Investigation of alternative chemicals for scouring and mercerization processes in the textile industry

Textiles are used in various places in people's lives and these textiles go through different processes to make them useful. There are many aqueous processes applied in textile enterprises, especially in dyeing processes. In textile wet processes, caustic (NaOH) is used in different processes in the pre-finishing section and is the basic chemical of bleaching and mercerization processes. In order to prevent the pollution caused by the use of caustic, different studies are being carried out to find less harmful and low-cost alternative chemicals instead of caustic. This thesis examines the use of alternative chemicals in scouring and mercerization processes to reduce environmental impacts in the textile industry. The caustic used in traditional methods causes problems such as water consumption and wastewater pollution. Therefore, the study investigated alternative chemicals that can replace caustic and are less harmful to the environment. The study was carried out on 100% cotton and cotton-polyester blend fabrics. The experiments were designed by Box-Benkhen method and then the optimum conditions were determined for each chemical. The chemicals used included caustic, gelatin, acetic acid, oxalic acid and ethanol. Different temperature, concentration and time conditions were determined for each chemical, followed by weight loss, contact angle and wettability tests. The results allowed the determination of the optimum conditions for each chemical. The bio-scouring method was evaluated as an alternative to traditional scouring processes. This method offers an environmentally friendly approach and consumes less energy and water than conventional methods. The whiteness, brightness and tensile strength of bio- scoured fabrics were found to be higher than chemically washed fabrics. These results show the applicability of bio- scouring method in the textile industry. In the thesis, the effects of different chemicals on the fabric were also studied in detail. For example, while the use of caustic led to high color strength values during the mercerization process, it was observed that gelatin and other alternative chemicals showed similar success. Oxalic acid and gelatin improved the surface properties by increasing the linear density of the fabric. In conclusion, this study emphasizes the importance of using environmentally friendly alternatives in the textile industry and reveals the potential of chemicals that can replace caustic. The findings will contribute to the adoption of sustainable practices in textile production and will be an important step towards reducing environmental impacts. In this context, the results of the study provide valuable information that should be taken into consideration in both academic and industrial fields.