what is the scouring process?

Scouring is a very important process in the pre-treatment process of printing and dyeing of cotton-based cellulose fibers and their blended fabrics. The purpose is to remove the natural impurities contained in the fibers. For example, natural cotton fibers contain about 10% of natural impurities, including pectin substances, nitrogenous substances (mainly proteins), waxy substances, ash (inorganic salts), cotton seed hulls, etc. These substances affect the water absorption and color of the fabric and bring difficulties to subsequent processing. Generally speaking, these impurities can be converted into soluble substances and removed under alkaline conditions, so caustic soda is the main auxiliary for scouring processing. However, some substances such as waxy substances must be removed by emulsification. In order to speed up the scouring speed, improve the capillary effect and whiteness of the fabric, in the scouring process, in addition to the alkali agent, a certain amount of high-efficiency scouring agent needs to be added to facilitate the even and rapid penetration of the scouring liquid into the fabric to give full play to the scouring process. The role of liquid, and emulsify and disperse the impurities removed to prevent impurities from staining the fabric again.

In recent years, with the development of the textile printing and dyeing industry, increasing scouring speed, saving energy, reducing water consumption, and shortening the process flow have become a prominent problem. The scouring agent must meet the requirements of rapid penetration, strong emulsification, high detergency, and high temperature resistance. , Concentrated alkali, hard water, low foam, good biodegradability, safety and non-toxicity requirements. To achieve the above-mentioned performance and requirements, a single surfactant can no longer be satisfied. It is necessary to develop a new type of high-efficiency scouring agent compounded with various types of surfactants and other inorganic and organic scouring aids from the synergistic effect and synergistic effect.