Replacement of sodium alginate polymer, urea and sodium bicarbonate in the conventional reactive printing of cellulosic cotton

Abstract

Abstract The objective of this study is to replace sodium alginate (bio composite polymer), urea and sodium bicarbonate (alkalinity) in the conventional reactive printing of cotton with carboxymethyl tamarind plolysaccharide (bio polymer), polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG-400) and trichloroacetic acid respectively. This study was motivated by the goal of coming up with a low-cost, eco-friendly printing process. The results were evaluated on two reactive dyes (color index numbers: Reactive Violet 01 and Reactive Blue 21) at two dose levels (2% and 4% of the printing paste weight). In the conventional recipe, sodium alginate, urea and sodium bicarbonate were added at dose levels of 2%, 15% and 2.5%, respectively; in the modified recipe, the dose levels of the substituted tamarind polysaccharide and trichloroacetic acid were 6% and 4%, respectively. The different dose levels of PEG-400 (0%, 1%, 2%, 3%) were accessed in each modified recipe. Results showed that the Sum K/S and shade strength, dye penetration, staining on white ground of the fabric, rubbing fastness (dry and wet), washing fastness, perspiration fastness (acidic and alkaline), light fastness, sharpness of the edges and fabric softness all improved in the modified recipe with 2% PEG-400. However, the increase in PEG-400 only increased the dye penetration and did not give any significant benefit with the increase in concentration.