Mercerization

Mercerization, a textile process named after its inventor, the English chemist
John Mercer (1791-1866), was first developed in 1844. In 1889 Horace Lowe
discovered the additional effect of enhancing the lustre by stretching the swollen
materials while wet with caustic alkali and then washing off. Mercerization is a
finishing process used to produce high quality fabrics, such as damasks. It
consists essentially of impregnating stretched cotton with caustic soda (although
other alkalis may be used). The treatment enhances the lustre of cotton (the
fibres are swelled), making it similar to silk. It also increases the fibre strength
and affinity for dyes. A related process (liquid ammonia treatment) produces
some of the effects of mercerization. Double mercerization means both the yarn
and the knitted fabric are mercerized.mercerized cotton is stronger, smoother,
and shinier than regular cotton.

The terms "pearl cotton" and "pearle cotton" are

also used to refer to Mercerized cotton, because of the deeply lustrous
appearance of the finished cotton thread. In addition to having rich color
saturation and a shimmering appearance, mercerized cotton is also much
stronger than conventional cotton thread. The process shrinks the cotton fibers,
tightening and smoothing the grain of the thread. Because the cotton is
preshrunk, mercerized cotton also tends not to shrink as much as regular cotton.

Cloth Mercirization:

1) Chainless mercerization: This method of mercerization running fabric

through a number of rollers without the use of a clip stenter is also called roller
mercerization. The machine used has a number of stainless rollers, or stainless
and rubber rollers, of a relatively-large diameter tiered zigzag in close contact to
each other inside a long trough, with the lower tier designed to submerge in
alkaline solution for mercerization.

The absorption of alkaline solution and fabric swelling take place as fabric
sequentially glides through the surface of these rollers, and, although this
movement from roller to roller in close contact with them reduces the widthwise
contraction to a minimum, the resulting fabric expansion remains within a limited
range, thus displaying the mechanism of mercerization at fixed length.

A similar device is used for the removal of most alkali following this initial stage of
alkali penetration and fabric swelling, and an open-width soaping machine for
further removal and neutralization.
Therefore, the machinery required is extremely concise and the cost is low, in
comparison with the chain mercerization method described in the following
chapter. However, this method is subject to a considerable number of constraints
due to inflexible widthwise control over fabric depending on the kind and use.

With all cotton and its blends with polyester, in machines of this type there is
trouble in the dimension settings of 100% cotton and blends with low polyester
content, while blends with high ratios of polyester, even those of a plain structure,
there will be no problem since control by heat setting is possible, with only a
limited widthwise shrinkage being expected from mercerization.

Roller mercerization is not at all suitable, particularly for these sheer plain
weaves. This type of machine is widely in use in Europe, in contrast to its scarce
usage in Japan.

2) Chain mercerization: In order to make up for the shortcomings of the roller

mercerizing machine, a clip stenter is used for post-mercerization treatment, in
which a widthwise tension is applied then most alkali is showered off the fabric
kept on the stenter, followed by thorough alkali removal and neutralization using
an open-width washing machine. As for practical machinery, a heavy padding
mangle is used for the application of alkaline solution in the 2 dip/2 nip method,
with sufficient time allowed for penetration and swelling of the fabric in a timing
cylinder, instead of undergoing an operation using so many rollers and so much
solution as in roller mercerization, to ensure reduced use of the alkali.

Since the chain mercerizing machine operates at an extremely high speed of

120-200m/min, a clip stenter is commonly used after two consecutive treatments
of alkali application/penetration. It is a device of considerable size, capable of
holding, while maintaining a widthwise tension, 70-90m fabric at a speed of
120m/min., or 117-150m at 200/m, so that sufficient time is allowed,
approximately 35 seconds for polyester/cotton blends, and 45 seconds for 100%
cotton, between the initial application of alkali solution and the subsequent start
of showering the alkali of the fabric.

Furthermore, thorough removal of the alkali is ensured in this stenter stage,

through repeated showering and vacuum treatment.

The efficiency of the vacuum treatment will be most influential in the removal of
alkali, especially in cases of using heavy cotton weaves, deficiencies in alkali
removal makes the showering, even in an increased amount, an ineffective flow
over the fabric surface and allows the fabric to be released from the stenter while
still immature, resulting not only in incomplete setting of the widthwise dimension
but also in fluctuations in the dyeing stages that follow.
Moreover, in the case of sheer cotton weaves, sufficient application of alkali
solution will be important, since the relationship between controls over tensile
strength for the obviation of crease production during the timing cylinder stage,
controls over the fabric width on the stenter and the amount of alkaline solution
required is extremely delicate.

Considering the points mentioned above, the performance of chain mercerizing

machines developed to date seems hardly satisfactory. The removal of the
remaining alkali after the stenter stage barely comes into question in terms of the
resulting mercerization effect, however, a crucial watershed will be whether the
remaining alkali can be reduced to less than 3°Bé before the fabric leaves the
stenter.

3) Batch-up mercerization: In this method, an alkaline solution is padded onto

fabric which is then rolled up, and when padding is completed the alkali is
removed through continuous cold rinsing. Although the use of the method is not
common in Japan, a certain degree of application, including in knits, can be
found in Western Europe.

Despite costs for facilities being remarkably low, it is not an interesting method
except for some special cases, as quality management and productivity remain
problematic. Still, for the growing cases of carrying out alkali reduction for the
polyester side of cotton/polyester blends to achieve both the mercerization of
cotton and the alkali reduction of polyester in a single treatment, the application
of this cold batch method is particularly interesting as a device that can combine
the two separate stages which would otherwise raise facility problems.