Desizing:

Desizing is done in order to remove the size from the warp yarns of the woven fabrics.
Warp yarns are coated with sizing agents prior to weaving in order to reduce their
frictional properties, decrease yarn breakages on the loom and improve weaving
productivity by increasing weft insertion speeds. The sizing material present on the warp
yarns can act as a resist towards dyes and chemicals in textile wet processing. It must,
therefore, be removed before any subsequent wet processing of the fabric. The factors,
on which the efficiency of size removal depends, are as follows:

• Type and amount of size applied

• Viscosity of the size in solution
• Ease of dissolution of the size film on the yarn
• Nature and the amount of the plasticizers
• Fabric construction
• Method of desizing, and
• Method of washing-off
Different methods of desizing are:
• Enzymatic desizing
• Oxidative desizing
• Acid steeping
• Rot steeping
• Desizing with hot caustic soda treatment, and
• Hot washing with detergents

The most commonly used methods for cotton are enzymatic desizing and oxidative
desizing. Acid steeping is a risky process and may result in the degradation of cotton
cellulose while rot steeping, hot caustic soda treatment and hot washing with detergents
are less efficient for the removal of the starch sizes.

Enzymatic desizing consists of three main steps: application of the enzyme, digestion
of the starch and removal of the digestion products. The common components of an
enzymatic desizing bath are as follows:

• Amylase enzyme
• pH stabilizer
• Chelating agent
• Salt
• Surfactant, and
• Optical brightener

The enzymes are only active within a specific range of pH, which must be maintained by
a suitable pH stabiliser. Chelating agents used to sequester calcium or combine heavy
metals may be injurious to the enzymes and must be tested before use. Certain salts
may be used to enhance the temperature stability of enzymes. Surfactants may be used
to improve the wettability of the fabric and to improve the size removal. Generally, non-
ionic surfactants are suitable but it is always recommended to test the compatibility of
surfactants before use.
Some brighteners may also be incorporated in the desizing bath which may be carried
through the end of the pre-treatment, resulting in improved brightness but again, their
compatibility must be ascertained before use.

Enzymatic desizing offers the following advantages:

• No damage to the fibre

• No usage of aggressive chemicals
• Wide variety of application processes, and
• High biodegradability

Some disadvantages of enzymatic desizing include lower additional cleaning effect

towards other impurities, no effect on certain starches (e.g. tapioca starch) and possible
loss of effectiveness through enzyme poisons.

Oxidative desizing can be affected by hydrogen peroxide, chlorites, hypochlorites,

bromites, perborates or persulphates. Two important oxidative desizing processes are:
the cold pad-batch process based on hydrogen peroxide with or without the addition of
persulphate; and the oxidative pad-steam alkaline cracking process with hydrogen
peroxide or persulphate. The advantages offered by oxidative desizing are:

• Supplementary cleaning effect

• Effectiveness for tapioca starches
• No loss in effectiveness due to enzyme poisons.

Some disadvantages of oxidative desizing include possibility of fibre attack, use of

aggressive chemicals and less variety of application methods.

After desizing, the fabric is systematically analyzed to determine the uniformity and
thoroughness of the treatment. It is first weighed to determine the percent size removed.
The results are compared with a sample known to have been desized well in the lab. If
the size is not adequately removed then either the treatment or washing have not been
thorough. Iodine spot tests are then conducted on the fabric. The fabric is not spotted
randomly but from side-centre-side at different points along the length of the fabric. The
results of this evaluation give some idea of the causes of any inadequate treatment.

Some of the most common problems in enzymatic desizing are given below:

Acid
Cold solutions of dilute sulphuric or hydrochloric acids are used to hydrolyze the starch,
however, this has the disadvantage of also affecting the cellulose fiber in cotton fabrics.

Removal of water-soluble sizes

Fabrics containing water soluble sizes can be desized by washing using hot
water, perhaps containing wetting agents and a mild alkali. The water replaces
the size on the outer surface of the fiber, and absorbs within the fiber to remove
any size residue.