JPH02169775A - Method for improving cotton-containing fabric - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the touch of fabric soft and flexible without reduction in fiber strength by treating a fabric containing cotton with low-temperature plasma, then with cellulase. CONSTITUTION:A fabric containing at least one 10% of cotton fibers is previously treated with low-temperature plasma to make the surfaces of the fibers hydrophilic, then treated with an aqueous solution containing 1-20g/l of cellulase at 30 to 50% to hydrolyze the surface areas selectively for thinning whereby the touch of the fabric is improved soft and flexible without reduction in fiber strength.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a method for improving the feel of a fabric containing cotton.

(Prior art) Conventional methods for improving the feel of fabrics containing cotton include treating them with silicone-based softeners or cationic softeners, but this method reduces the coefficient of friction between fibers. Since it is a method of creating flexibility, there are limits to its effectiveness.

On the other hand, for polyester fibers, the fiber surface is decomposed with alkali. The so-called weight loss processing method has been widely adopted,
Excellent flexibility effect has been obtained. This is because the fibers themselves become softer by making them thinner, and
This is due to the synergistic effect of the formation of voids between fibers.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In recent years, attempts have been made to apply the above weight loss method to cotton, and a method of weight loss processing using cellulose degrading enzymes has been considered;

2 Because the fiber structure is not as dense as polyester fiber.
Degrading enzymes act not only on the outer layer of the fiber but also on the inner layer, resulting in a significant decrease in the strength of the cotton fiber.

Therefore, when enzymatic treatment is performed under conditions to obtain a good hand feel, the 9-strength is greatly reduced, which poses a practical problem in terms of 1-strength.

The present invention was made in view of the current situation, and the purpose is to improve the soft feel of fabrics containing cotton using cellulose-degrading enzymes without causing a decrease in strength that would be a problem in practice. That is.

(Means for Solving the Problems) As a result of intensive studies to solve these problems, the present inventors have developed a method in which the reaction of cellulose-degrading enzymes is selectively concentrated on the fiber surface and does not act much on the inside of the fibers. Based on the knowledge that the above problems can be solved by adopting the following, the present invention has been made.

That is, the gist of the present invention is a method for improving the feel of a cotton-containing fabric, which comprises subjecting the cotton-containing fabric to a low-temperature plasma treatment and then treating it with a cellulose-degrading enzyme.

Two aspects of the present invention will be described in detail below.

The fabric containing cotton as used in the present invention refers to a fabric containing at least one piece of cotton.
Refers to blended fabrics, cross-knitted fabrics, and 100% cotton fabrics containing 0% or more.

In the method of the present invention, the above-mentioned fabric is first subjected to low-temperature plasma treatment. The low-temperature plasma treatment may be carried out at any step after the desizing step during the dyeing and finishing process, but it is usually applied before the dyeing process, preferably after desizing and before the refining process.

For the low-temperature plasma treatment, a known apparatus can be used, for example, the apparatus described in "Journal of Textile Machinery Society," Vol. 38, No. 4 (1985), No. 188.

This device has a discharge electrode inside a vacuum container that can maintain a low pressure, allows a specific gas to be introduced at a predetermined flow rate, and evacuates the inside of the container using an attached vacuum pump.

This device has the structure and performance to maintain a constant pressure. When a voltage is applied to the electrodes in this device, glow discharge occurs, and the introduced gas becomes a low-temperature plasma. Most commonly, a high frequency power of 13.56 M) Iz is applied. By passing the fabric containing cotton to be treated through a low-temperature plasma atmosphere formed between electrodes at a desired speed,
Low temperature plasma treatment can be performed.

Specifically, first, a fabric containing cotton to be treated is placed in a vacuum container, and the internal pressure is reduced to 0.
Adjust to 01-10 Torr. Next, a predetermined gas is introduced and the pressure is adjusted to 0.1 to 5 Torr.

The gases used at this time include oxygen, nitrogen, argon,
Various gases such as helium and ammonia can be used, but
Any other gas may be used as long as it can improve the hydrophilicity of cotton.

Oxygen, air, and argon are usually preferred.

By introducing a predetermined gas and applying high frequency power to the electrodes in the container while adjusting the pressure to 0.1 to 5 Torr, the introduced gas becomes a low-temperature plasma state. High frequency power is 0.1
~0.5 W/cm'' (electrode unit area) is appropriate.

A low-temperature plasma treatment can be performed by passing a cloth containing cotton, which has been stored in advance, through this low-temperature plasma atmosphere. Processing time.

Usually several seconds to 300 seconds, preferably 30 to 180 seconds.

By such low-temperature plasma treatment, impurities are removed from the surface of the cotton fiber or the surface is made hydrophilic, thereby improving water absorption.

In particular, unrefined cotton contains impurities such as hydrophobic substances such as cotton wax and pectin, but the surface portion of the fiber is made hydrophilic by low-temperature plasma treatment.

In the method of the present invention, the fabric is treated with low-temperature plasma.

Next, it is treated with cellulose degrading enzyme. This treatment may be carried out by a conventional method commonly used in the art.

That is, the cellulose-degrading enzyme used is a commercially available so-called cellulase, and the concentration is 1 to 20 g/β.
, in an aqueous solution of pl+4 to 4.5, at a temperature of 30 to 50"C.
The weight can be reduced by decomposition by soaking in water for 1 to 20 hours.

In addition to immersion, it can also be processed by, for example, the pad patch method (cold batch amplifier method). In this case as well, the enzyme concentration and treatment time may be adjusted to achieve the desired weight loss rate.

Decomposition with cellulose degrading enzymes can selectively decompose the surface of cotton fibers by performing it after low-temperature plasma treatment, as in the method of the present invention, and compared to the conventional method, there is no significant decrease in strength even at the same 1lffi rate. There are few.

(effect) When fabrics containing cotton are subjected to low-temperature plasma treatment.

The low-temperature plasma acts selectively on the surface of the fiber, making the surface layer of the cotton fiber even more hydrophilic, making the surface extremely wettable. When a cellulose-degrading enzyme is applied to cotton fibers in this state, the enzyme acts more strongly on the highly hydrophilic surface layer than on the inside of the fiber, selectively degrading one surface layer.
i [! ! do. As a result, fiber gaps are formed between adjacent fibers, and the fabric has an improved soft feel. At this time, the enzyme does not act much on the inside of the fiber, so the strength of the fiber is maintained to a level that poses no practical problem.

(Example) Next, the present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to two examples, in which the performance of the fabric was measured.

This was done using the following method.

(1) Texture: Measured by sensory test.

(2) Tear resistance measured by JIS L-1018 pensulum method.

Example 1 A 100% cotton fill fabric was prepared and desized by a conventional method. The cotton fabric after desizing was divided into two parts, and one part was subjected to low-temperature plasma treatment under the following low-temperature plasma treatment conditions 1.

Low-temperature plasma processing conditions 1 Gas species 100% oxygen Gas flow rate 5β/min Vacuum degree I Torr High frequency output O1 trace/cn! (Electrode area) Processing time: 60 seconds Next, the desizing sample and the low-temperature plasma-treated sample were simultaneously immersed in a treatment bath having the following formulation 1.

It was left to stand at 50°C for 10 hours for enzymatic decomposition, followed by washing with water and drying.

Formulation 1 Enzyme Cellulase XP425 10g/R acetic acid 1. Sodium acetate
2. The performance of the obtained fabric was measured and the results are shown in Table 1.

Table 1 As is clear from Table 1, the tear strength of the fabric was reduced to 1100 g using the conventional method, which was 1/1 compared to the unprocessed product.
2 or less, whereas with the method of the present invention, 1
It maintained a tear strength of 750 g, which was within a range that caused no problems in practical terms. The texture was very soft and good in both methods.

Incidentally, the weight loss rate due to enzymatic decomposition was 17% in the method of the present invention and 13% in the conventional method.

(Effects of the Invention) The present invention has a structure in which a fabric containing cotton is subjected to low-temperature plasma treatment and then subjected to a weight reduction treatment using a cellulose-degrading enzyme. It is possible to improve the soft texture of fabrics containing cotton by using cellulose-degrading enzymes without causing any problems.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A method for improving the feel of a fabric containing cotton, which comprises subjecting the fabric containing cotton to a low-temperature plasma treatment and then treating it with a cellulose-degrading enzyme.