A novel sorbent was developed using
the aligning of raw unprocessed
cotton fibers leading to low-density, hydrophobic, oleophilic, and
sustainable cotton batt. Cotton batting developed using immature cotton
exhibited oil sorption capacity of 50.27 g/g, which is significantly
higher than the oil sorption capacity of many commercial sorbents
reported in the literature. Fundamental mechanisms such as adsorption,
absorption, and capillary action govern the oil sorption phenomenon,
which were verified using environmental scanning electron micrographs.
In addition, optical microscopy was used to understand the difference
in the longitudinal cross section of the mature (base range) and immature
(low micronaire) cotton, which was determined quantitatively using
Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area analysis. Effect
of cotton characteristics such as fineness and maturity on the oil
sorption capacity was also investigated. Nonwoven cotton batts consisting
of immature and finer cotton fibers showed oil sorption capacity that
was 7% higher than that of cotton batts developed using mature and
coarser fibers.
Atmospheric pressure plasma treatment is a surface modification technique, which can be used for surface finishing and pretreatment of textiles using a broad range of reactive gases. In this study, atmospheric pressure plasma was created using a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen and was applied to polypropylene spunbond fabric. Physical properties like moisture vapor transport, pore size distribution and tensile strength were evaluated to understand the effect of the plasma treatment on spunbond polypropylene. Chemical composition of the fabric before and after plasma treatment was analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The spectra showed that oxygen and nitrogen containing groups were generated on the surface of the plasma-treated fabric. Scanning electron microscope was used to observe the surface morphology of the substrate. It is evident from the capillary flow porometer results, pore size increased after plasma treatment resulting in enhanced moisture vapor transport rate. No significant decrease in breaking load was observed after the plasma treatment.
Standalone
poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanowebs were developed in
an environmentally friendly manner, and their breathability values
were obtained. The strength of nanowebs was enhanced by heat cross-linking.
Breathability values of untreated and heat cross-linked nanowebs remain
the same indicating that stronger nanowebs can be developed without
compromising its breathability. Transmission FTIR showed an increase
in the crystallinity and no significant changes in the structure of
PVA nanowebs after heat cross-linking. Stronger and breathable nanowebs
can find broader applications such as tissue culture scaffolds, protective
clothing liners, and air filters.
The
possibility of using atmospheric pressure plasma treatment
(APT) without any additional functionalizing chemicals as an environmentally
friendly technique for processing cotton nonwovens has been investigated.
The quantitative determination of waxes suggested that APT results
in the removal of waxes from cotton nonwovens and consequently increases
its hydrophilicity. Fourier transform infrared studies showed that
APT was capable of removing wax covering individual layers of cotton
fibers. Intense plasma treatment causes a decrease in the strength
of cotton nonwovens. Results show that APT can be a viable alternative
for caustic soda treatment for dewaxing cotton.
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