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ARS Home » Southeast Area » New Orleans, Louisiana » Southern Regional Research Center » Cotton Chemistry and Utilization Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #149722
Title: USE OF ULTRASONIC ENERGY FOR INTENSIFICATION OF THE BIO-PREPARATION OF GREIGE COTTON

Author
item Yachmenev, Valeriy
item Blanchard, Eugene
item Lambert, Alexander

Submitted to: Ultrasonics
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/27/2003
Publication Date: 4/1/2004
Citation: Yachmenev, V., Blanchard, E.J., Lambert, A.A. 2004. Use of ultrasonic energy for intensification of the bio-preparation of greige cotton. Ultrasonics. 2004. 42:87-91.

Interpretive Summary: Raw unscoured cotton contains ~ 90% cellulose and various hydrophobic noncellulosics such as waxes, pectins, proteins, fats, and coloring matter. The goal of the cotton preparation process is to remove these noncellulosics components and to produce highly absorbent material that can be dyed and finished uniformly. Traditionally, it is achieved by conventional alkaline scouring with sodium hydroxide solution at the boil.in the presence of wetting and sequestering agents. There are, however, severe environmental issues associated with conventional alkaline scouring. The process requires large quantities of water and energy and generates a highly alkaline wastewater effluent. Recently published work indicated that certain enzymes might be a valuable alternative to harsh alkaline solutions in the preparation of cotton. The major shortcoming of this new technology is that the processing time is much longer than the conventional method. This was overcome by use of ultrasound energy in combination with enzyme processing. The combined enzyme/ultrasound treatment of cellulosic textiles offers significant advantages, such as less consumption of expensive enzymes, shorter processing time, better uniformity of treatment, and a notable decrease in the amount and toxicity of the resulting textile wastewater. Groups benefiting from this development include the textile industry, industrial and academic textile scientists, and the consumer of such products.

Technical Abstract: Raw unscoured cotton contains ~ 90% cellulose and various noncellulosic impurities such as waxes, pectins, proteins, and fats. To remove these hydrophobic noncellulosics and produce a highly absorbent fiber that can be dyed and finished uniformly, the greige cotton is traditionally processed with relatively harsh and environmentally unfriendly chemicals. New bio-preparation processes that utilize highly specific enzymes instead of conventional organic/inorganic chemicals are becoming increasingly popular in the textile industry. The major shortcoming of this new technology is that the processing time is much longer than the conventional method. This limitation was overcome by use of ultrasound energy in combination with enzyme processing. The combined enzyme/ultrasound bio-preparation of greige cotton offers significant advantages such as less consumption of expensive enzymes, shorter processing time, better uniformity of treatment and a notable decrease in the amount and toxicity of the resulting textile wastewater effluents.