Impurities in textile fibers

Course name: Wet preparatory process

Course Code: WPE 201

Course Teacher:
Tabassum Ferdous Jenny
Assistant Professor,
Department of Wet Process Engineering
Bangladesh University of Textiles.
Impurities in textile fibers

• The type and nature of impurities present in textile fibers depend on the source of

origin. Natural fibers contain large quantities of various impurities. Man-made fibers are

comparatively cleaner and contain insignificant quantities of impurities.

• Major Textile fibers are-

✓ Natural : Cotton, jute, wool, silk

✓ Synthetic/Man made : Polyester, Nylon, Acrylic, Viscose

Impurities in vegetable fibers

• Vegetable fibers are derived from plants. The principal chemical component in plants is
cellulose, and therefore they are also referred to as cellulosic fibers.

• The vegetable or cellulose-base class includes some important fibres such as cotton, flax,
jute, ramie etc.

• Vegetable fibres contain varying types and quantities of impurities such as:
1. Hemicellulose
2. Pectic acid and pectin
3. Lignin
4. Fat and waxes
5. Nitrogenous compounds
6. Mineral
7. Natural coloring matter
Impurities in vegetable fibers (cont..)

1. Hemicellulose

• Hemicellulose is a substance with the general properties of carbohydrates and is a mixture

of a variety of compounds, the proportions of which vary according to the source of origin.

• It is soluble in 18% caustic soda solution and this suggests that it may have a much lower
degree of polymerization than cellulose.

2. Pectic acid and pectin

• Pectic acid occurs in vegetables as calcium, magnesium salt or as pectin (i.e. methyl
pectate).

• Pectin is a polysaccharide that acts as a cementing material in the cell walls of all plant
tissues. It is a polymer of α-Galacturonic acid with a variable number of methyl ester
groups.
Impurities in vegetable fibers (cont..)

• Pectic acid is a long chain polymer having one carboxyl group (instead of CH2OH) for every
sixth carbon atom.

• It is insoluble in water, but soluble in alkaline solutions.

3. Lignin

• This substance is absent in cotton, but occurs in considerable amounts in bast fibres and is
responsible for their yellowing.

• It is associated with woody tissues in plants as cementing material.

Impurities in vegetable fibers (cont..)
• Its constitution is not well established; its low hydrogen content in relation to carbon
suggests that it may be composed of aromatic nuclei. 3,4 dihydroxyphenylpropane is a
degradation derivative and is probably one of its basic structural units.

• It is soluble in sodium hypochlorite or sodium chlorite solution.

4. Fats and waxes

• The fats and waxes are present in the fibres in much lower quantities and it causes
hydrophobicity of fibers.

• The oils can be made water-soluble by saponification, but the waxes are not saponifiable.

• Waxes are the product of monohydric alcohols (ceryl alcohol, gossipyl alcohol, montanyl
alcohol, etc.). They can be emulsified and removed with soap at high temperature. The
melting points of cotton waxes vary between 68 and 80°C.
Impurities in vegetable fibers (cont..)

5. Nitrogenous compounds

• These are degradation products of protoplasm contained in the living cells of plants.

• These protein and polypeptides substances are present in cotton in small amounts.

• They may produce undesirable effects in finished materials.

• They are readily soluble in boiling alkali.

6. Minerals

• The quantity and composition of water-soluble mineral matter vary according to the
nature of the soil on which cotton is cultivated.

• Silicon is always present. The metallic salts commonly present are of iron, aluminium,
calcium and magnesium. The salts are converted into respective carbonates when burnt.
Impurities in vegetable fibers (cont..)

7. Natural coloring matters

• The yellow or brown color of cotton still remains even after scouring.

• These natural coloring matters can be effectively destroyed or made colorless by

oxidizing bleaching agents.

• They are present in traces and are probably related to the flavone pigments of cotton
flowers.
Impurities in vegetable fibers (cont..)

• The tentative compositions of various vegetable fibres are shown in table:

Table: Chemical constituents of vegetable fibres (% on dry wt.)

Impurities of Wool

Wool is a protein fibre. The authentic element of wool is keratin. 61% keratin and 39%
impurities are made-up the natural animal wool fiber. The impurities are Wool Wax or
grease, Suint, dirt, mineral matters, water and others.

Element Amount in %
keratin 61%
Wool Wax 11%
Suint 8%
dirt 8%
water and others 12%
Impurities of Wool (cont..)

Impurities present in different type of wool -

Type Fat and Sand an Vegetable Wool

suint dirt matter

Fine 20-25 5-40 0.5-2 20-50

Medium 15-30 5-20 1.5 40-60
Coarse 5-15 5-10 0.2 60-80

It is clear from the above table, finer wools tend to have a higher proportion of impurities
as compared to coarser wool.
Impurities of Wool (cont..)

Wool wax:

• Wool wax is a yellowish wax-like substance which melts at 37–38ºC and is soluble in many
organic solvents.

• It is easily saponifiable and emulsifiable hydrophobic impurity.

• It consists of esters, diesters, hydroxy esters of high M. Wt. alcohol and acids.

• It retains its creamy consistency even when mixed with an approximately equal quantity of
water.

• Lanoline, widely used in cosmetic preparation, is a mixture of purified wool wax with 20%
water.
Impurities of Wool (cont..)

Suint

• Suint is a complex mixture derived from the perspiration of sheep.

• It contains potassium salts of fatty acids, such as oleic and stearic acids.

• The simple organic acids such as acetic, lactic, butyric and valeric acids are also found in
the free-state as well as potassium salts.

• These are soluble in water and can be isolated from the raw wool by aqueous extraction.

Sand and dirt

• Particulate type of impurity which sheep picks up during its movement.

• This is held by the adhesive action of the grease and falls away when the grease is
removed during scouring.
Impurities of Wool (cont..)

Vegetable matter

• Fragments of vegetable substance such as particles of straw, seed, burr or bast

fiber are also picked up by sheep from various sources.

• These impurities are removed by a strong sulphuric acid treatment called

carbonization.
Impurities of Silk

• Silk is a minor fibre in terms of volume produced

Element %
(~1% of world fibre production) but is a high value
Fibroin 70-80
fibre. Composition of a typical silk fiber -
Sericin 20-30
• The major impurity in a silk fibre is sericin.
Waxy matter 0.4-0.8
• Both Fibroin, which form the actual silk fibre and
the sericin are proteins. Inorganic matter 1.2-1.6

• Hence some of the approaches for removal of Pigment 0.7

sericin may result in some damage to silk (fibroin)
also. Composition of silk fiber
Impurities of Manmade Fiber

Impurities of Manmade Fiber are mainly characterized by added or acquired impurities.

These impurities are added in different stage of fiber processing-

• Mainly sizing matter (protective coating for warp yarns)

• Machine oils , lubricants, grease etc.

• Coning oil (In knitting)

Any Question?
Thank You