Study on Mulberry Silk Degumming Process with Cold-pad-batch Using Tea Sapogenin

The cold-pad-batch technology is applied mainly in the pretreatment and dyeing of cellulosic fabrics and shows lots of advantages such as technique simplicity, low energy consumption and reduced sewage emission especially for productions of multi item and short run. The degumming process of mulberry silk fabrics with "cold-pad-batch" method using tea sapogenin was studied in this paper. The effects of a few factors such as concentration of tea sapogenin, NaOH and Na2S2O4 as well as time on the whiteness and weight loss of fabric obtained: NaOH 8g/L, tea sapogenin 6g/L, Na(2)S(2)O(4)5g/L, Lamepon A 2g/L, JFC 1g/L, Na2SiO3 2g/L and batching time 18h. After degumming with "cold-pad-batch" process, the whiteness and weight loss of mulberry silk fabrics were 69.3 and 22.8%, respectively. The handle of fabric was soft. Compared with traditional soap soda boiling degumming process, the properties of mulberry silk fabrics degummed with "cold-pad-batch" method using tea sapogenin can meet the requirement of weight loss, whiteness, strength and show some benefits such as low energy consumption and water saving and low toxicity. The energy consumption will be 25% lower than that of soap soda boiling degumming process.