Introduction to Textile Chemical Processing

FIBER REMOVING
PROCESS
 TEXTILE
PROCESSING
Yarn formation
(fiber production,
spinning)

Fabric formation
(weaving, knitting)

Wet processing
(dyeing, printing,
finishing) and
fabrication (garment)
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Introduction
The protruding fibres on the surface of a fabric
manufactured with spun yarns may be
desirable in that they impart a little softness to
the fabric, but nonetheless they are seen as a
nuisance. These protruding fibres
1. Create a fuzz which might obscure
sharpness of a print or a coloured strip
on the garment
2. Can attract soil
3. May aggravate pilling
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Introduction
Many cotton materials are valued for their
smooth appearance e.g. lustrous sateen and
satin weaves. Hence, in general, it is desirable
to remove these surface fibres.
Two methods are commonly used to remove
the protruding fibers from the surface.
1. Shearing or cropping
2. Singeing
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Shearing or Cropping
.
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Shearing or Cropping
Four cutters
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Singeing Process
One of the most common methods to do this is
just burn off these fibres! This is known
asSingeing. Although, now a days it is also
done using enzymes for cellulosic fibre fabrics.
Objective- To burn off the protruding fibers
from a yarn or fabric.
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ADVANTAGES
1) Improved end use and wearing properties.
2) Clean Surface.
3) Reduced fogginess.
4) Reduced pilling.
5) Reduced Soiling.
Singeing usually involves passing/exposing one
or both sides of a fabric over a gas flame to
burn off the protruding fibers.
The temperature of the flame is quite high,
hence the fabric is passed over the flame at a
high speed such that loose protruding fibres
are burnt off but the fabric itself remains
undamaged.
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Heat or the temperature is

therefore a key parameter in
Other
singeing.
methods of singeing include infra-red
singeing and heat singeing for thermoplastic
fibers.
Singeing of yarns is called gassing.
Cellulosic fibers such as cotton are easily
singed because the protruding fibers burn to a
light trace ash which is easily removed.
Thermoplastic fibres are harder to singe
because they melt and form hard residues on
the fabric surface
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Singeing Parameters

The protruding fibres are generally burned off

in a gas flame. The gas is passed through a
slot burner which is longer than the fabric
width. A series of nozzles are present on the
burner. When the burner is started, it creates a
uniform flame along its entire length. Since the
type of fibre in a fabric and its construction
have significant influence on the burning
behavior of fibres, singeing parameters needs
to be adjusted very carefully. In fact, every
time the fibre type or fabric construction
changes, singeing parameters needs to be
changed and may require some fine tuning as
well.
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Singeing Parameters

Following are the parameters

which need to be considered
during singeing a fabric:
Fabric Speed
Flame Intensity
Flame Colour
Burner Position
Flame Distance from Fabric
Surface
Given figure is the image of a
typical gas burner used for
singing of textile materials.
 Principle of gas singeing machine

Since the loose fibres are present on both the

surfaces of fabrics, one needs to expose both the
surfaces to the action of flame. In the schematic
below, one can see the arrangement of burners.
 Singeing is more effective if
the loose fibres embedded in
the fabric structure can be
loosened and brought on Brushing
fabric surface. To achieve this,
many manufacturers today
pass the fabric to be singed
through beating and brushing
devices. The combined action
of beating and brushing
loosens the fibres and results
in more effective singeing Beating
subsequently.

Brushing and beating

 Different burner positions with respect to fabri

Since many fibres are sensitive to direct

flame, the position of the burner, i.e., the
angle at which the flame strikes the
fabric becomes important. The flame can
be applied on the fabric in three different
ways.
1.Tangential singeing
Here the fabric is exposed to the flame
tangentially. Only the protruding fibres
are burned-off. This position is
especially suitable for the singeing of
light weight and heat sensitive fabrics.
2. Singeing on to a water-cooled
roller
In this case the flame strikes the fabric
at right angle while it is passing over a
water cooled roller. The contact of
fabric with water cooled roller ensures
that the temperature of the fabric
does not rise alarmingly. The intense
flame quickly converts any moisture in
the fabric to steam. This steam and
the air in inter-fibre gaps provide a
cushion against the penetration of
fabric by flame. It is suitable for
synthetic and blended textiles and
fabrics with open structure.
3.Singeing into the fabric
Here, the flame strikes the free guided
fabric at right angles. Absence of any
support means the flame can penetrate
the fabric and burn off fibres embedded
in fabric structure. This configuration is
suitable for cellulosic fibres and other
heavy technical fabrics made from fibre
blends.
 SINGEING SYSTEMS
Singeing systems can be divided into two categories.
Direct Singeing
Indirect Singeing

DIRECT where the fabric has direct contact with

heat source. Examples are - Plate, Rotary Cylinder,
Gas singeing. Cloth is passed through the machine in
open width form.
 TYPES OF DIRECT SINGEING MACHINES

There are three main types of singeing machines:

1. Plate singeing machine

2. Rotary-cylinder singeing machine

3. Gas singeing machine

 DIRECT SINGEING SYSTEMS
Plate singeing machine
Plate singeing machine consists of 1-2 inch thick
copper plates which are heated from below by
burning heavy petroleum oil. The plates are heated
to a bright red color and the fabric passes over the
plates at speeds up to 200 yards per minute. A
special traversing arrangement is provided to
prevent local cooling which may occur due to
constant passage of cloth over it. The singed cloth is
then run through water to extinguish the spark.
 DIRECT SINGEING SYSTEMS
Rotary cylinder machine
Cloth passes over a hollow cylinder. It rotates slowly in
a direction opposite to that of fabric. It is fired
internally.
 DIRECT SINGEING SYSTEMS
Gas Singeing
In gas singeing, a suitable mixture of gas and air under pressure is used
as the heat source. This mixture is fed into a slot burner where it
undergoes combustion. Coal gas, petrol gas or butane gas may be used
as the fuel.
The width of the burner can be adjusted to suit different fabric widths.
The flame height and consequently the heat intensity can be varied for
different fabrics by altering the pressure of the mixture or the ratio of
gas and air in mixture.
Upon combustion the temperature of the flame may reach 1300 degree
C.
It is important to preheat the cloth to reduce its moisture content before
singeing, as a dry cloth performs better than a cold fabric. The heat
energy may convert the moisture in fabric to steam which can hinder
singeing.
Immediately after singeing, the cloth may be quenched in an aqueous
bath to quench any like spark to prevent a potential fire.
DIRECT SINGEING

Singeing unit (Ksters)

The singeing machine is

preferably used for cord
 DIRECT SINGEING
Singeing machine for tubular knit goods

Dornier singeing machine,

type EcoSinge
 YARN SINGEING
Textile yarns are singed for applications like sewing
thread, where the resistance caused by protruding
fibres during high speed sewing needs to be lowered.
The high friction may lead to a lot of frictional heat
generation, leading to damage to fabric and frequent
yarn breakage.
Common Problem in Gas Singeing and
their causes
A. Incomplete Singeing

Too low flame intensity

Too fast fabric speed
Too far distance between the fabric and the burner
Inappropriate (i.e. less severe) singeing position
Too much moisture in the fabric incoming for singeing.
If the fabric incoming for singeing has too much moisture in it, a
significant amount of
thermal energy will be used up in evaporating the fabric moisture
rather than burning
the protruding fibres, resulting in incomplete singeing.

B. Uneven Singeing Across the Fabric Width

Non-uniform moisture content across the fabric width
Non-uniform flame intensity (uneven flame height) across the fabric
width
Uneven distance between the burner and the fabric.
. This may be due to misalignment or improper setting of the guide
rollers
Common Problem in Gas Singeing and
their causes
C. Uneven Singeing Along the Fabric Length

Non-uniform moisture content along the fabric length

Non-uniform flame intensity along the fabric length
Change in fabric speed during singeing
Change in the distance between the fabric and the burner along the
length

D. Horizontal Singeing Stripes

Rollers with an un-centered rolling action Sudden fabric tension

increase

E. Vertical Singeing Stripes

Total or partial blockage of flame outlet

Common Problem in Gas Singeing and
their causes

F. Over-singeing or Thermal Damage of the Fabric

Too high flame intensity

Too slow fabric speed or too long contact time between fabric and
flame
Too close distance between the fabric and the burner or too deep
penetration of the singeing flame into the fabric
Inappropriate singeing position

G. Formation of Small Beads of Molten Material

Insufficient energy supply, when the thermal energy is not supplied

quickly enough to be able to ignite the thermoplastic fiber rather
than melting it.
 INDIRECT SINGEING

Thermal energy produced by the source is used

for burning the fibres and there is no contact
between the heat source and fabric. Example
Radiation Singeing.
Here fire-proof ceramic blocks are heated to a
high temperature, which radiate infrared
radiation. This radiation can heat the fibres to
such an extent that they can burn. The
advantage of indirect singeing are:
No Flame Contact, hence safer approach
Uniform Singeing, as radiation can be distributed
uniformly around a fabric surface.
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