Sema Palamutcu

Functionalization of cotton fabric with nanosized TiO2 coating for self-cleaning and antibacterial property enhancement

In this study, titanium dioxide (TiO2) was used as coating compound to add self-cleaning and antibacterial functionality properties to the cotton fabric. TiO2-consisting coating compounds were prepared at four different processing temperatures (20, 40, 60, and 80°C) in order to examine the influence of process temperature on average particle size. Among the prepared solutions, the one prepared at 80°C process temperature was selected for the dip coating application of the 100% cotton fabric, which formed a transparent nanosized TiO2 film on the fibrous structure of fabric. Dip coating trials were done at five coating temperatures of 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100°C. TiO2-coated and uncoated fabric samples were then tested to evaluate their self-cleaning and antibacterial activities. A self-cleaning activity test was conducted using uncoated and TiO2-coated fabric samples which were stained with hot tea solution via dipping method. Stained fabric samples were illuminated under a solar simulator for the color changes to measure photocatalytic degradation of stain colors. Antibacterial performance of TiO2-coated and uncoated fabric samples was determined against pure cultures of Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213.

Reuse of the treated textile wastewater and membrane brine in the wet textile processes: distorting effects on the cotton fabric

AbstractIn this work, a pilot plant consisting of granular activated carbon (GAC), ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF), and reverse osmosis (RO) processes was tested for the reuse of biologically treated textile wastewater (BTWW). The treated wastewaters were reused in the dyeing and bleaching of cotton fabric. To achieve zero discharge, NF brine was treated by lime soda then reused in the dyeing process as salt liquor. The main polluting parameters monitored in the posttreatments were: particle size distribution, divalent hardness ions, conductivity, soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD), and color. To determine the effects of reuse on the wet textile processes, color difference (dE), Berger whiteness degree, scanned electron microscopy images, and elemental analysis were followed on the treated cotton fabric. Application of UF, following GAC treatment, reduced SCOD concentration from 195 to 86xa0mgxa0L−1. Over 99% Pt–Co and color540 were removed by NF/RO membrane treatments. Both NF and RO permeates w...

Naturally Colored Organic Cotton and Naturally Colored Cotton Fiber Production

Processing of fibers into textile materials requires the usage of extensive water, energy, chemical and other related resources. Dyeing processes may cause environmental pollution due to its chemical dyestuff and dyeing process auxiliary usage. There are some new considerable efforts for reducing the ecological hazard and waste generated during textile processing or developing sustainable and green materials. One of these promising approaches is to promote the usage of naturally colored cotton fiber usage and its production. As the world is moving towards to the pollution-free organic textiles and products, the naturally colored cotton fiber is going to be the next buzz word in the textile market. Since, the production process of naturally colored cotton skips the most polluting activity (dyeing) of the textile product manufacturing. Indeed, naturally colored cotton fiber usage for textile materials can eliminate the need for dyeing process due to their inherent color characteristics leading to water, chemical and energy savings with no synthetic dye usage for coloration. Not only the cultivation and the usage of the naturally colored cotton fiber but also the cultivation and the usage of naturally colored organic cotton fiber have also recently been increased. For example, brown and green naturally colored cotton fibers can be grown organically or conventionally. Naturally colored cotton growers have less requirement for the pesticides, insecticides since these varieties have already insect and disease-resistant, salt-tolerant qualities as well as they exhibit property for drought. Organic agriculture is a production management system which increases biodiversity as well as soil biological activity. This production is based on the applications of maintaining and enhancing the ecological harmony. Naturally colored organic cotton fiber (NACOC) has been a conspicuous textile fiber as the social trend of eco-friendly living has increased. NACOC fibers are naturally pigmented fibers for some limited color shades such as green, brown, mocha and red and their relevant shades. The color variety depends on the gene of the fiber as well as the seasons and geographical locations due to climate and soil variations. NACOC has high resistance to insects and diseases. There have been some investigations for an improvement for the genetic properties of naturally colored cotton fibers in respect of better yield and better fiber qualities regarding strength, length and micronaire since natural colored cottons are desired to be more competitive against conventional white cottons. NACOC has a cost advantage with the elimination of dyeing process in fabric manufacturing. Additionally, instead of color fading problem which can be encountered in the case of dyed white cotton fibers, the color of the naturally colored cotton fiber becomes stronger after laundering. It has also been declared that clothes made from NACOC have been successful for preventing skin diseases as well as protecting skin from ultraviolet radiation. A significant number of research works have been carried out on white cottons, while naturally colored cottons were used to be left behind. Though, when environmental pollution has started to be one of the most urgent and important problem of the world, naturally colored cotton fibers are one of the more preferred options for more sustainable, renewable and ecological textile production. White cotton fiber is one of the most chemically intensive crops cultivated. Though grown on 3–5% of the world’s farmland, it is liable for the usage of 25% of the world’s pesticides. For these aforementioned reasons, organically grown naturally colored cotton fiber has attracted a massive attention over the last few years. In this chapter, an elaborative review of naturally colored organic cotton fibers, naturally colored cotton fiber types, their properties, their production and their recent developments from a broad perspective and with many different angles is given in detail.

Colorimetric and Hydrophilicity Properties of White and Naturally Colored Organic Cotton Fibers Before and After Pretreatment Processes

It is widely known that conventionally grown cotton fiber/fabrics/apparel has chemical residues on the cotton which may cause cancer and some other health related troubles. It is also certain that organic cotton production does not consume most synthetically compounded chemicals (fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, growth regulators and defoliants) which are suggested for only conventional cotton production. Therefore, organic cotton production lead to much more environmentally cotton fiber production in comparison to conventional cotton fiber growing. So, in this chapter, colorimetric (CIE L*, a*, b*, C*, h°, K/S, and whiteness properties etc.) and hydrophilicity properties of studied two white (Nazilli 84 S and Aydin 110) and three naturally colored (Emirel, Akdemir, Nazilli DT-15) organic cotton fiber types was investigated before and after scouring (with NaOH), conventional bleaching (with H2O2) and the combination application of scouring and bleaching (scouring + bleaching) processes in comparison with their greige (un-treated) counterparts. Greige (un-treated) Akdemir naturally colored organic cotton fiber displayed the reddest (with the highest a* value), the yellowest (with the highest b* value) appearance, the highest chroma (the most saturated), the lowest lightness (the darkest) and the highest color strength (the strongest color yield) and therefore the strongest color shade amongst the studied greige (un-treated) naturally colored organic cotton fibers. After scouring process, all three naturally colored organic cotton fibers congruously exhibited darker [with the lower lightness (L*) values and higher color strength (K/S) values], slightly redder (slightly higher a* values) and slightly less yellow (slightly lower b* values) appearance in comparison to their greige (un-treated) counterparts. Overall, it can be concluded that solely bleaching process (without any prior scouring process) and combination sequential usage of scouring and bleaching processes (scouring then bleaching = scouring + bleaching) generally did not significantly affect the color properties of studied naturally colored organic cotton fibers leading to similar close colorimetric performance with their greige (un-treated) counterparts. So, after the bleaching process, scoured naturally colored organic cotton fibers which darkened due to the scouring process roughly turned back to their original colorimetric levels of greige (un-treated) versions. In this case, if the naturally colored organic cotton fibers are blended with the normal white and off-white organic cotton fibers or other cellulosic fibers, applied bleaching process does not cause a significant color change in the naturally colored organic cotton fibers and this indicates that they will approximately remain at the same color property levels as their greige (un-treated) counterparts. Moreover, the bleaching process following the scouring process slightly increases the hydrophilicity values of both white and naturally colored organic cotton fibers leading to more hydrophilic fibers.

Organic Cotton and Cotton Fiber Production in Turkey, Recent Developments

Cotton has been used for many years in many different regions of the world. It is a strategic fiber owing to its wide usage leading to high employment opportunities in textile sector. Turkey has a considerable contribution on the world textile and apparel industry with its cotton fiber growing capacity and textile and clothing manufacturing capacity. Cotton cultivation areas in the world are located between the north parallels of 32–36 which reveal the warm climate features. Turkey locates in the north board of world cotton cultivation area. In Turkey, cotton farming is carried out mainly in four regions: Aegean, Cukurova, Southeastern Anatolia and Antalya where climate and grown cotton properties of each region differs. “Why organic cotton in Turkey” is an important question which has many reasonable and satisfying answers. Turkey has well established organic cotton regions and cotton yields are considerably high in the country. In this chapter, organic and conventionally grown cotton fibers are handled with a broad perspective in terms of cotton fiber cultivation and recent development about these fiber types in Turkey. Firstly, organic cotton and organic cotton fiber cultivation in Turkey, organic cotton growing regions in Turkey, limitations for the organic cotton markets, lack of Information on cost of production, marketing and future trends will be reviewed and discussed in detail. Moreover, general cultivation in lands and cotton fiber yield in Turkey are given in detail and information about the encountered diseases and pests during the cotton fiber cultivation are explained.

Physical Properties of Different Turkish Organic Cotton Fiber Types Depending on the Cultivation Area

Cotton fiber properties are one major issue to estimate the sale price, to optimize the production process of the highest yarn quality with the lowest level of fiber lost. Fiber properties are influenced by fiber genetic codes, growing conditions of humidity, temperature, and soil content of the land. In this study, examined white and naturally colored unique Turkish cotton fibers were developed via crossbreeding and selective breeding techniques in Turkey. The physical properties [fineness (micronaire index), fiber length (mm), and fiber strength (g/tex)] of different varieties of two white (Nazilli 84 S and Aydin 110) and three naturally colored (Emirel, Akdemir, Nazilli DT-15) organic cotton fiber types which cultivated (in compliance with the organic cotton fiber production under the control of the Turkey Nazilli Cotton Research Institute) in two different plantation locations in the Aegean Region of Turkey [Menemen/Izmir (Bakircay Basin) and Saraykoy/Denizli (Buyuk Menderes Basin) locations] under different climate types and weather conditions for five consecutive year period (from 2012 to 2016) were investigated. Measured and recorded data are analyzed with using a statistical evaluation method of Least Squares Fit model to accomplish Analysis of Variance and Effect Tests. Statistical evaluation has been designed to evaluate influence of dependent variable of fiber type, location, and year on the independent fiber properties of length, strength and fineness (micronaire). Different type of organic cotton fibers, different weather conditions of crop year and different cultivation location are found somehow influential factors on the studied major fiber properties. Statistical evaluation of the fiber length has shown that length changes depending on the crop year and location differences where seasonal weather conditions vary. In the case of fiber fineness, especially crop year is found the most influential factor that the same fiber exhibited different fiber fineness values depending on the slight weather condition changes of year and also location. Seasonal climate differences of different years are found the most influential factor on the fiber strength. Organic cotton fiber type of Aydin 110, which is white organic cotton fiber, is found having the best fiber properties among the five fiber types, and naturally colored organic cotton fiber type of Akdemir, which is one of the studied naturally colored organic cotton fibers, is found having the lowest fiber properties in general.