorough washing with water several times.
• removal of traces of alkali by treatment with a dilute
solution of acid followed by rinsing with water.
• The caustic soda dragged out by the cloth is usually
recovered and reused for mercerization itself or for scouring
 DYEING/PRINTING

• After bleaching and mercerizing, fabrics may

either be dyed or printed
• Dyeing - Whole fabric is uniformly covered
with one color
• Printing - Print color is applied to specific areas
of the cloth and in sharply defined patterns
• Include hundreds of dyes and auxiliary
chemicals such as mordants, salt (sodium
chloride and sodium sulfate) and other fixing
agents, acids, alkalis etc.
DYEING

• Fabric dyeing is the most common

method in use today because it can be
continuous or semicontinuous, as well as
a batch process.
• Batch technique – the liquor and the
textile are placed together in a vessel
and required amount of dye is added
• Continuous technique – the dye is
dissolved or dispersed in the liquor. A
definite quantity of dye liquor is locally
applied to the textile.
DYEING
HEALTH, SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT IN
TEXTILE INDUSTRY
 ENVIRONMENT

• Air emission – volatile organic compounds

• Residual waste – fibre waste, yarn and fabric scrap, packaging waste
• Wastewater generated depends upon type of fiber used.
• The pollutants in the wastewater include
• The fibers used , and
• Chemicals used in processing
ENVIRONMENT
 ENVIRONMENT
Composition of Cotton Textile Mill Wastewater
ENVIRONMENT
 ENVIRONMENT

• The presence of residual dyes:

 undesirable
 causes annoyance to the aquatic biosphere due to reduction of sunlight
penetration and depletion of the dissolved oxygen.
 some dyes are toxic and mutagenic and have potential to release the
carcinogenic amines.
 contribute to the failure of biological processes in wastewater treatment
plants.
 difficult to biodegrade in sewage treatment works.
HEALTH AND SAFETY

• The major safety and health issues in the textile industry

can be stated as under:
1) Exposure to cotton dust
2) Exposure to chemicals
3) Exposure to noise
4) Ergonomic issues
HEALTH AND SAFETY

1) Exposure to cotton dust

• Exposure to cotton dust and other particles leads to
respiratory disorders among the textile workers
• The fatal disease of byssinosis, commonly known as brown
lung, is caused among people working in the textile industry
on account of excessive exposure to cotton dust.
• The symptoms of this disease include tightening of the
chest, coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath
 HEALTH AND SAFETY
2) Exposure to chemicals
• Workers are also exposed to a number of chemicals, especially those
engaged in the activities of dyeing, printing and finishing.
• Chemicals based on benzidine, optical brighteners, solvents and fixatives,
crease-resistance agents releasing formaldehyde, flame retardants that
include organophosphorus and organobromine compounds and
antimicrobial agents are used in textile operations
• Exposure to formaldehyde could lead to nasal and lung cancer as well as to
brain cancer and leukemia, respiratory difficulty and eczema. Contact of the
chemicals with skin as well as inhalation of the chemicals can lead to several
serious health effects
HEALTH AND SAFETY

3) Exposure to noise
• Exposure to high noise levels has been known to damage the
eardrum and cause hearing loss.
• Other problems like fatigue, absenteeism, annoyance, anxiety,
reduction in efficiency, changes in pulse rate and blood
pressure as well as sleep disorders have also been noted on
account of continuous exposure to noise.
• Lack of efficient maintenance of machinery is one of the major
reasons behind the noise pollution in a majority of the units
HEALTH AND SAFETY

4) Ergonomic issues
• Workers face a number of problems such as unsuitable furniture,
improper ventilation and lighting, and lack of efficient safety measures
in case of emergencies.
• The workers are at risk for developing various occupational diseases.
• Musculoskeletal disorders like carpal tunnel syndrome, forearm
tendinitis, bicapital tendinitis, lower back pain, epicondylitis, neck pain,
shoulder pain, and osteoarthritis of the knees are some of the
occupational diseases that have been observed among the workers on
account of poor ergonomic conditions