Different Types of Chemicals Used in Garment Washing Plant

Introduction:
Different types of garment washing are available in order to meet the requirements of today’s fashion trends. Specially denim garment washing is now an indispensable process for producing fashion items for leisure wear. Garment washing is done to produce effects such as color fading with or without patchiness, crinkles, seam puckering, hairiness, depiling, softened hand feel and stabilized dimensions.

Chemicals are very essential part of the garment washing industry. Different types of chemicals are used in different stages for achieving a proper wash effect. Chemicals with certain parameters, quantities and conditions provides those garments a different outlook. Now I will discuss about some common chemicals which are used in the garment washing plant.

List of Washing Chemicals Used in Garment Washing Plant:

Enzyme
Detergent
Acetic Acid
Wetting Agent
Desizing agent
Hygroscopic Agent
Whitening Agent
Antistain
Bleaching powder
Sodium hyposulfite
Caustic Soda
Soda Ash
Sodium Bicarbonate
Potassium permanganate
Cationic / nonionic Flax softener
Micro Emulsion Silicon
Salt (sodium chloride)
Buffer
Hydrogen peroxide
Stabilizer
Fixing agent
Catanizer
Optical Brightener
Resin
Sodium Metabisulphite

Garment washing chemicals and their functions are described below:

1. Enzyme:
The action of enzyme during enzyme wash it hydrolysis the cellulose. At first it attacks the having projecting fibers and hydrolyzed them. Then it attacks the yarn portion inside fabric and party hydrolyzed the yarn portion. As a result color comes out from the yarn portion and faded affect is produced.

2. Detergent:
Chemical character is fatty alcohol polyglycol ether in an aqueous, glycolic solution. Detergent is widely applicable in the continuous and discontinuous pretreatment of all types of fiber and their blends. To remove impurities, mineral oil contamination and sizes from the garments.

3. Acetic Acid:
Acetic Acid is used to neutralize the garments from alkaline condition and to control the pH value in wash bath.

4. Wetting Agent:
Wetting agent is a chemical which reduces the surface tension of a liquid. Generally, the molecules of a liquid try to bond together and cause surface tension. A wetting agent stretches these bonds and reduces the tendency of the molecules to hold together, which permits the liquid to spread more easily across any solid surface.

5. Desizing Agent:
Desizing agent is used to remove mainly starches, cmc, waxes, fats pectin’s, minerals and unfixed indigo dye from denim, twill, poplin and canvas fabrics etc.

6. Hygroscopic Agent:
The agent which can easily absorb water from nature is called hygroscopic agent. When the surrounding environment becomes wet then we can use this agent to avoid excessive moisture from the garments. As for example: Calcium chloride, Amylopectin etc.

7. Whitening Agent:
The chemicals which, after using the garments will be more white is called whitening agent. This chemical basically we used for white garments to become more white. Like Optical brightener, 4bk etc. are whitening agents. When we used the optical brightener, the molecules of brightener are attached with the garments. When light fall on the garments the molecules will emit the light and garments will show more white and bright.

8. Antistain:
Antistain is used to prevent the staining on weft yarn of the denim (white yarn), white pockets of garment, levels, and contacted fabrics of garment and increased the brightness of fabrics; it is also acts as anticreasing agent.

9. Bleaching Powder:
Bleaching powder is an oxidizing agent. It is used in washing plant for color out from the denim garments. We can achieve deferent shade of color on garment i.e. Dark, Medium, Light shade.

10. Sodium Hyposulphite:
Sodium hyposulphite is used to neutralize the garments from chlorine bleach.

11. Caustic Soda:
Caustic created the role in bleach technique without color change the garment and has a good cleaning power. It is work as fading affect/old looking affect come rapidly on garments.

12. Soda Ash:
Soda ash creates alkaline medium for the breakdown of pigment dye. Soda ash help to uniform bleaching action on bleach bath. It has a cleaning power and help color fading effect of garment. It is used also for color fixing in dye bath.

13. Sodium Bicarbonate:
Sodium bicarbonate is used in washing plant in the bleach bath with bleaching powder for Denim Light shade because easily color out within short time. As a result production increase and costing is low.

14. Potassium Permanganate:
Potassium permanganate is used in Acid wash with Punic stone for color out from the garments. It is used also spray chamber by nozzle for color out (whitish affect) from the garments.

15. Flax Softener (Cationic, non ionic):
Softener is used to make the garments treated textiles a surface feel that is both sickly and soft and also provides excellent lubricating properties.

16. Micro Emulsion Silicon:
Amino Silicon is a textile finishing agent consisting mainly of amino modified silicon. When applied on fabrics, it gives durable softness, lubricity, elastic handle, anti-pilling, dimensional stability, tear resistance and fabric to be cut and sewn more easily allows and improving wear and easy care properties.

17. Sodium Chloride (Salt):
It helps to exhaust dye in to the fiber

18. Buffer:
Buffer is used in washing plant for pH control of enzyme bath, softener bath, desizing bath.

19. Hydrogen Peroxide:
Hydrogen peroxide creates the prime role in bleach wash technique. In alkaline medium, hydrogen peroxide breaks up and gives some perhydroxhyl ion, which discolor the coloring materials and as a result fading effect is developed. Hydrogen peroxide is used in scouring, bleaching bath for white/ready for dyeing of gray fabric garments. It is used also neutralized the garment from alkaline condition.

20. Stabilizer:
Hydrogen peroxide is work a good condition at temperature above 90°C, when temperature raise to 90°C then break the Hydrogen peroxide. Stabilizer is used to protect break the hydrogen peroxide and peroxide works in bath smoothly.

21. Fixing Agent:
Fixing agent is used for unfixed dye to fix on fabrics, when fabric color will be proper fixing then color fastness and rubbing fastness will be increased.

22. Catanizer:
Catanizer is used in pigment exhaust method processing. Pigment is color not dyestuff. Pigment colors have no affinity to fabric when catanizer is used in fabric then increase the affinity between pigment color and fabrics.

23. Optical Brightners:
Two types of optical brightener are used in the washing plant – a) Red brightener. b) Blue brightener. Mainly optical brightener is used for improve the brightness of garments.

24. Resin:
Resin is high efficiency textile resin based on etherified dimethylolglyoxalin mono urine urea. Resin is used for the creation of semi-permanent creases in denim and other cellulose fabrics. It is used also cotton and polyester fabric. Fabric retains soft handle after washing.

25. Sodium Metabisulphite:
Sodium metabisulphite is used in the washing plant to neutralized the garment from potassium permanganate.

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