Special Caustic Treatment to Improve Tear strength and Tensile strength in denim Washing

Introduction:

Tearing strength & Tensile strength failure in Denim washing is a common phenomenon. You will find only few who is working in Denim washing but didn’t face this phenomena. We can follow some tricks to make Tearing strength & Tensile strength improved. We have to take preventive actions in each steps of Denim washing to avoid such failure. Here are some points to be considered:

Using less amount of Enzyme:

Under certain conditions, enzymes have the ability to break down bonds within cellulosic fibers. This can weaken the yarn twist and ultimately lead to a decrease in yarn and fabric strength. Additionally, when fabric contains elastane fibers, they may become loose and shift from their original position within the yarn.

To address strength failure issues in denim washing, it's recommended to use a smaller amount of enzymes during enzyme stone wash. This helps to minimize the breakdown of fibers and preserve the overall strength of the fabric.

Using Soda Ash for Controlled Bleaching:

Too much bleaching can weaken the tear and tensile strength of fabric, especially if it contains elastane fibers. These fibers at the core can become weaker when bleaching isn't properly managed. To maintain the physical strength of fabric with elastane, we should control the bleaching process by adjusting the pH of the bleach bath with soda ash.

Soda ash is a substance that makes the bleach solution less harsh by raising its pH level to the right amount. This helps to prevent excessive damage to the fabric. Additionally, keeping the bleach bath temperature below 45°C is important.

Instead of using highly aggressive 65% chlorine bleach, a milder 35% chlorine bleach can be used to further reduce the risk of damage.

The ideal concentration of soda ash for this purpose would be as follows:

Special Caustic Soda Treatment just before Softening process and using Polyethylene based Softener:

Cotton is made of a natural substance called cellulose, which is a long chain of glucose molecules linked together. Within each cotton fiber, these chains are connected by weaker sideways forces, forming both crystalline (strong) and amorphous (weak) regions. Thus each fiber is made up of 20-30 layers of cellulose coiled on a neat series and there is a crisscross net made up of Cellulose in the outer layer (primary wall) of cotton.

A special treatment using caustic soda helps to strengthen cotton fibers. When cotton is treated with caustic soda, it swells, causing the crisscross network of fibers to become more tightly packed. This compacting makes the fibers stronger. Additionally, the fibers become more circular in shape during this treatment, which also adds to their strength.

Moreover, the swelling of the fibers opens up their structure, making them more receptive to chemical treatments. Applying a polyethylene-based softener after the caustic soda treatment allows the softener to penetrate the fibers more effectively, further enhancing their strength.

In simple terms, treating cotton with caustic soda and then applying a polyethylene softener makes the fibers stronger by tightening their structure and allowing the softener to penetrate deeply

Special Tricks for Drying Denim with Elastane contain:

Adding a Lycra protector in the rinse cycle before hydro extraction can help maintain the integrity of the elastane fibers during the drying process. This extra step helps to ensure that the Elastane fibers are covered by Lycra protector throughout the drying cycle to prevent Elastane fiber.

Bottomline :

By employing techniques such as special caustic treatments followed by polyethylene softening, and implementing preventive measures throughout the washing process, we can effectively enhance the stregth of of denim fabrics.

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