Plasma Treatment of Textiles: A Novel Approach To the Environmental Problems of Desizing.

Textile sizes applied to warp yarns to facilitate weaving must be removed from the fabric (desizing) before finishing and therefore contribute significantly to the pollution problems of the textile finishing industry. One of the most widely used of the synthetic sizing agents, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), is not easily biodegraded, which makes the job of designing suitable waste disposal methods for this polymer particularly difficult. A study of the utilization of low temperature plasma, an electrically excited form of gases at low pressure, for the removal of PVA size from fabrics was therefore undertaken. It was found that PVA is oxidatively degraded by both oxygen and air plasnias. A significant portion of the PVA is oxidized directly to carbon dioxide and water during plasma exposure, thus minimizing problems associated with the desizing operation. Fiber degradation due to this treatment is minimal, and adverse effects on fabric properties were not observed. Further research into this process can yield an economical desizing method which will contribute significantly toward meeting the requirements of zero discharge specified by the Clean Water Act of 1972. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]