Effect of Plasma Treatment on Cotton Desizing

As a significant amount of water, chemicals and energy are incurred in the preparation process of cotton materials, the handling of waste water and the associated chemical disposal is costly and the side effects that are resultant of the wastes affect the environment. Cost efficiency and environment protection are emphasized in this generation, and as a result, the textile industry is seeking for more cost saving and environmentally friendly cotton preparation processes as an alternative to conventional wet chemical processing. Moreover, the combination of both physical and chemical treatments will be the trend for future textile processing to achieve the desired fabric properties in a more flexible way. The application of plasma treatment on textile material has been proven successful in altering material performance without affecting its bulk properties, and also plasma treatment has been considered as a potential alternative to the conventional chemical wet treatment. Background information on plasma and the effects of atmospheric pressure plasma treatment on cotton fabrics are reviewed. Comparisons are made between conventional enzyme and plasma desizing.