Desizing
The major portion of the size consists of starch, wax and
tallow. All these remain on the warp yarn even after weaving
the cloth. It is necessary to remove the size material from the
fabric. The hydrophobic nature of the wax and tallow hinders
the subsequent dyeing and printing process.
Wax and tallow are removed by scouring while the starch is
removed by desizing. Thus desizing is the term usually
restricted to the process of removal of starch from the cloth.
So, desizing is a process by which size materials are removed
from the fabric.
Objects:
➢ To remove starch from the fabric.
➢ TO increase the absorbency of the fabric.
➢ To make the fabric ready for the subsequent process.
➢ To reduce stiffness and make the fabric softer.
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Classification of Desizing method:
Desizing method
↓ ↓
Hydrolytic method Oxidative method
Rot Enzymatic acid Chlorine Chlorite Bromite
steep steep steep
Rot steep:
Fabric
Water
Batching
Fig. : Rot Steep
➢ Oldest and cheapest method.
➢ Requires no special chemical.
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➢ Normal water is used. The micro-organism normally
present in water secretes(discharge) starch-liquefying
enzymes, which solubilise the starch present in the size.
➢ Temperature of water is 40°c and time 24 hours.
➢ Then washed properly to remove size materials and dry.
Disadvantage:
Main disadvantages are--
➢ Slow process.
➢ Require extra space for storage of fabric.
Acid steep:
➢ Dilute sulphuric or hydrochloric acid may be used to
hydrolyse the starch from the sized fabric.
➢ Acid solution = 0.25% & Room temperature= 30°c is
sufficient for liquefying starch.
➢ By increasing temperature 50°c to 60°c, increases the
rate of hydrolysis.
➢ By using this process duration of desizing may be
reduced to 8-12 hours.(Instead of 24 hours in case of rot
steep)
➢ Concentration should be controlled properly otherwise
cellulose may damage.
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Enzymatic desizing:
Starch consists of amylose and amylopectin which can
removed by enzymes from
→ Bacteria,
→ Animal pancreases,
→ Malt.
Enzyme desizing is the most widely practiced method of
desizing starch. Enzymes are high molecular weight protein
bio-catalyst that are very specific in there action. Enzymes are
named after the compound they break down, for example,
amylase break down amylose and amylopectine. Maltage
break down maltose and cellulose break down cellulose. For
desizing starch, amylase and maltage are used and starch is
degraded into small water soluble fragments.
Process:
➢ First enter the hot water.
➢ Then passed through 0.5-2% malt extract solution
kept at 60-70°c. Enzymes are most activated in 60-
70°c.
➢ The pre impregnation of the cloth prevents the
cooling of enzyme solution.
➢ Steeping enzymatic preparations may be rapid if
proper condition of time and temperature should
maintain.
➢ The controlling points of enzymatic desizing are
. 1. pH,
2. Temperature.
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Disadvantages:
➢ Enzymes suffer from one disadvantage that if the
condition of temperature and pH are not in
favorable, their desizing activity is destroyed.
➢ For example: Their activity is destroyed, they are
deactivated above 75°c. An outstanding feature of
enzyme desizing is the specific nature of the
enzyme action.
Advantages: from book
Classification of enzymes:
Enzymes are classified on the basis of source from which they
are obtained--
Desizing Enzyme
Animal Vegetable
Example: Viveral,
Novo fermosol,
Degomma. Malt extract Bacterial
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❖ Animal:
The pancreatic/animal enzymes are prepared from the
pancreases of slaughtered cattle.
❖ Malt extract:
Malt enzymes are obtained by the extraction of freshly
germinated barley.E.g. Diastofor, diastoge.
❖ Bacterial:
The fermentation is obtained from bacillus substitutes
which grow on rice and it breaks down the starch into
water soluble dextrose. Example: Rapidose, biolose etc.
Optimum operational condition for enzyme:
Enzyme Concentration Temperature pH
g/l °c
Malt Extract 3-20 50-60 6-7.5
Pancreatic 1-3 50-60 6.5-7.5
Bacterial 0.5-1 60-70 5.5-7.5
At least 2 hours are necessary for enzymatic desizing.
Why enzymatic desizing is preferred?
➢ Mildew is occurred during rot steeping.
➢ HCl react with cellulose and fiber looses its strength.
➢ During alkali steeping, alkali solution shrinks the fabric.
➢ An outstanding feature of enzymatic desizing is the
specific nature of the enzyme action. It only hydrolysis
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starch, but does not tender cellulose. Therefore it is safer
than the others.
Starch:
Chemically starch is poly ∞-glyco pyranose in which straight
chain(Amylose) and branched chain (Amylopectin) polymers
are present.
Changes during hydrolysis:
Both the constituents of starch are insoluble in water. But they
can be solubilized by hydrolysis of these long chain
compounds to shorter ones. Thus under suitable conditions
starch can be progressively hydrolyzed to the following
stages—
→Starch(Insoluble)→Dextrin(Insoluble)→
Dextrin(Soluble)→Maltose(Soluble)→ ∞-Glucose(Soluble)
In desizing hydrolysis reaction is carried out up to the stage
of soluble dextrin only and not further to ∞-Glucose.
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Demineralization:
It is a step of pretreatment through which mineral salts can be
removed from fiber.
Effect of temperature in case of Enzymatic desizing:
It is seen that the use of greater amount of enzyme will not
itself completely convert the starch. At lower temperature the
desizing efficiency will be lower. For all the enzymes, the
temperature should not allowed to drop below 40°c.
Questions::
➢ Desizing object and what it is?
➢ Process, advantages and disadvantages of different
process.
➢ How you can obtain different types of enzyme?
➢ Why done for woven fabric?
What is starch? And in which form it coverts
during desizing is given last.
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